EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey |
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) - The New England Patriots pounded the New York Jets 37-16 on Sunday to snap a two-game losing streak and reclaim the outright lead in the AFC East title race.
The victory improved the Patriots' record this season to 6-3 while dropping the Jets to 5-4, tied for second place in the division with the Buffalo Bills, who were trounced 44-7 by the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the day.
New England quarterback Tom Brady completed 26-of-39 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns, with tight end Rob Gronkowski his favorite target, hauling in eight passes for 113 yards, including two touchdown grabs, as the Patriots successfully avoided their first three-game losing streak in nine seasons.
Linebacker Rob Ninkovich and defensive end Andre Carter were the defensive standouts for New England. Ninkovic snared two interceptions off Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez and Carter was credited with 4.5 sacks.
Ninkovich returned his third-quarter pick 18 yards to the 43-yard line to set up a touchdown, then swiped a Sanchez pass intended for LaDainian Tomlinson and rambled 12 yards into the end zone for a fourth-quarter score.
"It's great to come down here and win," said Belichick, who along with Brady became the NFL's most successful coach-quarterback tandem in notching their 117th career win together, eclipsing the record set by Miami Dolphins' Don Shula and Dan Marino.
"We had so many guys step up today. They really deserved it, they were the better team tonight."
New England led 13-9 at the intermission following a first half in which both teams moved the ball but found it hard to score touchdowns.
The Patriots built up their lead with 10 points in the third quarter with the help of a pair of turnovers by the Jets.
Joe McKnight muffed the catch of a punt early in the quarter and after three different Jets had chances to secure the ball, Niko Koutouvides recovered it at the 13-yard line leading to a 27-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.
Ninkovich's first interception came on New York's next possession and led to a 57-yard drive culminating in a five-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski that made it 23-9 and the Pats were never seriously threatened on the way to victory.
"You're not going to beat New England, you're not going to beat many teams when you make the mistakes we made," said Jets coach Rex Ryan.
The win gave New England a sweep of their season series with the Jets following a 30-21 victory over them in Foxborough, leaving New York's division chase all the more difficult with head-to-head records the first tiebreaker in determining playoff berths.
"The disappointing thing is they beat us twice," said Ryan. "We think we're as good as they are but clearly we're not. We certainly weren't today."
The Pats were playing several fill-ins on a defense that ranked last in the NFL and were coming off narrow defeats to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.
"Losing two straight, you have 14 days of just feeling crappy," said Brady. "It feels good to win this one. The good teams keep getting better this time of year."
Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said Belichick challenged the team to improve during an intense week of preparation and the players stepped up.
"It's a great team win," said Wilfork. "On the road, on Sunday Night Football game, going against one of your rivals. This was a big game."
(Editing by Julian Linden)
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