01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 27, 2004

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Patriots clomped -- quiet and composed -- through the darkened innards of Giants Stadium at 7 p.m. last evening. Save for a stray "Whoop!" or a clap on the back of a teammate, there were no outward displays of jubilation. It was just another week, just another win for this team that's been bloodlessly efficient for 28 of 30 games.

They didn't seem relieved they'd bounced back from a stunning loss in Miami six days earlier with a dominant 23-7 win over the Jets. They didn't seem surprised.

Reports of the Patriots' illness had been greatly exaggerated. They were once again 10-feet tall and bulletproof after making the red-hot New York Jets look like also-rans.

The win delivered the 13-2 Patriots the second-seed in the AFC playoffs, a first-round bye and will certainly serve to dull predictions of impending doom.

"I'm really proud of our football team," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "I thought they did a great job of bouncing back this week on a short week, going from being down in Miami to playing here where it's always tough. They stepped up and showed a lot of toughness today."

Tom Brady once again played again after putting up a poor performance,

completing 21 of 32 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. The New England defense, shaky in its past two outings, held Curtis Martin to 33 yards and bottled up Chad Pennington (22 for 36 for 252 yards with a garbage-time touchdown and two costly picks). And the play-calling of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis spread the ball around to players who haven't seen it much of late. Patrick Pass got nine touches for 59 yards running and receiving, David Givens caught two long passes for 64 yards and Christian Fauria had three catches for 44 yards.

"We had a lot of people step up," said Belichick. "Too many to single anyone out. We got big plays out of a lot of different people. We got good production all the way around and that's what we needed today."

The production began on the game's first drive when Tedy Bruschi short-circuited a promising Jets drive with a pick of Pennington. Willie McGinest had a tackle behind the line on a third-and-2 play on the next Jets possession and after that, New York didn't penetrate inside the Pats' 40 again until the fourth quarter, when they were down 23-0.

In between, Brady engineered a second quarter drive for a field goal for the game's first points, followed that up with an eight-play, 86-yard drive highlighted by a 16-yard dart to Daniel Graham in the end zone for a 10-0 lead.

New York botched its next possession, burning just 19 seconds and punting the ball back to the Pats with 1:25 left. Troy Brown returned that punt 23 yards, Brady hit Deion Branch for 21 yards and Vinatieri added a 29-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to make it 13-0.

It was almost 16-0 after Jet B.J. Askew got hit by Vinatieri's kickoff and Tully Banta-Cain recovered for New England, but he missed the 50-yard attempt.

Another field goal by Vinatieri, this one from 26 yards late in the third, made it 16-0 then Eugene Wilson picked off Pennington on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned it to New York's 15. Four plays later, Brady hit Branch for a 6-yard score to make it 23-0.

The Jets added a garbage-time touchdown to make it 23-7 with 9:41 left and could have made things interesting, but Asante Samuel bounced Justin McCareins out of bounds short of the sticks on a fourth-and-6 with 5:31 left to end one drive and Rosevelt Colvin sacked Pennington and forced a fumble that Jarvis Green recovered with 2:25 left to end it.

Left tackle Matt Light was asked afterward if he ever wondered how the Patriots would respond against the Jets after a crushing loss.

"We never doubt anything," he said casually. "We've had a positive attitude in everything we've ever done. There's no reason for us to think we have to go out there and reinvent the wheel. We play the same style and game we've always played all season."

"We played a good, disciplined game and stayed within the scheme (defensively)," said Belichick. "There's a lot to defend with the Jets -- running game, play-action, they have good receivers -- we needed good play all across the board and I think we did that."

The Patriots' pass rush helped significantly, as did the work of Rodney Harrison, who played further from the line than normal and caused Pennington fits in trying to find anyone downfield.

The Jets, who'd been riding high entering the game, were left wondering where the supposedly struggling Patriots were.

Said New York's Martin: "I feel sorry for anybody who paid to watch this."