New England Patriots defeat Jacksonville Jaguars, 35-7

FOXBOROUGH - There was a lot to like yesterday at Gillette Stadium.

Tom Brady looked as good as he has since the 59-0 rout of Tennessee. The running game, even with Laurence Maroney bolted to the bench after another red-zone fumble, rolled up 197 yards, produced big plays, and covered tough ground.

The run defense held the Jaguars to 3.9 yards per carry and Maurice Jones-Drew to 63 yards on 18 attempts. And David Garrard was sacked twice and hit seven times.

So he...

FOXBOROUGH - Fred Taylor had a way of teasing his teammates when he was in Jacksonville. Shortly after Jack Del Rio left his post as the defensive coordinator at Carolina in 2003 to lead the Jaguars, he built a defense that would eventually rank second in the league.

Taylor admitted he used the ranking to tease his teammates.

“ ‘Hey, I would bust y’all up if I was somewhere else,’ ’’ he recalled saying to the Jaguars’ defenders. “Part of it is joking, but part of it ...

FOXBOROUGH - One thing that never changes in sports: Success is relative. Always.

A year ago, the Patriots were on the wrong end of two tiebreakers. An 11-5 record wasn’t good enough to get into the tournament. This time, they could even mail one in next week against the Texans, go 10-6, and still start preparing for a home playoff game.

“Obviously, last year we didn’t do enough to get into the postseason,’’ said coach Bill Belichick, “and this year we did, relative ...

FOXBOROUGH - The tangible evidence rested inside each Patriot’s locker yesterday afternoon, waiting for them when they walked off the field. In every stall there was a rolled-up T-shirt, wrapped with a rubber band, and stuck inside a hat. Both items had “AFC East Champions’’ printed on them.

Some players slipped on the hats. Others left the garb in their stalls. Coach Bill Belichick strode to the middle of the room.

“We’ve accomplished one of our goals,’’ Belichick t...

FOXBOROUGH - When Wes Welker was traded to the Patriots in 2007, he figured he may get an extra ball or two thrown his way just because he was joining a team quarterbacked by Tom Brady.

But Welker didn’t foresee record-setting numbers.

In his last season in Miami, Welker had a career-best 67 catches for 687 yards. In 2007 with the Patriots, he had 112 receptions, a team record, and last season he caught 111 balls. Yesterday he improved his team mark for catches in a ...

FOXBOROUGH -- On the sidelines, Tom Brady watched the final plays of the game that ultimately decided the Patriots' postseason fate. He had watched them last year, too, but in a wholly different manner. Last year, he sat at home as he had all season and hoped some other team would bail out the Patriots. This year, he stood on the sidelines, watching his backup polish off one of his most impressive games.

There will be January football again in New England, a certainty a...