With the 35-7 win, the Pats wrapped up the AFC East crown and secured a playoff berth heading into next week's regular season finale with the Houston Texans in the Lone Star State.
The Pats' offense came together to strike early and often as they torched the Jacksonville defense for 464 total net yards and jumped out to an early 28-0 lead before the half.
Patriots 35, Jaguars 7
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Dec. 27, 2009
Headliner: Tom Brady was nearly perfect in the first half as the Pats’ play caller connected on 14-of-16 pass attempts including his first seven in a row. Brady went on to finish the contest with 267 yards on 23-for-26 passing (88.5 percent) and four TD strikes to go with a 149.0 QB rating.
Game Ball: Sammy Morris led the ground game while Wes Welker controlled the skies. Morris busted out with 97 yards on 11 carries including a 55-yard gain halfway through second quarter and had a rushing TD.
Welker, who had 138 receiving yards, set a new personal receiving mark as he finished the day with 13 catches to enhance his season total to 122. Welker surpassed his previous season high which was set in 2007 — his first year with the Pats — when he caught 114 balls.
Randy Moss had just four receptions but three of which were caught in paydirt as the Pats’ wideout now has 13 receiving TDs on the season, 47 as a Patriot and 148 in his career.
Better Luck Next Week: Laurence Maroney’s fumble follies continue to haunt the Pats’ running back as he was stripped at the goal line during New England’s first drive. Maroney didn’t get much burn following that drop at the Jags’ 1-yard line as he finished with just five carries for 22 yards. It was his fourth lost fumble of the year after committing just one in three seasons prior to this campaign.
Key Moment: Brandon Meriweather picked off Jags quarterback David Garrard and returned it 57 yards to set up Chris Baker’s 26-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 at start of second quarter to get things out of hand early for the AFC East champs.
Scouting Report: The Pats wrap up the regular season with a trip to Houston to take on the Texans, who have won their last three games including a 27-20 win over Miami on Sunday afternoon.
In the win, QB Matt Schaub hit Jacoby Jones and Andre Johnson for touchdown strikes while Arian Foster ran for 97 yards a TD as well.
