Patriots vs. Jets: Patriots Prove to Be Favorites in AFC with Win over the Jets

The New England Patriots were on the verge of losing three games in a row for the first time in 10 seasons, but they traveled down to the Big Apple and absolutely waxed the New York Jets. 

The Patriots entered Sunday's divisional matchup with a total of 10 undrafted free agents starting—should anyone in their right mind actually give the Patriots a chance to win this game? You could have certainly debated that but, Bill Belichick worked his magic and escaped New York with an impressive 37-16 victory and sole possession of first place in the AFC East. 

New England played near-perfect football, as they did not turn the ball over while the Jets turned the ball over three times—and they were all costly turnovers.

Tom Brady started off shaky but simply did what elite and clutch quarterbacks do best: face adversity dead in the eyes and come up with an incredible performance. The reigning 2010 MVP completed 26 of his 39 passes for 329 yards while tossing three touchdowns and recording a stellar 118.4 quarterback rating. 

The first half was rather even, as with 1:20 left in the game, the Jets had a 9-6 lead over the Patriots and looked to have completely stole the momentum—that obviously was not the case. 

Prior to New York's touchdown with Mark Sanchez punching it from two yards out, Sanchez called a questionable timeout, giving New England essentially their third timeout back as Brady walked onto the field with two timeouts and 1:20 left in the game. 

New England's "questionable" defense rose to the occasion, as Andre Carter recorded a franchise record 4.5 sacks and Rob Ninkovich picked off Sanchez twice. 

All in all, the Jets were simply no match for the Patriots Sunday night—especially with stopping tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Jets had no answer, as the second-year tight end snagged eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. For the majority of the game, safety Eric Smith was covering Gronkowski, and he obviously was no match for the big 6'6", 265-pound tight end.

New England now improves to 6-3 as the Jets fall to second place in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills, who both have a 5-4 record. 

The Patriots may have lost two in a row against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants, but with this victory they made a statement: The New England Patriots are the team to beat in the AFC. 

For more articles like this, check out PatriotsPlus.net.