EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A few classic drives. An impressive rout. Total control of the division.
Struggling no more, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots sent a clear message Sunday night: They’re still the team to beat in the AFC East. Not the Buffalo Bills. And certainly not the New York Jets.
Brady threw three touchdown passes, including two to Rob Gronkowski, and the Patriots assumed sole possession of first place in the division with a convincing 37-16 victory over the Jets on Sunday night.
“It’s very sweet,” Brady said, “getting this win.”
Especially after two consecutive losses had some wondering if the Patriots (6-3) were no longer the powerhouse they’ve been for years. Well, not so fast.
“Losing two straight, you have 14 days of just feeling crappy,” Brady said. “Every day of practice is harder. It’s hard to build on losses. It feels really good to win this one.”
After the Jets got within a score at 23-16 early in the fourth quarter, Brady coolly led the Patriots down the field on an 84-yard drive that was capped by an 8-yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch.
New England linebacker Rob Ninkovich then sealed the victory — which snapped a two-game skid — on the Jets’ next possession with a 12-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the final quarter.
“One game won’t win you much,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “but it’s a good win and we’re certainly happy to have it.”
The game was a showdown for the top spot in the division, but it was no contest as the Patriots took over sole possession by snapping the Jets’ three-game winning streak and sweeping the regular-season series.
“It looks doubtful right now,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said of his team’s chances of winning the division. “Maybe I should guarantee we’re out of it. The last time I did we made it.
“Yeah, we got no chance.”
Buffalo entered the day tied with New England and New York, but the Bills were blown out by the Dallas Cowboys 44-7.
It was also the first home loss for the Jets (5-4) after opening 4-0, but they can’t dwell on it because they play again at Denver on Thursday night.
“You’re not going to beat many teams when you make the mistakes that we made,” Ryan said. “We’ve been down this road before. I apologize to our fans.”
Ryan insisted his team was greatly improved since a 30-21 loss at New England on Oct. 9 and declared it a must-win if New York wanted to get some home playoff games. Turns out, the Jets still have plenty of work to do if they expect to dethrone the Patriots.
“It just wasn’t our night,” Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez said. “We earned what we got tonight.”
New England was coming off consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and the Giants, but said there was no concern in its locker room. It certainly showed as the Patriots avoided their first three-game losing streak since 2002.
Brady finished 26 of 39 for 329 yards, the 40th time he reached the 300-yard mark in a regular-season game, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Joe Montana for eighth on the NFL’s list. He also joined New Orleans’ Drew Brees as the only players to throw for 3,000 yards in their team’s first nine games. Brees also accomplished the feat this season.
Brady and Belichick broke a tie with Miami’s Dan Marino and Don Shula as the winningest quarterback-coach duo since 1966 with 117 victories.
“The good teams keep getting better this time of year,” Brady said. “That’s what we need to do.”
Gronkowski finished with eight catches for 113 yards and the two scores, and Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals. Andre Carter had a team-record 4½ sacks as the Patriots’ defense — ranked last in the league coming in — harassed Sanchez all night.
Sanchez was 20 of 39 for 306 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted twice and sacked five times.
LaDainian Tomlinson passed Hall of Famer Barry Sanders for fifth place on the NFL’s career list for yards from scrimmage, but left the game with an injured left leg which was tightly wrapped in the locker room. He said he would have “some tests” on Monday.
The Jets appeared to get back in it when Plaxico Burress caught a 7-yard fade pass over Antwaun Molden in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, making it 23-16.
But Brady went right back to work, leading the Patriots on a typically efficient drive, going 84 yards on 13 plays using a no-huddle offense that kept the Jets’ defense off balance. Mixing in some solid runs by Danny Woodhead, Brady calmly spread the ball around to his receivers before connecting with Branch with 8:04 remaining.
The score sent many in the crowd at MetLife Stadium heading for the exits. Many of those who remained didn’t stick around much longer once Ninkovich returned an errant pass by Sanchez 12 yards to make it 37-16 with 7:45 left.
“Bill challenged us last week,” nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. “We took his challenge and it showed tonight.”
Three Jets bobbled a muffed punt by Joe McKnight to set up Gostkowski’s short field goal for a 16-9 lead.
A few minutes later, Ninkovich returned a twice-tipped interception as Sanchez’s throw went off the hands of running back Shonn Greene, then was deflected by linebacker Jerod Mayo to Ninkovich.
The Jets got on the scoreboard when they got some rare pressure on Brady. Jamaal Westerman got to the Patriots quarterback in the end zone, and Brady threw the ball away left-handed and was called for intentional grounding and a safety.
New York took the free kick and moved 65 yards on seven plays, and Sanchez ran in from the 2 on a quarterback draw for a 9-6 lead. But the Jets quarterback made a mistake on the play right before his score, calling a timeout with 1:24 left in the half. Ryan was so angry, he told NBC at halftime that the timeout was the “stupidest play in NFL history.”
Adding to the frustration was New York not opting to try a pooch kickoff following a 15-yard penalty on New England’s Wilfork, and Nick Folk kicked the ball through the end zone. Brady hit five passes on an 80-yard drive, with Gronkowski getting open over the middle for the 18-yard score with 9 seconds left in the half that made it 13-9.
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