Duke of New York, A-Number 1

WEEK 13
Patriots 45, Jets 3 (12/6/'10): As my nephew Pete and I high-fived everyone around us, touchdown after touchdown, interception after interception, we kept saying (OK, shouting)... "Don't let up! Keep pouring it on them!"

Pour it on they did. The Patriots played a huge game against a very good opponent about as well as you possibly can. The final score, which it rarely does, perfectly reflected the game. The entire game. The Pats looked to remind the bigger than life Jets and their coach that they were still the Duke of New York and A-Number 1 of the AFC East. Message sent.

WEEK 13: No let-up.

There were so many key moments in the game, as there have been all season. Brady had four more touchdowns and looked championship sharp. BenJarvis, who is becoming money at the goal line, punched in two more scores. Welker, Gronk, Woodhead, Branch, Tate, Hernandez all came up big. The D had three picks and were on the ball all night, delivering hit after hit. Young players McCourty, Mayo, Chung, Cunningham, and Spikes played like veterans.

But the biggest moment came at the start of the fourth quarter after the Pats scored to go up 38-3. As the stadium fell into total delirium, Belichick called the entire team together on the sideline. Assistant coaches motioned to the extra point team to hustle over to hear the sideline chat (Matt Light, as is his wont, was last. He should have to buy dinner for the team in Chicago this weekend). The coach, instead of feeling satisfied or cocky with a five-touchdown lead like much of the 69,000 watching, implored his team to finish the game strong.

The Pats did finish strong, following the coach's speech by picking off Sanchez (again) and putting up another touchdown. The D held the Jets out of the endzone right through to the final gun. It was an impressive finish. Just as impressive as the way they started.

The Jets won the toss and decided to let Brady take the field first. It was a sound decision by Mt. Ryan, giving his team the ball to start the second half. The strategy proved useless after Brady and the Pats had stomped all over New York for two quarters. We watched from our seats as the Pats offense brought wave after wave of players. Branch, Welker out. Hernandez, Woodhead in. Welker, Hernandez, Gronk in. Woodhead, BenJarvis out. Branch, Tate in. Gronk, Woodhead out. Offensive set, after offensive set. Wave after wave.

As the Jets walked dazed, down 24-3, into their locker for the half, a familiar face walked out into the opposite endzone. Tedy Bruschi. The inspirational leader of the franchise's Super Bowl run amped up the already electric atmosphere during an excellent half-time tribute to him. When the teams came back for the second half, the crowd was chanting Ted-dy!, Ted-dy! and ready for some more football.

The Jets took the ball down to the Pats' 10-yard line to start the second half. A touchdown and the score would be 24-10 and the Jets would have some life against a D that has allowed a lot of late game points. Jets QB Sanchez fired one over the middle on second down and rookie Brandon Spikes was in the right spot and picked it off. The Jets' best chance was snuffed out by the youngest defense in the league. A defense that is gaining in confidence with each play. A defense that looks ready for the stretch run to the playoffs. The stretch run starts next week with yet another big game against the 9-3 Bears.

With just more than five minutes to play and the Pats up 45-3, the Jets were looking for some garbage points. In places like San Diego, Miami, Arizona, or Indianapolis the stadium would have been just about empty as fans left the blowout to either head home or fire up the post-game grill. About 80 percent of the much-maligned Gillette crowd remained in the frigid cold, cheering every play of the D and serenading the Jets with songs and chants. The stadium was shaking like the old concrete toilet bowl with the aluminum benches. Pats fans, like their team, are ready for the stretch run too.

As Brady said as he brushed back his hair at the post-game press conference: "It's good to be a New England Patriot on Tedy Bruschi night." It's good to be a New England Patriot fan, too.