Dodge ball

``It shouldn't have been that close," said safety Rodney Harrison. ``That was just terrible by us. Breakdowns. A lack of concentration. We can't go into next week doing those type of things, because Denver will definitely beat you."

Linebacker Mike Vrabel added that the team had a lesson to learn: ``When you get up, you have to keep people down and bury them."

A clock-chewing, fourth-quarter drive that covered 8:15 was crucial to the Patriots' cause. But still, the result wasn't secure until inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi -- playing for the first time since breaking his right wrist July 31 -- intercepted a pass at the Patriots' 21-yard line with 15 seconds left, as the Jets were attempting a last-gasp drive with no timeouts.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who faced his former defensive coordinator Eric Mangini for the first time and exchanged a quick handshake with him afterward , called it a ``typical kind of AFC East game."

With victories in their first two games of the season, the Patriots get a quick jump on their division foes. After the Bills beat the Dolphins on the road yesterday, the AFC East now looks like this: Patriots 2-0, Bills 1-1, Jets 1-1, Dolphins 0-2. Both of the Patriots' wins are in the division and yesterday's result is their seventh straight victory over the Jets.

The Patriots also reached another franchise milestone, improving to 357-356-9 all time and marking the first time the club eclipsed the .500 mark since the end of the 1968 season when the Boston Patriots' record stood at 60-59-9.

The Patriots were in command at the half.

Corey Dillon's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter opened a 7-0 edge, and culminated a drive in which receiver Chad Jackson (29 yards) and tight end Benjamin Watson (14 yards) had key receptions. On the team's next possession, back-to-back 29-yard receptions by tight ends David Thomas and Daniel Graham ultimately led to Stephen Gostkowski's 20-yard field goal, giving the Patriots a 10-0 edge 1:45 into the second quarter.