From Jets, silence is golden

December 07, 2010|Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist

FOXBOROUGH — Whatever else happens in this increasingly astonishing bonus season — no one on earth pegged the Patriots for more than 10 wins — the fans will always have DJ (Destroy the Jets) Day.

We can’t ignore the context. With last night’s unimaginably decisive 45-3 victory, the Patriots have seized control of the AFC East. If they take care of business in the final four weeks, and the remaining schedule is not exactly Cupcake City, they will win the division, finish with the best record in the conference, and enjoy the spoils, which begin with a first-round bye and then include guaranteed home games in the playoffs. The Jets would then become the wild card, and they would be wise to book hotel rooms in Kansas City for the weekend of Jan. 8-9 now and avoid the rush.

That’s all well and good, but the overriding issue for the delirious Gillette Stadium crowd on this frosty evening was seeing their beloved Patriots put the mouthy Jets in their place. Winning by 1 point, or by an OT field goal, would have been good enough. Reducing the Jets to a Panthers-Bengals level was positively orgasmic. After all the hype and all the anticipation, this turned out to be the easiest Patriots victory of the season. John DiBiaso’s Everett team would have provided better competition.

Let’s start with the obvious. Tom Brady is at the top of his game. If he keeps playing like this, no one will care if his next haircut comes in 2025. Jets fans can only hope Mark Sanchez was taking notes. This was a masterpiece of a Masterclass, a Montana-like clinic on “How To Play Quarterback.’’ And just think if he could stretch the field . . .

The Brady numbers: 21 of 29, 326 yards, four TDs and, of course, zero interceptions. His passer rating after three quarters, at which time the score was 31-3, was 153.3. (He ended with 148.9.) It’s a bunch of grid hooey, of course, but it’s worth mentioning because his rating in the Thanksgiving Day game against Detroit was a “perfect’’ 158.3. It does indicate he’s playing at a rather high level.

Those four touchdown passes enabled him to pass Drew Bledsoe’s team record. He’s now got 252. Most notably, he put it up 29 times and had zero interceptions. He last threw a pick in the middle of the baseball playoffs. That’s seven games worth of taking care of the ball.