GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: NY JETS (3-10) at NEW ENGLAND (13-0)

NFL: NY JETS at NEW ENGLAND

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NY JETS 0 7 0 3 10
NEW ENGLAND 7 10 0 3 20 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: NWE - TD, EUGENE WILSON 5 YD INTERCEPTION
RETURN (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK),
5:27. NEW ENGLAND 7-0
2ND QUARTER: NWE - FG, STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 26 YD, 2:15.
Drive: 17 plays, 75 yards in 8:51.
Key plays: T Brady 12-yard pass to
Moss to New England 32; T Brady
8-yard pass to Faulk on 3rd-and-7
to New York 43; T Brady 11-yard
pass to Moss to New York 28; T
Brady 3-yard run on 4th-and-2 to
New York 17. NEW ENGLAND 10-0
NYJ - TD, DAVID BOWENS 26 YD RETURN OF
BLOCKED PUNT (MIKE NUGENT KICK),
7:45. NEW ENGLAND 10-7
NWE - TD, LAURENCE MARONEY 1 YD RUN (STEPHEN
GOSTKOWSKI KICK), 13:55. Drive: 2
plays, 3 yards in 0:41. Key plays:
Recovery of blocked punt at New
York 3. NEW ENGLAND 17-7
3RD QUARTER: NONE
4TH QUARTER: NYJ - FG, MIKE NUGENT 33 YD, 8:47. Drive: 17
plays, 70 yards in 7:40. Key plays:
Pennington 12-yard pass to Cotchery
to New York 20; Pennington 7-yard
pass to Baker on 3rd-and-5 to New
York 39; Pennington 14-yard pass to
McCareins to New England 47;
Pennington 6-yard pass to Baker on
3rd-and-3 to New England 34;
Pennington 6-yard pass to Cotchery
on 3rd-and-6 to New England 24. NEW
ENGLAND 17-10
NWE - FG, STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 34 YD, 11:39.
Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards in 2:52.
Key plays: T Brady 16-yard pass to
Welker on 3rd-and-10 to New England
45; T Brady 46-yard pass to Moss to
New York 14. NEW ENGLAND 20-10

ATT: 68,756</div>

 

NFL: NY JETS at NEW ENGLAND

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NY JETS 0 7 0 3 10
NEW ENGLAND 7 10 0 3 20 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

5:27 NWE - TD, EUGENE WILSON 5 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK).
NEW ENGLAND 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

2:15 NWE - FG, STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 26 YD.
Drive: 17 plays, 75 yards in 8:51.
Key plays: T Brady 12-yard pass to Moss to New England 32; T Brady
8-yard pass to Faulk on 3rd-and-7 to New York 43; T Brady 11-yard pass to
Moss to New York 28; T Brady 3-yard run on 4th-and-2 to New York 17. NEW
ENGLAND 10-0.
7:45 NYJ - TD, DAVID BOWENS 26 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT (MIKE NUGENT KICK).
NEW ENGLAND 10-7.
13:55 NWE - TD, LAURENCE MARONEY 1 YD RUN (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK).
Drive: 2 plays, 3 yards in 0:41.
Key plays: Recovery of blocked punt at New York 3. NEW ENGLAND 17-7.

3RD QUARTER:

NONE

4TH QUARTER:

8:47 NYJ - FG, MIKE NUGENT 33 YD.
Drive: 17 plays, 70 yards in 7:40.
Key plays: Pennington 12-yard pass to Cotchery to New York 20;
Pennington 7-yard pass to Baker on 3rd-and-5 to New York 39; Pennington
14-yard pass to McCareins to New England 47; Pennington 6-yard pass to
Baker on 3rd-and-3 to New England 34; Pennington 6-yard pass to Cotchery
on 3rd-and-6 to New England 24. NEW ENGLAND 17-10.
11:39 NWE - FG, STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 34 YD.
Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards in 2:52.
Key plays: T Brady 16-yard pass to Welker on 3rd-and-10 to New
England 45; T Brady 46-yard pass to Moss to New York 14. NEW ENGLAND
20-10.

NY JETS - NEW ENGLAND Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS NY JETS NEW ENGLAND

FIRST DOWNS 13 16
Rushing 2 7
Passing 10 8
Penalty 1 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-14-21% 6-16-38%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 1-1-100%
TOTAL NET YARDS 236 265
Total offensive plays 62 63
Average gain per play 3.8 4.2
NET YARDS RUSHING 90 131
Rushing attempts 17 35
Average gain per rush 5.3 3.7
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 1-2
NET YARDS PASSING 146 134
Times sacked: Number-Yards 5-40 1-6
Gross passing yards 186 140
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 40-25-1 27-14-1
Avg gain per pass play 3.2 4.8
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 3-1-0 5-0-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 4-31.8 6-35.7
Had blocked 1 1
Net punting average 28.3 35.7
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 14 5
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 2-14 0-0
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-130 3-59
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-0 1-5
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 6-42 6-48
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 3-1 0-0
TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
Rushing 0 1
Passing 0 0
Interceptions 0 1
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Kicking: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 1-2 2-2
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 0-4-0% 1-3-33%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 26:23 33:37


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NY JETS NEW ENGLAND

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L WASHINGT 4 57 14.3 49 0 L MARONEY 26 104 4.0 11 1
T JONES 9 19 2.1 5 0 K FAULK 4 20 5.0 8 0
B SMITH 3 10 3.3 6 0 T BRADY 4 9 2.3 4 0
C PENNINGT 1 4 4.0 4 0 W WELKER 1 -2 -2.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
C PENNINGT 25-38-186 0 0 16 T BRADY 14-27-140 1 0 46
K CLEMENS 0- 1- 0 1 0 0
B SMITH 0- 1- 0 0 0 0

Sacked-Yards Lost: C PENNINGT 5-40. Sacked-Yards Lost: T BRADY 1-6.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
C BAKER 8 66 8.3 13 0 R MOSS 5 79 15.8 46 0
J COTCHERY 6 53 8.8 16 0 W WELKER 3 30 10.0 16 0
J MCCAREIN 5 40 8.0 14 0 K FAULK 3 19 6.3 8 0
L WASHINGT 3 9 3.0 5 0 J GAFFNEY 2 8 4.0 4 0
T JONES 2 13 6.5 9 0 H EVANS 1 4 4.0 4 0
W WRIGHT 1 5 5.0 5 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D REVIS 1 0 0.0 0 0 E WILSON 1 5 5.0 5 1

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B GRAHAM 3 127 42.3 1 1 47 C HANSON 5 214 42.8 1 2 51

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L WASHINGTON 2 14 7.0 14 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L WASHINGTON 5 130 26.0 49 0 E HOBBS 3 59 19.7 27 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M NUGENT 1/1 1/2 S GOSTKOWS 2/2 2/2
Dist.: 33 (35) Dist.: 26 34

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C BAKER 1 1 0 0-0 A THOMAS 0 0 2 0-0
B SMITH 1 0 0 0-0 E WILSON 0 0 0 0-1
C PENNINGTON 1 0 0 1-0
D REVIS 0 0 0 1-0
L WASHINGTON 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
D BARRETT 8 7 1 0-0 A THOMAS 9 8 11.5-5.5
D HARRIS 7 5 2 0-0 J SEAU 9 7 2 2-21
V HOBSON 5 5 0 0-0 T WARREN 4 4 0 0-0
S POUHA 5 5 0 0-0 A SAMUEL 4 4 0 0-0
D REVIS 5 4 1 0-0 M VRABEL 4 3 1 0-0
E BARTON 5 3 2 0-0 R HARRISON 3 3 0 0-0
S ELLIS 4 4 0 1-6 R GAY 3 3 0 0-0
D ROBERTSON 4 2 2 0-0 J GREEN 3 0 3 1-7
D BOWENS 3 3 0 0-0 T BRUSCHI 2 2 0 0-0
K RHODES 3 3 0 0-0 E HOBBS 2 2 0 0-0
H POTEAT 2 2 0 0-0 V WILFORK 2 2 0 0-0
B THOMAS 2 2 0 0-0 R SEYMOUR 2 1 1 .5-6.5
A ELAM 2 2 0 0-0 E ALEXANDER 1 1 0 0-0
K COLEMAN 2 1 1 0-0 E WILSON 1 1 0 0-0
B KASSELL 1 1 0 0-0
E SMITH 1 0 1 0-0
D COLEMAN 1 0 1 0-0

Att: 68,756</div>

 

By Mike Petraglia
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) - Not even Mother Nature couldput a stop to the historic run of the New England Patriots.

Eugene Wilson returned a first-quarter interception for atouchdown and recovered a key second half fumble as the Patriotsovercame a winter storm and held off the New York Jets, 20-10,at a wet Gillette Stadium.


The Patriots became the first 14-0 team in the NFL since the1972 Miami Dolphins and in the process clinched home-fieldadvantage throughout the playoffs.


New England won despite a season-worst performance byquarterback Tom Brady, who failed to throw a touchdown pass forthe first time since December 10, 2006. Brady finished 14-of-27for 140 yards and an interception.


Laurence Maroney picked up the slack offensively, rushing for aseason-high 104 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. It was hissecond 100-yard effort of the season and first since WeekThree.


A combination of Chad Pennington and Brad Smith replaced injuredquarterback Kellen Clemens following the Jets' first possessionbut could not lead New York (3-11) to the upset.


The weather overshadowed the first meeting between the twobitter rivals since Jets coach Eric Mangini claimed thatPatriots coach Bill Belichick illegally videotaped signals fromthe sideline during New England's 38-14 win on September 9.

Following the game, the two coaches did shake hands at midfield.

Approximately six inches of snow blanketed the tarp-coveredfield in the early-morning hours before it turned to rain twohours before kickoff. Plows were on the field six hours beforethe game to shovel away the snow.


With snow not a factor, both teams had to deal with a drivingrain storm throughout.


The Patriots forced the first big mistake in the inclementweather. Pressured by Richard Seymour in his own end zone,Clemens attempted a desperation pass to Brad Smith.

Wilson picked off the fluttering pass and walked in from fiveyards out for his first career touchdown to give New England a7-0 lead with 9:33 remaining in the first.


Clemens injured his rib cage on the play and did not return.

Wilson became the 21st Patriots player to score a touchdown thisseason, tying an NFL record held by the 2000 Denver Broncos andthe 1987 Los Angeles Rams.


The strong winds forced Brady to do much of his work with hislegs in the first half. He scrambled on a 4th-and-2, keeping a17-play, 75-yard drive alive and leading to a 26-yard field goalby Steve Gostkowski for a 10-0 lead with 8:51 left in theopening half.


New York's David Bowens broke through the New England line andblocked Chris Hansen's punt attempt. Bowens picked up his ownblock and rumbled 26 yards for the touchdown, drawing the Jetswithin 10-7 with 7:15 remaining in the second quarter.

But New England's Kelley Washington returned the favor when hebroke through and blocked Ben Graham's punt with his left arm,setting up the Patriots with a 1st-and-goal at the Jets 3-yardline.


Two plays later, Laurence Maroney dove in from 1 yard out torestore New England's 10-point lead and a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Wilson was again in the right place midway through the thirdquarter when Adalius Thomas forced Chris Baker to fumble at theNew England 10. Wilson recovered the ball and thwarted thethreat in the red zone.


The Jets closed within 17-10 when Mike Nugent connected on a33-yard field goal with 6:13 remaining in the fourth.

The Patriots responded by driving 55 yards in eight plays,leading to Gostkowski's 34-yard field goal and a 10-point leadwith 3:21 to play.

 

NFL: NY JETS at NEW ENGLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NFL
NY JETS 10
NEW ENGLAND 20 FINAL</div>

 

NFL: NY JETS at NEW ENGLAND

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NY JETS 0 7 0 3 10
NEW ENGLAND 7 10 0 3 20 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

5:27 NWE - TD, EUGENE WILSON 5 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK).
NEW ENGLAND 7-0.

2ND QUARTER:

2:15 NWE - FG, STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 26 YD.
Drive: 17 plays, 75 yards in 8:51.
Key plays: T Brady 12-yard pass to Moss to New England 32; T Brady
8-yard pass to Faulk on 3rd-and-7 to New York 43; T Brady 11-yard pass to
Moss to New York 28; T Brady 3-yard run on 4th-and-2 to New York 17. NEW
ENGLAND 10-0.
7:45 NYJ - TD, DAVID BOWENS 26 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT (MIKE NUGENT KICK).
NEW ENGLAND 10-7.
13:55 NWE - TD, LAURENCE MARONEY 1 YD RUN (STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI KICK).
Drive: 2 plays, 3 yards in 0:41.
Key plays: Recovery of blocked punt at New York 3. NEW ENGLAND 17-7.

3RD QUARTER:

NONE

4TH QUARTER:

8:47 NYJ - FG, MIKE NUGENT 33 YD.
Drive: 17 plays, 70 yards in 7:40.
Key plays: Pennington 12-yard pass to Cotchery to New York 20;
Pennington 7-yard pass to Baker on 3rd-and-5 to New York 39; Pennington
14-yard pass to McCareins to New England 47; Pennington 6-yard pass to
Baker on 3rd-and-3 to New England 34; Pennington 6-yard pass to Cotchery
on 3rd-and-6 to New England 24. NEW ENGLAND 17-10.
11:39 NWE - FG, STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 34 YD.
Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards in 2:52.
Key plays: T Brady 16-yard pass to Welker on 3rd-and-10 to New
England 45; T Brady 46-yard pass to Moss to New York 14. NEW ENGLAND
20-10.

NY JETS - NEW ENGLAND Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS NY JETS NEW ENGLAND

FIRST DOWNS 13 16
Rushing 2 7
Passing 10 8
Penalty 1 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 3-14-21% 6-16-38%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-3-33% 1-1-100%
TOTAL NET YARDS 236 265
Total offensive plays 62 63
Average gain per play 3.8 4.2
NET YARDS RUSHING 90 131
Rushing attempts 17 35
Average gain per rush 5.3 3.7
Tackles for loss-yards 1-1 1-2
NET YARDS PASSING 146 134
Times sacked: Number-Yards 5-40 1-6
Gross passing yards 186 140
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 40-25-1 27-14-1
Avg gain per pass play 3.2 4.8
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 3-1-0 5-0-0
PUNTS: Number and Average 4-31.8 6-35.7
Had blocked 1 1
Net punting average 28.3 35.7
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 14 5
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 2-14 0-0
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-130 3-59
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 1-0 1-5
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 6-42 6-48
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 3-1 0-0
TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
Rushing 0 1
Passing 0 0
Interceptions 0 1
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Kicking: Made-Attempts 1-1 2-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 1-2 2-2
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-0
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 0-4-0% 1-3-33%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 0-1-0% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 26:23 33:37


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NY JETS NEW ENGLAND

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L WASHINGT 4 57 14.3 49 0 L MARONEY 26 104 4.0 11 1
T JONES 9 19 2.1 5 0 K FAULK 4 20 5.0 8 0
B SMITH 3 10 3.3 6 0 T BRADY 4 9 2.3 4 0
C PENNINGT 1 4 4.0 4 0 W WELKER 1 -2 -2.0 0 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
C PENNINGT 25-38-186 0 0 16 T BRADY 14-27-140 1 0 46
K CLEMENS 0- 1- 0 1 0 0
B SMITH 0- 1- 0 0 0 0

Sacked-Yards Lost: C PENNINGT 5-40. Sacked-Yards Lost: T BRADY 1-6.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
C BAKER 8 66 8.3 13 0 R MOSS 5 79 15.8 46 0
J COTCHERY 6 53 8.8 16 0 W WELKER 3 30 10.0 16 0
J MCCAREIN 5 40 8.0 14 0 K FAULK 3 19 6.3 8 0
L WASHINGT 3 9 3.0 5 0 J GAFFNEY 2 8 4.0 4 0
T JONES 2 13 6.5 9 0 H EVANS 1 4 4.0 4 0
W WRIGHT 1 5 5.0 5 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D REVIS 1 0 0.0 0 0 E WILSON 1 5 5.0 5 1

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B GRAHAM 3 127 42.3 1 1 47 C HANSON 5 214 42.8 1 2 51

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L WASHINGTON 2 14 7.0 14 0

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
L WASHINGTON 5 130 26.0 49 0 E HOBBS 3 59 19.7 27 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M NUGENT 1/1 1/2 S GOSTKOWS 2/2 2/2
Dist.: 33 (35) Dist.: 26 34

O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
C BAKER 1 1 0 0-0 A THOMAS 0 0 2 0-0
B SMITH 1 0 0 0-0 E WILSON 0 0 0 0-1
C PENNINGTON 1 0 0 1-0
D REVIS 0 0 0 1-0
L WASHINGTON 0 0 0 1-0

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
D BARRETT 8 7 1 0-0 A THOMAS 9 8 11.5-5.5
D HARRIS 7 5 2 0-0 J SEAU 9 7 2 2-21
V HOBSON 5 5 0 0-0 T WARREN 4 4 0 0-0
S POUHA 5 5 0 0-0 A SAMUEL 4 4 0 0-0
D REVIS 5 4 1 0-0 M VRABEL 4 3 1 0-0
E BARTON 5 3 2 0-0 R HARRISON 3 3 0 0-0
S ELLIS 4 4 0 1-6 R GAY 3 3 0 0-0
D ROBERTSON 4 2 2 0-0 J GREEN 3 0 3 1-7
D BOWENS 3 3 0 0-0 T BRUSCHI 2 2 0 0-0
K RHODES 3 3 0 0-0 E HOBBS 2 2 0 0-0
H POTEAT 2 2 0 0-0 V WILFORK 2 2 0 0-0
B THOMAS 2 2 0 0-0 R SEYMOUR 2 1 1 .5-6.5
A ELAM 2 2 0 0-0 E ALEXANDER 1 1 0 0-0
K COLEMAN 2 1 1 0-0 E WILSON 1 1 0 0-0
B KASSELL 1 1 0 0-0
E SMITH 1 0 1 0-0
D COLEMAN 1 0 1 0-0

Officials: Referee-Jerome Boger, Umpire-Garth Defelice, Head
Linesman-Jerry Bergman, Line Judge-Jeff Bergman, Field Judge-Scott
Steenson, Side Judge-Joe Larrew, Back Judge-Bob Waggoner.

Att: 68,756 Time of Game: 2:59</div>

 

By Mike Petraglia
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Not even Mother Nature couldput a stop to the historic run of the New England Patriots.

Eugene Wilson returned a first-quarter interception for atouchdown and recovered a key second half fumble as the Patriotsovercame a winter storm and held off the New York Jets, 20-10,at a wet and windy Gillette Stadium.


The Patriots became the first NFL team to go 14 since the MiamiDolphins in 1972 and in the process clinched home-fieldadvantage throughout the playoffs.


"I'm sure it's going to be a factor throughout," Patriotsquarterback Tom Brady said of securing home field. "I've beenin this in winter-time conditions, practiced in the snow and therain and sleet and it's nice that we have the field we do."

New England won despite a season-worst performance by Brady, whofailed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time sinceDecember 10, 2006. Brady finished 14-of-27 for 140 yards and aninterception.


Laurence Maroney picked up the slack offensively, rushing for aseason-high 104 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. It was hissecond 100-yard effort of the season and first since WeekThree.


"We're happy with our record, but right now it's all one-weekseasons," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.


A combination of Chad Pennington and Brad Smith replaced injuredquarterback Kellen Clemens following the Jets' first possessionbut could not lead New York (3-11) to the upset.


The weather overshadowed the first meeting between the twobitter rivals since Jets coach Eric Mangini claimed thatBelichick illegally videotaped signals from the sideline duringNew England's 38-14 win on September 9.


"It's good to sweep the Jets and we'll move on to Miami,"Belichick said.


Following the game, the two coaches did shake hands at midfield.

"This is a good football team that's obviously hard to beat andwe had some opportunities to put ourselves in a very goodposition and just couldn't finish those," Mangini said.

Approximately six inches of snow blanketed the tarp-coveredfield in the early-morning hours before it turned to rain twohours before kickoff. Plows were on the field six hours beforethe game to shovel away the snow.


With snow not a factor, both teams had to deal with a drivingrain storm throughout.


"That was a good football game out there today," Belichick said."I'm proud of the way the guys played. They dealt with theelements. All the other things that go into a tight game likethis, and made plays throughout the game - made some in thefourth quarter, made some in the second quarter."


The Patriots forced the first big mistake in the inclementweather. Pressured by Richard Seymour in his own end zone,Clemens attempted a desperation pass to Brad Smith.

Wilson picked off the fluttering pass and walked in from fiveyards out for his first career touchdown to give New England a7-0 lead with 9:33 remaining in the first.


"That was great, my first one ever. The ball looked normal,"Wilson said. "Today was one of those great days for me. Everyweek you see guys get those picks where the ball comes right tothem and I happened to be that guy this week."


Clemens injured his rib cage on the play and did not return.

Wilson became the 21st Patriots player to score a touchdown thisseason, tying an NFL record held by the 2000 Denver Broncos andthe 1987 Los Angeles Rams.


"It's frustrating to come in here and play a good football gameagainst a good football team in some pretty difficultconditions," Clemens said. "The guys played hard and gave greateffort. It is frustrating to come up short."


The strong winds forced Brady to do much of his work with hislegs in the first half. He scrambled on a 4th-and-2, keeping a17-play, 75-yard drive alive and leading to a 26-yard field goalby Steve Gostkowski for a 10-0 lead with 8:51 left in theopening half.


"Obviously, it's not very conducive to throwing the football,"Brady said of the weather. "I wish we played in a dome everyweek. That's not the case in Foxboro, but you play withwhatever conditions are out there."


New York's David Bowens broke through the New England line andblocked Chris Hansen's punt attempt. Bowens picked up his ownblock and rumbled 26 yards for the touchdown, drawing the Jetswithin 10-7 with 7:15 remaining in the second quarter.

But New England's Kelley Washington returned the favor when hebroke through and blocked Ben Graham's punt with his left arm,setting up the Patriots with a 1st-and-goal at the Jets 3-yardline.


Two plays later, Maroney dove in from 1 yard out to restore NewEngland's 10-point lead and a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Wilson was again in the right place midway through the thirdquarter when Adalius Thomas forced Chris Baker to fumble at theNew England 10. Wilson recovered the ball and thwarted thethreat in the red zone.


"I knew he was holding it loose and I was just hoping someonewould hit it and it just popped out and I said, 'Oh, here wego.' I just picked it up and tried to get what I could," Wilsonsaid.


The Jets closed within 17-10 when Mike Nugent connected on a33-yard field goal with 6:13 remaining in the fourth.

The Patriots responded by driving 55 yards in eight plays,leading to Gostkowski's 34-yard field goal and a 10-point leadwith 3:21 to play.


"I don't think you ever prove a point by losing," saidPennington, who finished 25-of-38 with 186 yards. "Our guysdon't feel that way. We're not into moral victories, that's forsure. We're highly disappointed. We always feel like that nomatter what the records are coming into a Patriots-Jets game,it's always a good game and game we have a chance to win."

 

By Mike Petraglia
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Not even Mother Nature couldput a stop to the historic run of the New England Patriots.

Eugene Wilson returned a first-quarter interception for atouchdown and recovered a key second half fumble as the Patriotsovercame a winter storm and held off the New York Jets, 20-10,at a wet and windy Gillette Stadium.


The Patriots became the first NFL team to go 14 since the MiamiDolphins in 1972 and in the process clinched home-fieldadvantage throughout the playoffs.


"I'm sure it's going to be a factor throughout," Patriotsquarterback Tom Brady said of securing home field. "I've beenin this in winter-time conditions, practiced in the snow and therain and sleet and it's nice that we have the field we do."

New England won despite a season-worst performance by Brady, whofailed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time sinceDecember 10, 2006. Brady finished 14-of-27 for 140 yards and aninterception.


Laurence Maroney picked up the slack offensively, rushing for aseason-high 104 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. It was hissecond 100-yard effort of the season and first since WeekThree.


"We're happy with our record, but right now it's all one-weekseasons," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.


A combination of Chad Pennington and Brad Smith replaced injuredquarterback Kellen Clemens following the Jets' first possessionbut could not lead New York (3-11) to the upset.


The weather overshadowed the first meeting between the twobitter rivals since Jets coach Eric Mangini claimed thatBelichick illegally videotaped signals from the sideline duringNew England's 38-14 win on September 9.


"It's good to sweep the Jets and we'll move on to Miami,"Belichick said.


Following the game, the two coaches did shake hands at midfield.

"This is a good football team that's obviously hard to beat andwe had some opportunities to put ourselves in a very goodposition and just couldn't finish those," Mangini said.

Approximately six inches of snow blanketed the tarp-coveredfield in the early-morning hours before it turned to rain twohours before kickoff. Plows were on the field six hours beforethe game to shovel away the snow.


With snow not a factor, both teams had to deal with a drivingrain storm throughout.


"That was a good football game out there today," Belichick said."I'm proud of the way the guys played. They dealt with theelements. All the other things that go into a tight game likethis, and made plays throughout the game - made some in thefourth quarter, made some in the second quarter."


The Patriots forced the first big mistake in the inclementweather. Pressured by Richard Seymour in his own end zone,Clemens attempted a desperation pass to Brad Smith.

Wilson picked off the fluttering pass and walked in from fiveyards out for his first career touchdown to give New England a7-0 lead with 9:33 remaining in the first.


"That was great, my first one ever. The ball looked normal,"Wilson said. "Today was one of those great days for me. Everyweek you see guys get those picks where the ball comes right tothem and I happened to be that guy this week."


Clemens injured his rib cage on the play and did not return.

Wilson became the 21st Patriots player to score a touchdown thisseason, tying an NFL record held by the 2000 Denver Broncos andthe 1987 Los Angeles Rams.


"It's frustrating to come in here and play a good football gameagainst a good football team in some pretty difficultconditions," Clemens said. "The guys played hard and gave greateffort. It is frustrating to come up short."


The strong winds forced Brady to do much of his work with hislegs in the first half. He scrambled on a 4th-and-2, keeping a17-play, 75-yard drive alive and leading to a 26-yard field goalby Steve Gostkowski for a 10-0 lead with 8:51 left in theopening half.


"Obviously, it's not very conducive to throwing the football,"Brady said of the weather. "I wish we played in a dome everyweek. That's not the case in Foxboro, but you play withwhatever conditions are out there."


New York's David Bowens broke through the New England line andblocked Chris Hansen's punt attempt. Bowens picked up his ownblock and rumbled 26 yards for the touchdown, drawing the Jetswithin 10-7 with 7:15 remaining in the second quarter.

But New England's Kelley Washington returned the favor when hebroke through and blocked Ben Graham's punt with his left arm,setting up the Patriots with a 1st-and-goal at the Jets 3-yardline.


Two plays later, Maroney dove in from 1 yard out to restore NewEngland's 10-point lead and a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Wilson was again in the right place midway through the thirdquarter when Adalius Thomas forced Chris Baker to fumble at theNew England 10. Wilson recovered the ball and thwarted thethreat in the red zone.


"I knew he was holding it loose and I was just hoping someonewould hit it and it just popped out and I said, 'Oh, here wego.' I just picked it up and tried to get what I could," Wilsonsaid.


The Jets closed within 17-10 when Mike Nugent connected on a33-yard field goal with 6:13 remaining in the fourth.

The Patriots responded by driving 55 yards in eight plays,leading to Gostkowski's 34-yard field goal and a 10-point leadwith 3:21 to play.


"I don't think you ever prove a point by losing," saidPennington, who finished 25-of-38 with 186 yards. "Our guysdon't feel that way. We're not into moral victories, that's forsure. We're highly disappointed. We always feel like that nomatter what the records are coming into a Patriots-Jets game,it's always a good game and game we have a chance to win."

 

By Mike Petraglia
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Not even Mother Nature couldput a stop to the historic run of the New England Patriots.

Eugene Wilson returned a first-quarter interception for atouchdown and recovered a key second half fumble as the Patriotsovercame a winter storm and held off the New York Jets, 20-10,at a wet and windy Gillette Stadium.


The Patriots became the first NFL team to go 14-0 since the MiamiDolphins in 1972 and in the process clinched home-fieldadvantage throughout the playoffs.


"I'm sure it's going to be a factor throughout," Patriotsquarterback Tom Brady said of securing home field. "I've beenin this in winter-time conditions, practiced in the snow and therain and sleet and it's nice that we have the field we do."

New England won despite a season-worst performance by Brady, whofailed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time sinceDecember 10, 2006. Brady finished 14-of-27 for 140 yards and aninterception.


Laurence Maroney picked up the slack offensively, rushing for aseason-high 104 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. It was hissecond 100-yard effort of the season and first since WeekThree.


"We're happy with our record, but right now it's all one-weekseasons," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.


A combination of Chad Pennington and Brad Smith replaced injuredquarterback Kellen Clemens following the Jets' first possessionbut could not lead New York (3-11) to the upset.


The weather overshadowed the first meeting between the twobitter rivals since Jets coach Eric Mangini claimed thatBelichick illegally videotaped signals from the sideline duringNew England's 38-14 win on September 9.


"It's good to sweep the Jets and we'll move on to Miami,"Belichick said.


Following the game, the two coaches did shake hands at midfield.

"This is a good football team that's obviously hard to beat andwe had some opportunities to put ourselves in a very goodposition and just couldn't finish those," Mangini said.

Approximately six inches of snow blanketed the tarp-coveredfield in the early-morning hours before it turned to rain twohours before kickoff. Plows were on the field six hours beforethe game to shovel away the snow.


With snow not a factor, both teams had to deal with a drivingrain storm throughout.


"That was a good football game out there today," Belichick said."I'm proud of the way the guys played. They dealt with theelements. All the other things that go into a tight game likethis, and made plays throughout the game - made some in thefourth quarter, made some in the second quarter."


The Patriots forced the first big mistake in the inclementweather. Pressured by Richard Seymour in his own end zone,Clemens attempted a desperation pass to Brad Smith.

Wilson picked off the fluttering pass and walked in from fiveyards out for his first career touchdown to give New England a7-0 lead with 9:33 remaining in the first.


"That was great, my first one ever. The ball looked normal,"Wilson said. "Today was one of those great days for me. Everyweek you see guys get those picks where the ball comes right tothem and I happened to be that guy this week."


Clemens injured his rib cage on the play and did not return.

Wilson became the 21st Patriots player to score a touchdown thisseason, tying an NFL record held by the 2000 Denver Broncos andthe 1987 Los Angeles Rams.


"It's frustrating to come in here and play a good football gameagainst a good football team in some pretty difficultconditions," Clemens said. "The guys played hard and gave greateffort. It is frustrating to come up short."


The strong winds forced Brady to do much of his work with hislegs in the first half. He scrambled on a 4th-and-2, keeping a17-play, 75-yard drive alive and leading to a 26-yard field goalby Steve Gostkowski for a 10-0 lead with 8:51 left in theopening half.


"Obviously, it's not very conducive to throwing the football,"Brady said of the weather. "I wish we played in a dome everyweek. That's not the case in Foxboro, but you play withwhatever conditions are out there."


New York's David Bowens broke through the New England line andblocked Chris Hansen's punt attempt. Bowens picked up his ownblock and rumbled 26 yards for the touchdown, drawing the Jetswithin 10-7 with 7:15 remaining in the second quarter.

But New England's Kelley Washington returned the favor when hebroke through and blocked Ben Graham's punt with his left arm,setting up the Patriots with a 1st-and-goal at the Jets 3-yardline.


Two plays later, Maroney dove in from 1 yard out to restore NewEngland's 10-point lead and a 17-7 lead at halftime.

Wilson was again in the right place midway through the thirdquarter when Adalius Thomas forced Chris Baker to fumble at theNew England 10. Wilson recovered the ball and thwarted thethreat in the red zone.


"I knew he was holding it loose and I was just hoping someonewould hit it and it just popped out and I said, 'Oh, here wego.' I just picked it up and tried to get what I could," Wilsonsaid.


The Jets closed within 17-10 when Mike Nugent connected on a33-yard field goal with 6:13 remaining in the fourth.

The Patriots responded by driving 55 yards in eight plays,leading to Gostkowski's 34-yard field goal and a 10-point leadwith 3:21 to play.


"I don't think you ever prove a point by losing," saidPennington, who finished 25-of-38 with 186 yards. "Our guysdon't feel that way. We're not into moral victories, that's forsure. We're highly disappointed. We always feel like that nomatter what the records are coming into a Patriots-Jets game,it's always a good game and game we have a chance to win."