The New England Patriots did not play their best game Sunday against the New York Jets, at MetLife Stadium, but they managed to play well enough to sneak away with a 17-16 win and guaranteed first round bye in the playoffs. 

New England was without the services of a few key offensive players, which seemed to hurt the team's rhythm. Tom Brady's top target Julian Edelman was sidelined with a concussion and the team's staring power back LeGarrette Blount was ruled out with a sore shoulder.

While those two spots were tough to fill, the biggest void seemed to be created by the absence of starting left guard Dan Connolly. The team's offensive line struggled early on, allowing four sacks, and had to be regrouped during halftime.

Brady did not shine in the passing game, throwing for only 182 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He did, however, make a few plays with his legs that helped set up the few scoring drives they had.

On defense, New England was in bend but don't break mode most of the day. They allowed Jet quarterback Gino Smith to produce one of his best games of the season as he threw for 210 yards and a 20-yard touchdown to tight end Jeff Cumberland.

Smith did throw a costly pick late in the third, though, which led to New England's second touchdown of the game.

In the end, it was another big special teams play that helped the Pats secure the one point win. With just over five minutes of game time left Vince Wilfork managed to get his big paw on a 52-yard field goal attempt by Jet kicker Nick Folk.

From there the Pats took the air out of the football, running the clock down to double zeros.

New England heads into the last week of the regular season with a secured first round bye but still has plenty to play for. A home win against the Buffalo Bills will help them clinch the top spot in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. We'll see what their fate is just one week from today.

 

 

 

More From WFHN-FM/FUN 107