Thanksgiving Day parade (of errors)

WEEK 12
The Patriots locked up another AFC East title with their Thanksgiving thrashing of Skinny Rex and the Jets. It was one of those nationally televised butt-kickings that only fans of the team doing the kicking can love. The rest of the country (and most Jets' fans) probably tuned out at halftime and turned in for their night of turkey-induced sleep.

A few weeks ago all four teams in the division were 3-3 and the Blabosphere was warning us that the Patriots were going to be in for a long struggle this season. Five weeks later the Pats (8-3) haven't lost and everyone else in the division has won only once. Game, set, division.

The Pats aren't without problems. The secondary and the pass rush are both spotty at best. They are having trouble keeping offensive linemen healthy. They don't have a deep threat on offense. And Gronk is out for at least a month. Time will tell how big those problems are. But one thing is for sure, they have more than enough talent among the players and the coaches to overcome those problems on most days. Like last night.

The score was 0-0 after the first quarter. If it wasn't for another bad Mark Sanchez pick (by Steve Gregory) deep in Pats territory the Jets would have had the lead and the momentum. But with just under six minutes to go in the opening quarter, Brady and the offense took the ball at their own 16-yard line after the interception and marched 84 yards on 15 plays for a touchdown. The camera cut to Ryan as Brady and Welker celebrated yet another TD connection and you could see he knew that his team had missed a chance to take control early. But Sanchez and the Jets responded, moving the ball to the Pats' 31-yard line where they faced a 4th-and-1. Decision time for Skinny Rex. Kick a field goal and get on the board? Or go for the first down and the tying score. Rex went for it (good choice). The next minute of football would spell the crushing end to the Jets' season and maybe -- just maybe -- the end of Skinny Rex's job as HC of the NYJ.

Shonn Greene got stuffed on the fourth down play, and as he struggled against Big Vince and the rest of the Pats D line the ball popped out of his hands and shot 15 yards downfield where Gregory grabbed it. Pats' ball. One play later, Brady threw a short out-pass to Shane Vereen and the second-year back had his biggest moment as a Pat, racing down the sideline untouched for 83 yards. And then things got really crazy.

On first down at the Jet 31, Sanchez turned to hand the ball off but missed his connection with the runner. He turned around, confused, and decided to run face-first right into the backside of one of his offensive linemen (see video above. Again and again and again ...). I've never seen a play like it. NFL Films is going to have to remake a lot of its Top 10 shows. Top 10 Funniest Plays. Top 10 Bloopers. Top 10 Worst Jets' Plays. Top 10 Plays Where The QB Runs Into His Lineman's Ass. Because all those lists now have a new #1. The force of the "hit" knocked the ball out of Sanchez's hands and Gregory scooped it up and took it 32 yards to make it 21-0. And then... on the ensuing kickoff Jets' returner Joe McKnight got whacked and the ball sailed right into the hands of Julian Edelman who raced untouched 22 yards for another touchdown. In less than a minute, the score went from "it's anyone's game" at 7-0 to "the Jets' season is ovah!" at 28-0.

The Pats passed for 323 yards and rushed for 152. That's balance. And that's the big difference between this team and last year's team. I loved BenJarvus and was sad to see him go. But Ridley has been much better. I didn't see that coming. Belichick did. When Bolden gets back from his suspension, the Pats will have four very good backs who can do a lot of different things. That was on full display during one of the most impressive drives the Pats have had in years. Late in the third quarter the Jets got a safety and then a quick touchdown to cut the lead to 35-12. Sure, still a blowout. But the offense hadn't done much since the scoring burst in the second quarter and Jets' fans were sadly starting to have hope again. My nephews and brothers all texted each other ... "Time for Brady and the offense to make a game-clinching drive." Drive they did. They jammed the ball right down the Jets' throats, going 86 yards on 17 plays, eating up nearly eight minutes of clock. And most of it was on the ground. Brady shoved his way into the end zone on a 1-yard rush and a statement had been made. The Pats can beat you in the air and on the ground. That will be a big help come January football.

And there will be January football ... again.

Now the focus turns to earning the coveted first-round bye and the even more-coveted home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Those won't be as easy to achieve as winning the AFC East. Houston sits at the top of the AFC after they pulled out a second-straight OT win early on Thanksgiving to get to 10-1. The Ravens are at 8-2 and with a game against the Chargers coming up will likely move to 9-2. And they have beaten the Pats so they actually hold a two-game lead for the second seed. The Pats have five games remaining, three of them at home. They play Miami twice and the Jags once. Very winnable games. It's the other two that will decide if the Pats will be resting on Wild Card weekend or playing at Gillette.

In a span of six days in December that Pats host the 10-1 Texans on Monday Night Football and then the 7-2-1 Niners on Sunday Night Football. As great as last night's win over the hated Jets was, it will be those two games in the frigid air at Gillette that will reveal just how good this Pats team will be in the playoffs. When you look at last night's game and the plays made by Brady, Welker, Ridley, Hernandez, Lloyd, Vereen, Woody, Spikes, Mayo, Chung, Gregory, Cunningham, McCourty, Love ... and especially Big Vince, there's plenty of reasons to believe that the Pats will be up to the challenge in those two big games ... and beyond.