New England Patriots defeat New York Jets; clinch first-round bye

The New England Patriots (11-5) finished off their regular season in epic fashion with a resounding win over the New York Jets (4-12), and now look toward the playoffs.

The Patriots have been searching all season for that elusive complete game, the kind of performance that reminds the rest of the league that they are still – well, the Patriots.

It may have taken a lot longer than expected, but on Sunday, they finally found themselves once again.

And just in the nick of time, too. All week long, New England players and coaches stressed the importance of not overlooking the Jets after already having punched their playoff ticket in Week 16. The team had loftier ambitions left unresolved, like obtaining a first-round bye… without which Belichick’s Patriots have never advanced as far as the Super Bowl.

They can now sit back, start scouting, and focus on getting healthy as the other AFC combatants beat each other up over Wild Card Weekend.

Tom Brady followed up a lackluster outing against the Bills with a dazzling show that surely reminded everyone why he’s considered the G.O.A.T. Finishing with a razor-sharp quarterback rating of 133.8, Brady carved up the Jets secondary to the tune of 250 yards and four touchdowns.

Brady now has over 6,000 career completions, putting him in rarefied air along with Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre as the only other quarterbacks to reach such a milestone.

The Patriots also enjoyed another dominant day on the ground, rushing as a team for 131 yards. If New England can continue to follow this strategy of balancing Brady’s brilliance with a powerful rushing attack and an opportunistic defense, they look poised to make yet another deep postseason run.

That defense recovered three fumbles, one of which was returned 46 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Kyle Van Noy. Even more impressively, the team held New York to just three points, which should be good enough to lower their season average and solidify their position as a top-ten scoring defense.

If there’s a place to nitpick the Patriots, it lies with getting Rob Gronkowski the ball. The star tight end finished with just two receptions for 24 yards – though he did have a big gain nullified after a penalty. The Patriots need to find a way to get him looking more like the Gronk of old if they want to build on the offensive fireworks from today.