Jets vs. Pats: Why Patriots Are Primed to Win AFC East After Marquee Showdown

Sunday’s convincing 30-21 win over the New York Jets gave Tom Brady and his Patriots a certainty they haven’t had in years: the AFC East is theirs to lose.

The Patriots dominated for four quarters in Gillette and sent the Jets home with an 0-3 road record and little hope to repeat as division champions. Despite Buffalo’s 4-1 record tying the Patriots at the top of the current standings, here’s why Sunday’s win gives the Pats an inside lane on the AFC East.

A Complete Team Effort

Unless you ask Bill Belichick (who’d insist that, “We need to work on both sides of the ball” even after a Super Bowl win), the team gave their first dominant effort of the season. The deadly passing attack was there (Brady: 24/33 for 321 yards), and so too was a running game that had been all too absent from previous bouts.

The Patriots gave up 255 yards of total offense—by far the fewest in a season that had averaged 477.5 a game—and from the beginning the outcome was never in doubt.

Trending in Opposite Directions

The Patriots are 4-1 after three road games and finish the season against six losing records in their last games, with the last two being Buffalo and Washington.

The Jets have dropped three consecutive road games and face future gut-checks against the Chargers, Redskins, Eagles and Giants. Tom Brady appears to be the best shot-caller in the AFC, with 14 TDs and a 109.5 QB rating; Mark Sanchez is the definition of mediocre with an 80.4 rating, good for 18^th in the league.

Health also favors the Patriots as All-Pro linebacker Jerod Mayo will be back this season, while the Jets can expect no significant help on the way.

What, Buffalo?

With apologies to the Miami Dolphins, the only other threat to the Patriots' 2011 AFC title comes from the Buffalo Bills. It bears repeating since the Bills haven’t played meaningful football since the 20th century, but the pesky upstate team boasts home wins over three legitimate football teams from Oakland, Philadelphia and yes, New England.

The Bills have an identical scoring differential on the season (plus-44) as the Patriots, so why can’t they compete for the division?

The Patriots' true backbone is Bill Belichick—a man who devised the most consistent system for winning in the modern salary cap era. The Bills are lead by Chan Gailey, who has never won a playoff game and owns a losing all-time track record (26-27).

So, with all due respect to the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, better luck next year.