Randy Moss sets up a block to help Sammy Morris on a 42-yard gain.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

FOXBORO -- At least the United States Postal Service delivers in the snow, because the Arizona Cardinals mailed it in Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Playing in the white stuff for the first time in 25 years, the already playoff-bound Cardinals barely showed up for the game with the Patriots, who are still fighting for their own postseason ticket. New England won, 47-7, keeping Arizona off the scoreboard for more than 53 minutes and under 100 total yards of offense for more than three quarters.

The Patriots, meanwhile, seemed to be not at all affected by the elements, jumping on the Cards early.

"Coach [Bill] Belichick told us all week that, regardless of the conditions, we were playing the Cardinals," said Sammy Morris, who had 88 yards rushing on 15 carries and added 45 more with two catches. "We weren't playing against the snow, we weren't playing the Jets, we weren't playing the Dolphins."

Once it became clear that New England had to win out the season in order to remain in the playoff hunt, Belichick and the players have maintained that all they can do is their jobs. They would put their heads down, grind out the remainder of the schedule, and when it was all said and done, look up and see where they had finished.

But they were likely watching one of Sunday's 4 p.m. games closely: the Jets against the Seahawks. Miami had already eked out a win in Kansas City, and so were still tied for first place with New England, as both teams are 10-5.

New York had lost its three previous West Coast games this season, and by 6:48 p.m., New England knew that the Jets had lost another, finally providing the little bit of help the Patriots needed to make their playoff chances a little bit stronger.

The Patriots still have to win Sunday in Buffalo, and will find themselves in the unfamiliar position of having to root for the rival Jets. If New York beats Miami at home, the Pats will win the AFC East for the sixth straight time.

And while conspiracy theorists could surmise that the Jets will lay down, giving the Dolphins the division title, they do still have a chance at the second wild-card berth if they win; if the Ravens lose to Jacksonville, New York would overtake them for the sixth seed.

New England could grab the wild card with a Miami win and a Baltimore loss.

Basically, the key for the Pats is to have a better result than either the Dolphins or the Ravens, and to avoid being the first team since the 1985 Broncos to miss the playoffs with an 11-5 record. The Patriots were one of the teams that beat out Denver that season, and New England went on to the Super Bowl.

The Pats certainly were the better team against Arizona, which will represent the weak NFC West in the postseason. New England was in the end zone on four of its first five possessions and topped 500 yards of offense for the third time this season, while the Cardinals didn't get a first down until the second quarter.

A 28-yard Wes Welker punt return meant the Pats started their first drive at the Arizona 34; three plays after Morris dragged a handful of defensive players with him on a 10-yard gain, LaMont Jordan got the ball on the one and followed Heath Evans over the goal line.

Jordan also got the carry for New England's second touchdown, this time rumbling in from three yards out. Morris was once again a key factor in that drive, taking a screen from Matt Cassel near the left numbers, cutting right and riding a great block from Randy Moss to a 42-yard pickup.

New England was up 31-0 at halftime.

As Belichick stressed several times during his postgame press conference, this win went to all three phases of the game. As the offense was piling up yards like the mounds of snow that surrounded the field, the defense shut the door on Arizona's awful run game and may have ended any chance Kurt Warner had of winning his third league MVP trophy.

Warner was sacked just once, but he was hit at least five other times, and by the end of the third quarter, after he had posted an unsightly 6-for-18, 30-yard, no-touchdowns and no-interceptions stat line, Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt pulled him for Matt Leinart.

"We [were cognizant] of that this week -- just the emotion and intensity, and we were physical with them," said Ellis Hobbs, who plucked a tipped ball out of the air in fourth for the game's only interception. "Anytime you have big guys like that, the receivers, you want to disrupt the timing, especially with the weather conditions. We did a good job of that."

While Hobbs had his third pick of the season, Richard Seymour and Mike Wright combined for the sack of Warner (giving Seymour eight for the season, tying his career best) and Brandon Meriweather strip-sacked Leinart for a 12-yard loss; Jarvis Green scooped up the fumble.

It was an effort to make the Postal Service proud: in rain (against Seattle and Oakland) and in snow, they keep picking up wins.

smanza@projo.com