All week long, you couldn’t pick up a newspaper or turn on your television without hearing someone from the New York Jets talking trash about how they were going to beat the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Playoff matchup. For the most part, the Patriots stayed quiet as head coach Bill Belichick put the kibosh on any smack talk from his team.

Well the Jets backed up their trash talk on Sunday as they stunned the Patriots 28-21in front of a sold-out crowd at Gillette Stadium and nationally-televised audience.

For the Patriots, who rolled through the season at 14-2 and hadn’t lost at home all year, the season is over. It’s also the third straight loss for quarterback Tom Brady and Belichick in the playoffs.

The Jets get back to the AFC Championship for the second straight year and will face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field next Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on CBS.

The Patriots won the opening coin toss and deferred until the second half giving the Jets the ball. After two plays the Jets got a first down but the Patriots stopped them on the next three plays to force a punt who would takeover on their own 16.

Things were looking good as the Patriots began to roll down the field as they went 30 yards on their first two plays. They continued to move the ball down the field and 1st and 10 at the Jets 28, Brady tried to throw a screen to Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis but was intercepted by by Jets linebacker David Harris. He returned it 58 yards down the Pats 12 as Alge Crumpler made the tackle and saved a touchdown.

The Patriots defense helped Brady out though as they stopped two Jets running plays for a loss of eight yards. And after LaDainian Tomlinson was stopped on third down, Jets kicker Nick Folk missed the field goal wide left by a foot.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Patriots would drive down the field and get on the board first with a Shayne Graham 34 yard field goal. But that would be the last time the Patriots would hold the lead in the game.

The Jets would get on the board early in the second quarter when Mark Sanchez hit Tomlinson for a seven-yard square. The score would remain that way until late in the second quarter when the Jets got the ball back after a blotched fake punt by Patrick Chung at his own 38. Sanchez and the Jets made them pay for the mistake as it took them just four plays to get into the end zone as Sanchez found Braylan Edwards for a 15 yard touchdown pass.

Trailing 14-3, the Patriots were unable to score on their first two drives. The good thing for them was the Jets weren’t able to either. On the Pats third drive, Brady would get them back to within in eight with a two yard touchdown pass to Crumpler and two point conversion by Sammy Morris.

But the Jets answered quickly as they went down the field in five plays culminated by a great diving catch by Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone. After that score, the Patriots held the ball for the next seven and a half minutes but walked away with nothing after Brady’s pass to Deion Branch fell incomplete on 4th down.

The Patriots got the ball back with 3:29 remaining and kicked a field after the two-minute warming. They went for an offside kick but Antonio Cromartie returned it 25 yards to the Patriots 20. Two plays later, Shonn Greene found the end zone to make it 28-14. New England would go down the field in seven plays and score a touchdown on Brady’s 13 yard pass to Branch.

They were unable to recover the ensuing onsides kick and that’s how the game would end with the Jets celebrating on the field.

This was definitely not the result we were expecting. The Patriots, while looking good at times, really were unable to figure out the defensive schemes being thrown at them. Plus when they did have an answer, the defense was unable to make the big stop. And that’s what ultimately hurt the Patriots in the end.

We all expected them to win the Super Bowl and now we’ll be sitting here wondering what happened. Boston Red Sox spring training can’t start soon enough.

Jets at Patriots Gamebook.  This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Game Recap via team website.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Turning Points of the Game

The Patriots had the ball on 4th down at their own 38 yard line with 1:16 left in the first half. They lined up to punt the ball but decided to go for the fake that was called by Patrick Chung, who ended up botching the snap. He was stopped and four plays later the Jets were in the end zone to go up 14-3.

Offensive Players of the Game

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez wasn’t spectacular but was 16-of-25 for 199 yards and threw three touchdown passes.

Defensive Player of the Game

Shawn Ellis had five tackles including two big sacks of Tom Brady for a total loss of 16 yards.

Game Notes

The starters for the Patriots were:

On offense:

LT: Matt Light
LG: Logan Mankins
C: Dan Koppen
RG: Dan Connolly
RT: Sebastian Vollmer
TE: Rob Gronkowski
TE: Aaron Hernandez
QB: Tom Brady
WR: Brandon Tate
WR: Julian Edelman
RB: Danny Woodhead

On defense:

DE: Gerard Warren
NT: Vince Wilfork
DE: Brandon Deaderick
OLB: Eric Moore
ILB: Jerod Mayo
ILB: Gary Guyton
OLB: Rob Ninkovich
CB: Devin McCourty
CB: Kyle Arrington
S: Patrick Chung
S: Brandon Meriweather

Inactives for the game:

Patriots

WR Taylor Price
RB  Fred Taylor
RB Thomas Clayton
CB Tony Carter
LB Marques Murrell
OL Rich Ohrnberger
T Mark LeVoir
DL Myron Pryor

 

Jets

WR Brad Smith WR
FB John Conner FB
LB Vernon Gholston LB
DT Jarron Gilbert DT
TE Matthew Mulligan TE
TE Jeff Cumberland TE
 DT Marcus Dixon DT
QB Kellen Clemens, third quarterback

The Patriots overall franchise record is 401-363-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXIII, XXXIX) in 6 appearances. Before this season, they last appeared in the Playoffs in 2009 losing at home to Baltimore, 33-14.  They last appeared in a Super Bowl in 2007 losing to the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.  They won the AFC Conference Championship that season with playoff wins over Jacksonville and San Diego.

New England is 11-3 at home in the playoffs.  Besides Sunday’s loss, the other losses were last season to Baltimore and in 1978 to Houston.

The Patriots are 21-15 overall in the playoffs including 8-6 in AFC Divisional Round.

Before Sunday’s loss, they had beaten the Jets twice in the playoffs.  In the 1985 Wild Card round, they won in New York 26-14 on their way to the franchises first Super Bowl appearance and in the 2006 Wild Card round they won 37-16 in Foxboro.

Bill Belichick is 16-10 in his career against the Jets. He is 15-9 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes one playoff win in 2006.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 162-94 in 15 NFL seasons. He is 126-50 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 15-6 in the playoffs, 14-5 as the head coach of the Patriots in the postseason. When you combine the regular season and postseason Belichick is 177-100.

Belichick after a bye week in the playoffs in 4-1, he is 9-2 after a bye week in the regular season.

This is Tom Brady’s 11th NFL season, he is 14-5 against the Jets, including 1-1 in the playoffs.

Overall Brady is 111-32 as a starting QB and is 14-5 in the playoffs for an overall record of 125-37.

Brady played in his 19th career playoff game in a New England uniform. Only Tedy Bruschi (22) and Troy Brown (20) have played in more playoff games for the Patriots.

Brady was picked off for the first time since October 17 on the Patriots first drive of the game.

Brady threw two touchdown passes which gives him 30 for his playoff career. Those 30 TD passes puts him into a tie for 5th with Terry Bradshaw on the NFL’s all-time playoff touchdown passing list.

It was also his 17th straight game throwing a touchdown pass in the playoffs. That’s good for second all-time behind Brett Favre who had 20.

Alge Crumpler’s 28-yard reception was his longest in a Patriots uniform and his second longest in a playoff game.

It was also the third straight game that Crumpler had caught a touchdown pass from Brady.

Deion Branch’s TD catch was his 4th (three receiving, one rushing) in the playoffs as a member of the Patriots. That ties him for third on the Patriots all-time list with Corey Dillon.

Rob Gronkowski’s 37 yard catch in the third quarter was his longest of the season.

Sixteen Patriots made their career playoff debuts tonight: S Sergio Brown, DL Landon Cohen, OL Dan Connolly, LB Jermaine Cunningham, DL Brandon Deaderick, LB Dane Fletcher, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, TE Rob Gronkowski, TE Aaron Hernandez, DL Kyle Love, CB Devin McCourty, P Zoltan Mesko, DL Eric Moore, OL Quinn Ojunnaka, LB Brandon Spikes, and WR Brandon Tate.

Eleven of the Patriots’ 22 starters were making their first career playoff start: Tate, Connolly, Gronkowski, Hernandez, Deaderick, Moore, McCourty, RB Danny Woodhead, LB Rob Ninkovich, CB Kyle Arrington, and S Patrick Chung.

Linebacker Eric Moore injured his hamstring and linebacker Rob Ninkovich injured his knee.

Offensive tackle Todd Light said after the game he’s had a “great 10 years” as a Patriot. Light is a free agent at the end of the season.

Deion Branch said after the game that some of the Jets players were still classless after their win.

Wes Welker was benched by Bill Belichick before the game. He did get into the game as the punt returner on the first series but sat out the Patriots first offensive series.

After being scratched, running back Fred Taylor is unsure of his future.

Punter Zoltan Mesko said that Patrick Chung has had the green light to run a fake punt all season long.

Rex Ryan is 20-12 in his 2nd season as a head coach.  For the second season the Jets are an AFC Wild Card team. He is 4-1 in the playoffs for an overall record of 24-13.

Mark Sanchez is 18-12 as a starting QB and is 4-1 in the playoffs for an overall record of 22-13.  Sanchez was the Jets 1st round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Southern California.

Bill Leavy was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 30, with a WNW wind of 14 MPH which made it feel like 19.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick; quarterback Tom Brady; Jets head coach Rex Ryan

FINAL AFC East Standings

• Patriots – 14-2/5-1
• Jets  – 11-5/4-2
• Dolphins – 7-9/2-4
• Bills – 4-12/1-5

Next Game

The Patriots are done for the season. And with a potential lockout coming up, there’s no telling when the Patriots will step on the field again in 2011.

Photo credit: Elsa-Getty Images

This Week

The New England Patriots host the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in the AFC Divisional Playoff.

The Patriots (14-2), AFC East champions, are 8-0 at the Razor, 5-1 against the AFC East and 10-2 in the conference. The Jets (12-5), an AFC Wild Card, are 6-2 on the road, 4-2 in the division and 9-3 against the AFC.

The Line/Prediction

As of Thursday the line on the game from Yahoo! Sports is Patriots minus 9. The over/under is 45. My prediction is Patriots 34, Jets, 21. Give the points (Patriots) and take the over. I am 9-5-2 against the spread and 12 of 16 on calling the over/under in 2010.

Tickets

The Patriots are reporting the game as a sell out. It is the 181st consecutive sellout dating back to the 1994 season opener. The record includes preseason, regular season and playoff games.

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from weather.com.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking and stadium information, parking map and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgating America. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good.  And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or by theme. Whether it’s at the game, a bar or someones house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS is televising the game nationally and Jim Nantz will do the play-by-play while Phil Simms will handle the game analysis. You can look here for your local affiliate.

There is no DirecTV Channel designation.

Here’s a wonderful Wikipedia page on all the rules for NFL TV broadcasts including explaining the flex scheduling, blackout policies and commercial breaks.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color. It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh and the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. along the network. The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours.

If you are outside of the broadcast area of the stations on the Patriots Radio Network you can purchase NFL Field Pass which allows you to listen to any NFL game live. You can also pick which teams broadcasters you want to listen to.

All NFL games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The Patriots Radio Network call is available on Channel 123, the Jets Radio Network has Bob Wischusen calling play-by-play and former Jet Marty Lyons does the color. Their call is available on Channel 125. XM Satellite Radio also carries all the NFL games.  The Jets feed for this game can be heard on XM103, the Patriots on XM102.

Westwood One is also carrying this game to a nationwide audience.  They can be heard on Sirius 124 and XM 124.

Patriots All-Access

Patriots All-Access features behind the scenes looks, interviews and breakdowns with head coach Bill Belichick and in-depth features on the team.  It’s hosted by Steve Burton of WBZ-TV (Boston) and airs weekly in most New England television markets.

Boston – TV 38 and  Providence – WNAC Friday at 7p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m.; Manchester – WMUR Saturday at midnight; WMTW in Portland Saturday at 5 a.m.; WCTX – Hartford Saturday at 5 p.m.; WFXQ – Springfield Saturday at 7 p.m. and Bangor – WVII Sunday at 11 a.m.

You can also watch it anytime on the team website.

Continue reading the preview by clicking on the read more button if you’re on the home page.

Last Week

The Patriots had a bye week as the AFC’s top seed. The Jets beat the Colts, 17-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in the AFC Wild Card Playoff.

History

• The all-time series is tied at 51-51-1 record including playoffs.
• The teams have only met twice in the playoffs with New England winning both games.
• The Patriots are 27-24-1 as the home team in the series.
• The lone tie (24-24) in the series came on October 2, 1966, when both clubs were part of the AFL.
• New England is 7-3 (including playoffs) vs the Jets at home since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.
• The two teams last met in Week 13 at the Razor and it was a 45-3 Patriots rout.

Game Notes

Patriots Team Notes:

Here is the Patriots Roster; Depth Chart and Injury List for the game.

2010 Patriots schedule/results

The Patriots overall franchise record is 401-362-9. They have won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXIII, XXXIX) in 6 appearances. They last appeared in the Playoffs in 2009 losing at home to Baltimore, 33-14.  They last appeared in a Super Bowl in 2007 losing to the New York Giants 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.  They won the AFC Conference Championship that season with playoff wins over Jacksonville and San Diego.

The Patriots are 21-14 overall in the playoffs including 8-5 in AFC Divisional Round.

They have beaten the Jets twice in the playoffs.  In the 1985 Wild Card round they won in New York 26-14 on their way to the franchises first Super Bowl appearance and in the 2006 Wild Card round they won 37-16 in Foxboro.

New England is 11-2 at home in the playoffs.  The only losses were last season to Baltimore and in 1978 to Houston.

The Patriots have won the AFC East 8 times since 2000.

New England is just the third team in NFL history to score 30 or more points for at least 8 consecutive weeks.

Patriots set a NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season with 10.

Patriots QBs had the fewest INTs in the NFL (5).

New England was 8-0 at home. The fifth time in team history they’ve gone undefeated at home.  All have come since 2003.

Since 2001, New England is a NFL best 83-23 in games after November 1st.

Since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, the Patriots are 22-13 vs the Jets.

The Patriots finished plus 28 in turnover differential for the season, first in the NFL.  They had given up 5 INTs and 5 fumbles, while picking off opponents 25 times and recovering 13 fumbles.

The Patriots had fewest turnovers in the league (10).  That is a new NFL record.

Based on points per game, the Patriots offense finished ranked 1st (32.4) in the league, while the defense was 8th (19.6).

In the final five weeks of the year the Patriots defense improved from 22nd to 8th in points allowed by trimming over 5 ppg off their average.

New England is 6-1 vs Top 10 defenses in 2010.  The Jets are ranked 6th.

Patriots have won 8 consecutive games against teams with winning records.

BoDog list the Patriots odds of winning the Super Bowl at 8:5.  Falcons and Packers are 11:2; Steelers 6:1; Bears 8:1; Ravens 9:1; Jets 12:1 and Seahawks 40:1.

Patriots Staff Notes:

This is the link to head coach Bill Belichick’s Wednesday press conference on the Jets.

Bill Belichick is 16-9 in his career against the Jets. He is 15-8 against them as the head coach in New England and that includes one playoff win in 2006.

Overall in his NFL career Belichick is 162-94 in 15 NFL seasons. He is 126-50 with New England and 36-44 with Cleveland. He is 15-5 in the playoffs, 14-4 as the head coach of the Patriots in the postseason. When you combine the regular season and postseason Belichick is 177-99.

Belichick after a bye week in the playoffs in 4-0, he is 9-2 after a bye week in the regular season.

Patriots Players Notes:

This is Tom Brady’s 11th NFL season, he is 14-4 against the Jets, including 1-0 in the playoffs.

Overall Brady is 111-32 as a starting QB and is 14-4 in the playoffs for an overall record of 125-36. Brady is a 5 time Pro Bowl QB, was NFL MVP in 2007 and won 3 Super Bowls while twice being named the games MVP. He was recently named as the 21st Greatest Player in NFL History by the NFL Network.

He extended his NFL record to 9 consecutive games with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.

Brady’s 261 TD passes in his career ties him for 10th all-time with former Seattle QB Dave Kreig.

Brady lead the NFL with 36 TD passes and only 4 INTs.

He was just the 6th QB in a 16 game season to have at least 1 TD pass every game.

Brady had gone 11 starts without an INT (335 attempts).  His last one was a end of regulation Hail Mary against the Ravens. This is a regular season record.  Anything he does in playoffs will have no bearing on the record.

Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for December.

Brady is also nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Year Award.  He is nominated along with San Diego QB Phillip Rivers and Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers.  You can cast your vote until Friday January 28th at 9 p.m.

EPSN’s Trent Dilfer expects Brady “to unleash hell on the Jets” after all the comments.

CB Devin McCourty is one of five finalists for NFL Rookie of the Year.  It’s a fan vote, so vote early, vote often!

LB Brandon Spikes returns to play this weekend after a four game league suspension.

NT Vince Wilfork was fined $10,000 for his hit on Dolphins QB Chad Henne in Week 17.

DL Brandon Deadrick has had his suspension lifted by the team.

DL Mike Wright was placed on IR and DL Atiyyah Ellison was released.

The NFL Hall of Fame finalists have been announced and former Patriot and Jet RB Curtis Martin is among them.

Was Wes Welker dissing Rex Ryan in his press conference on Thursday?

What did Joe Theismann call Danny Woodhead?

The Patriots have 2 New England natives on the roster (DL Ron Brace -Worcester MA and TE Aaron Hernandez – Bristol CT) and they have 5 players who played for a college in New England or a Big East member team. They are: DL Ron Brace -BC; CB Darius Butler – UConn; OL Dan Koppen – BC; CB Devin McCourty – Rutgers; OL Quinn Ojinnaka – Syracuse and LB Brandon McGowan – Maine (IR). . DL Vince Wilfork played for Miami when they were a conference member, DL Mike Wright played for Cincinnati and WR Deion Branch played at Louisville but they were in Conference USA at that time.

News from this weeks opponent

Jets Team Notes:

Here is the Jets Roster; Depth Chart and Injury List.

2010 Jets schedule/results

The Jets all time record is 351-413-8 and they are 11-12 in the playoffs, with their last appearance before this season coming after the the 2009.  Last season they lost to Indianapolis 30-17 in the AFC Championship Game. The Jets last appeared in the Super Bowl following the 1968 season and defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 to win Super Bowl III. At that time it a considered the biggest upset in sports history.

They beat Indianapolis on the road last week in the Wild Card round.

New York has lost 13 of the last 17 meetings against New England including 1 playoff match up.

The Jets are 3-7 all-time at Gillette Stadium. Overall as the road team in the series they are 18-23.

The Jets were plus 9 in turnover differential for the season.  They have given up 14 INTs and 7 fumbles, while picking off opponents 12 times and recovering 18 fumbles.

Based on points per game, the Jets offense finished ranked 14th (22.9) in the league, while the defense was 6th (19.0).

Jets Staff Notes:

Hear what New York head coach Rex Ryan had to say about the game in a conference call with the New England media.

Rex Ryan is 20-12 in his 2nd season as a head coach.  For the second season the Jets are an AFC Wild Card team. He is 3-1 in the playoffs for an overall record of 23-13.

Ryan takes a swipe at Brady.  Then says it’s about him vs. Belichick and “it’s personal”.

Ryan thinks Brady was taunting the Jets sideline in Week 13.

Jets Players Notes:

Mark Sanchez is 18-12 as a starting QB and is 3-1 in the playoffs for an overall record of 21-13.  Sanchez was the Jets 1st round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Southern California.

There is a huge amount of pressure on Sanchez.

The Jets players have been waiting a month and half for this chance.

Former Patriots OL Damien Woody is now on the IR and out for the playoffs.

Jets CB Antonio Cromartie hates Tom Brady he said ever since 2006.

New York hopes RB Shonn Green can come on strong Sunday.

Former UCONN player LB Cody Brown is on the Jets practice squad.

There are 7 other players on the roster from current or former Big East and New England based Universities. CD Darrelle Revis (Pittsburgh); LB Jamaal Westerman (Rutgers); OL Damien Woody (IR – Boston College); DE Mike Devito (Maine), OL Vladimir Ducasse (UMass); S James Ihedigbo (UMass); TE Matthew Mulligan (Maine).

Next Week

If the Patriots beat the Jets they will host the winner of the Baltimore Ravens/Pittsburgh Steelers game in the AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Sunday January 23rd at 6:30 p.m. on CBS.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

While talking about the New England Patriots while filming a show for the NFL Network, what did Joe Theismann say to Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci and Mike Mayock to get them on the floor laughing hysterically?

Well you’ll have to watch the video to find out.

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No, he didn’t! No he didn’t!

According to Deadspin, New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker made 11 foot references during his press conference on Thursday afternoon. You may remember they were the ones to break the whole Rex Ryan foot fetish scandal back in late December.

Watch below to see what I mean.

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Earlier in the week, the New York Jets head coach took a few shots at Patriots QB Tom Brady and also head coach Bill Belichick, who responded back that he won’t be drawn into it and told the Patriots to keep their mouths shut. Then of course there is Jets cornerback Antonio, I lost count of how many kids I have, Cromartie saying he hates Brady and thinks he’s an ass****.

So with Belichick saying the Patriots stay focused on winning and then Welker’s press conference on Thursday, do you think he may have been taking a few shots at Ryan for the whole foot fetish thing?

Yeah I thought so too.

Photo credit: Barstool Sports NYC Video credit: Deadspin.com

New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork tweeted out a link to this video below entitled New England Patriots Rap. I do have to say that it’s pretty dang good.

Everybody’s favorite Patriots fan, Fitzy, is back for the postseason and this week’s preview is all about the New England Patriots and New York Jets matchup on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

And be sure to head over to TownieNews.com to check out Fitzy’s preview of all the NFL Divisional Round playoff games this weekend.

New England Patriots CB Devin McCourty is one of five finalists to be named NFL Pepsi Rookie of the Year in a vote of the fans.  McCourty, the Patriots first round pick from Rutgers (27th overall), earned his first Pro Bowl selection as rookie by leading the team in interceptions with seven and turning into a pure shutdown corner, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a while in Foxboro.

He started all 16 games and made 82 tackles, defensed 17 passes and had one sack in addition to the INTs.

Along with McCourty, others selected for the vote are: St. Louis QB Sam Bradford; Detroit DL Ndamukong Suh; Cleveland CB Joe Haden and Tampa Bay WR Mike Williams.

You can vote for McCourty from now until 9 p.m. on February 1st.  The winner will be announced on Thursday February 3rd in Dallas, TX, site of Super Bowl XLV.

McCourty’s twin brother Jason, who started on the opposite corner with him at Rutgers, is now playing in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Photo credit: Getty Images

Playoff tickets for the New England Patriots home game on Sunday January 16th at Gillette Stadium will go on sale to the general public Friday January 7th at noon through Ticketmaster.

There has been a limited number of seats held back for public sale.

All tickets will be handed through Ticketmaster there will be no sales of tickets at the Gillette Stadium Ticket Office.  To get tickets you can go online to the Ticketmaster website or call 800.745.3000.  Visa debit or credit cards will be the ONLY accepted means of payment.  There has been no announced price point on the tickets.

There will be a 6 ticket limit per person.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The New England Patriots (14-2) put a wonderful sweet cherry on top of yet another great season for the franchise on Sunday by beating down their AFC East rival the Miami Dolphins (7-9), 38-7 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.  The 14th win of the year marks the fourth time in 11 seasons under Bill Belichick that the team has had at least 14 wins.  Two of the three previous times they went to and won the Super Bowl.  The other time, we don’t speak of.

While the Patriots should be allowed to bask in the memory of their fine season, it was by far a different direction that the Dolphins went in.  In his third season, and after winning the Brady-less AFC East in 2008, CT native and Miami head coach Tony Sparano may actually be taking his talents somewhere other than South Beach in 2011.  After three seasons, the Fish are 25-23 under Sparano with one division title; a playoff loss and not a whole lot more to show.  After a promising 11-5 start he has led the team to back-to-back 7-9 seasons.  But alas, it’s not all his fault as former VP in charge of Football Operations Bill Parcells and General Manager Tim Ireland failed to find in some manner or form to find the franchise’s next quarterback.  For a team who knew how to select Hall of Famer Dan Marino, it’s shocking that they haven’t been able to find someone who could carry his towel since he retired after the 1999 season.

With that said lets take a look at how the Patriots wrapped up their season and headed into a playoff bye week as the top seed in the AFC.

In a game that meant nothing, QB Tom Brady took another step toward locking in his second MFL MVP award by throwing for 2 more TDs while not being intercepted for the 9th consecutive game.  When he left the game, his new NFL record for attempts without an INT were increased to 335. While he was in the game Brady was 10 of 16 for 199 yards with the 2 TDs and no INTs.  He also was not sacked.  Both of Brady’s TD passes went to TE’s one to rookie Rob Gronkowski who got his 10th TD catch of the year a new Patriots rookie record and one to the veteran Alge Crumpler, who afterward gave away the ball to a kid in the stands.

Also mixed in there before Brady was relieved for good in the third quarter was a 1 yard TD run by BenJarvis Green-Ellis giving him a team leading 13 TDs on the season, a 28 yard FG by Shane Graham and a Patriots team record 94 yard punt return by Julian Edelman just mere seconds before halftime.  With the aid of the Edelman return, the 9th non-offensive TD scored this season by the Patriots, the went into the locker room with a comfortable lead of 24-0.

After Brady left with a 31-0 lead in the third, second string QB Brian Hoyer came in and played well for a guy who never sees the field. He was 7 of 13 for 122 yards and threw his first NFL TD pass to rookie WR Brandon Tate who made a sensational diving catch in the end zone for the score.  Hoyer never saw it though as he got planted by a late hit and was spitting Field Turf pellets out of his mouth.

The Dolphins finally managed to get on the board with a late fourth quarter score when QB Tyler Thigpen, who replaced starter Chad Henne, threw a 21 yard TD pass to WR Devon Bess with 2:11 left to play and the game well in hand.

The Patriots did see their games with no turnovers stopped at 8 when RB Danny Woodhead fumbled the ball in the first quarter.  It was Woodhead’s first fumble of the season, the Patriots first turnover since a Hoyer pick in the Cleveland loss and just their 10th giveaway of the year. The Patriots though did get two takeaways.  Rookie CB Devin McCourty grabbed his 7th INT of the year when he stepped in front of a Henne pass on the games opening drive.  And Miami RB Ricky Williams coughed the ball up when DL Eric Moore stripped it and and LB Rob Ninkovich fell on it in the 2nd quarter.

So now the players will get Tuesday off, then return on Wednesday to get ready for their first playoff game.  The NFL announced the game will be on Sunday January 16th at 4:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium against the lowest remaining AFC seed.  Depending on the outcomes of this weeks up coming Wild Card weekend battles the Patriots could play the (4) Chiefs, (5) Ravens or (6) Jets. They wouldn’t play Indianapolis or Pittsburgh until the AFC title game on Sunday January 23rd.

Dolphins at Patriots Gamebook.  This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Game Recap via team website.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below.

Turning Points of the Game

After New England forces Miami into a 3 out in a 17-0 game before half, Julian Edelman breaks a 94 yard punt return for a TD.  If they weren’t then as of that the Fish were fried.

Offensive Players of the Game

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 20 carries for 80 yards and a TD.  He also eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the season.

Defensive Player of the Game

NT Vince Wilfork who had 3 tackles and 2 sacks and was the ultimate run stopper up the middle.

Game Notes

The starters for the Patriots were:

On offense:

LT: Matt Light
LG: Logan Mankins
C: Dan Koppen
RG: Ryan Wendell
RT: Sebastian Vollmer
TE: Alge Crumpler
TE: Rob Gronkowski
QB: Tom Brady
WR: Brandon Tate
WR: Julian Edelman
RB: BenJarvus Green-Ellis

On defense:

DE: Kyle Love
NT: Vince Wilfork
DE: Gerard Warren
OLB: Rob Ninkovich
ILB: Jerod Mayo
ILB: Gary Guyton
OLB: Eric Moore
CB: Devin McCourty
CB: Kyle Arrington
S: Patrick Chung
S: Brandon Meriweather

Inactives for the game:

Patriots

WR Wes Welker
WR Deion Branch
OLB Tully Banta-Cain
DL Brandon Deaderick
OL Dan Connolly
DL Ron Brace
DL Mike Wright
TE Aaron Hernandez

Dolphins

TE Anthony Fasano
OT Lydon Murtha
CB Nolan Carroll
DL Chris Baker
DL Ryan Baker
OL Allen Barbre
LB Mike Rivera
WR Julius Pruitt

The spread (Patriots minus 4) was covered as was the over/under (43 1/2).  I am now 9-5-2 vs the spread and 12 of 16 calling the under/over.

The Patriots saw their NFL record seven consecutive games with 30 plus points scored and no turnovers end when Danny Woodhead fumbled in the first quarter.

New England is just the third team in NFL history to score 30 or more points for at least 8 consecutive weeks.

The Patriots are now 41-50 vs Miami in the overall series.

New England swept the season series from Miami for first time since 2007.

Patriots set a NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season with 10.

Patriots QBs had the fewest INTs in the NFL (5).

New England was 8-0 at home. The fifth time in team history they’ve gone undefeated at home.  All have come since 2003.

Since 2002, the Patriots are 34-5 in December games.

Bill Belichick teams are now 13-11 overall vs Miami.  He was 0-2 vs the Dolphins as head coach in Cleveland.

Belichick now has 177 wins10th all-time.

Tom Brady is now 12-6 vs Dolphins in his career and overall he is 44-11 vs the AFC East.

Brady won his 28th consecutive home game.

He extended his NFL record to 9 consecutive games with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.

Brady’s 2 TD passes give him 261 in his career he is now 10th all-time tied with former Seattle QB Dave Kreig.

Brady now has a league leading 36 TD passes and only 4 INTs.

Brady had at least 1 TD pass in all 16 games.  He is just the 6th QB in a 16 game season to have at least 1 TD pass every game.

Brady has gone 11 starts without an INT (335 attempts).  His last one was a end of regulation Hail Mary against the Ravens.

New England is now plus 28 in turnover differential after picking off Henne once and recovering a fumble.. The Patriots also had one giveaway a fumble by Woodhead.

Rookie TE Rob Gronkowski had caught his 10th TD pass of the season setting a Patriots rookie record.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis finished the season with 1,008 yards.  He is the 11th Patriot to get 1,000 yards and first since Corey Dillon in 2004.

TE Alge Crumpler caught a TD pass for the second consecutive game.

LB Rob Ninkovich and NT Vince Wilfork each had their first career 2 sack game.

Rookie CB Devin McCourty tied for the league lead in INTs with 7 with Baltimore S Ed Reed and Philadelphia CB Asante Samuel.

Rookie WR Taylor Price made his NFL debut.

K Shayne Graham finished the year 12 for 12 on FGA’s since replacing injured K Stephen Gostkowski.

WR Wes Welker did not play and appeared to be a healthy scratch. He has catches in 78 consecutive games played, 64 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

RB Danny Woodhead left the game in the first quarter with a head injury he did not return.

DL Myron Pryor left the game with an eye injury he did not return.

Terry McAulay was the game referee.  The temp at kickoff was 47, cloudy with occasional rain.

In the 2011 NFL Draft New England has a ton of high picks.  Which include the #17 overall pick from Oakland and the 33rd from Carolina.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick; Patriots QB Tom Brady and Patriots NT Vince “Sponge Bob” Wilfork post game press conferences.

This Week in the AFC East

Jets beat the Bills, 38-7

FINAL AFC East Standings

• Patriots – 14-2/5-1
• Jets  – 11-5/4-2
• Dolphins – 7-9/2-4
• Bills – 4-12/1-5

Next Game

The Patriots have the week off.

On January 16th they will host  the lowest remaining AFC seed amongst (4) Kansas City, (5) Baltimore or (6) New York at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA at 4:30 p.m.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Photo credit: Elsa – Getty Images

This Week

The New England Patriots host the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

It is the preseason opener for both teams.

Here are the rosters for the Saints and Patriots.

Tickets

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster. You can check the availability here.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in Foxboro make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from weather.com.

Click for all the game day information including stadium directions, parking and stadium information, parking map and a Gillette Stadium seating chart.

Tailgating

Here’s a bunch of different tailgating recipes from Tailgaiting America. There’s something there for everyone and every type of meal or snack. I’ve tried some of the recipes and they’re very good. And with tailgating many people enjoy some adult beverages. With that in mind check out Drink Nation for how to make all sorts of great drinks. You can look things up by name, ingredient(s) or by theme. Whether it’s at the game, a bar or someone’s house moderation is always the key to a great time. Please don’t drink and drive and designate a sober driver. Remember You Drink, You Drive, You Lose.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

WBZ-TV in Boston is televising the game to a regional audience. Here are a list of the 2010 New England Patriots Preseason Television Network affiliates.

Radio

The Patriots Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBZ-FM, 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color.

Other News

2010 Patriots schedule/results

Next Week

The Patriots travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Thursday at 8 p.m.