Wes Welker looks to make a move on Jim Leonhard of the Jets in the first quarter Sunday.

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick cursed his New England Patriots after they blew a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead at Indianapolis.

“He [chewed us out] pretty good on the things we did wrong,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “There were no hugs in the locker room.”

Jets coach Rex Ryan cried while talking to his team the day after they lost to Jacksonville.

“That’s the way I am,” Ryan said. “I’m an emotional guy.”

Chalk one up for tough love.

And for that tough little wide receiver, Wes Welker.

As well as for a tough New England defense that harried Mark Sanchez, the Jets’ struggling rookie QB, into the sort of afternoon that could bring tears to the eyes of long-suffering Jets fans still waiting for the second coming of Joe Namath.

When it comes to football, cursing beats crying — if not every time, then certainly this time.

The last time the Pats and Jets played, back in Week Two at the Meadowlands, New York won, 16-9.

This time, it was very different.

It was the little guy, Welker, who made a huge difference as the Patriots romped past the Jets, 31-14, on Sunday.

Sidelined by a sore knee, he didn’t play in the first game against the Jets. Yesterday, he left the Jets hurting, catching 15 passes for 192 yards — both career highs. The 15 receptions also were a Patriots record for a regulation game. Troy Brown holds the team mark for catches in a game, with 16 in an overtime win over Kansas City in 2002.

The Jets didn’t want Randy Moss to beat them. They’d held him to four catches for only 24 yards in Week Two. And they kept him in check again yesterday, holding him to five catches and 34 yards, although one of them was a 4-yard TD grab.

But they wound up taking a beating because they couldn’t keep the ball out of Welker’s hands.

“They were favoring Randy a little bit,” Brady said, “so Wes got the ball.”

Brady got the ball to Welker eight times in the first half, for 139 yards, as the Patriots shot out to a 24-0 lead. They combined for seven more receptions in the second half.

Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who had covered Moss like the proverbial blanket at the Meadowlands, again did a good job.

But the Jets never found a way to cover the 5-foot-9 (generously listed — he looks closer to 5-7), 185-pound (likely less) Welker.

“Revis did a great job on Randy Moss, just like the last time,” said Ryan. “He’s one guy who actually won his battle. But Welker had a phenomenal game. He kept finding seams in our zones and Brady kept feeding him the ball.”

Welker is a phenomenal player, especially considering his size. Or lack of it.

The little guy is always looking for the ball, said Brady, smiling as he added: “But it’s usually hard to see him because he’s only 5-7.”

Talking about Welker always brings a big smile to Brady’s face.

“Wes played big, like he always does,” Brady said. “When the coverage goes to Randy, he has a chance to make plays. He had a great game. What a performance.”

Brady pointed out that Welker usually is just too quick, too smart — just too good, really — for the overmatched defenders assigned to cover him. And, if the defense is in zone coverage, Welker always seems to find open space.

“When you line up in the slot (as Welker often does), you have the whole field to work with,” Brady said. “You can go short inside, short outside, long outside, long inside — you can stop at any point and you’re typically on the third DB that comes onto the field.

“You’ve got to see things very quickly. Wes is able to use his quickness to get open over the middle, in the flat, down the field.

“When you’re the outside guy,” Brady added, “you’re usually against the better players and you have a really limited amount of field to work. So if they decide to really cover you — (Kerry) Rhodes was typically over the top of Randy, and Revis was on him; their two best players — then you’ve got to find other guys.”

Brady always seems to be able to find Welker, who said he expected that he’d see a lot of balls coming his way on Sunday because of the way the Jets had played Moss the last time.

“But not to that extent,” he added.

Welker felt he’d be able to work his way open over the middle. That’s not an area in which many receivers like to earn their living.

“That’s where all the big guys are,” Brady said. “But he scoots his way in there. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever played with. He’s always fighting for extra yards. His durability is pretty impressive for the kind of shots he takes.”

Welker’s statistics are even more impressive.

Although he’s played in only eight games this season, he has 79 receptions — an average of 9.9 per game. He holds the New England record for receptions, with 112 in 2007, but if he can maintain his current pace he’ll smash that mark.

“He’s a tough player,” said the Jets Larry Izzo, a former special-teams captain in New England, where he played from 2001 through last season. “You’ve got to have courage to go over the middle.

“He’s one of the best receivers in the league. He’s the best at what he does. Any time they needed a play, he was there to make it.”

While Welker makes a lot of big plays, he doesn’t make a big deal out of it.

“I’m out there doing my job, trying to do it well,” he said. “I expect the ball to come my way every time. That’s my mentality.

“It’s definitely cool to be able to get those catches, and I’ll probably look back at the end of the year and be able to reminisce about it. But, right now, it’s going out there and doing my job.”

As the Jets can attest, nobody does it better.

jdonalds@projo.com