Patriots waive fullback Isoefa, two former players claimed off waivers.

Belichick has never been shy going against conventional “wisdom” and in this case he was right…they didn’t execute. Tip your hat to the Jets offense.

With the Patriots no longer playing a meaningless Week 17 game the Pats began Sunday evening as an eight point favorite, and by the end of the night the line was up to nine points. In the NFC Arizona clinched a bye, but their domination over Green Bay coupled with Seattle’s loss to the Rams caused that line to have a swing of a full six points, from the Cardinals being 2½ point underdogs to Arizona being favored by 3½ points.

In one of only three NFL Week 16 games between two teams with winning records, the 12-2 New England Patriots take on the 9-5 New York Jets in a game with playoff implications for both teams. The Patriots have already won the AFC East title (for the seventh consecutive season) and earned a first round bye. The Pats can clinch the number one seed and home field throughout the conference playoffs with a win over their arch rivals (or with a loss by Cincinnati). The Jets have the same record as Pittsburgh and Kansas City but need help because they would lose tiebreakers to the Steelers or Chiefs. Gang Green will be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss combined with wins by the Broncos, Steelers and Chiefs. The Jets would also be eliminated from the number five seed with either a loss plus a Pittsburgh win, or a loss plus victories by the Broncos and Chiefs.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was particularly proud of the fact that all seven Pro Bowlers were ‘home-grown’ talent that the Patriots developed.

Brady was vintage; he hit on 14 of 17 for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the comeback win.

All eyes will be on Jackson to see what he has left in the tank and one particular area to focus on will be ball security. For a guy who hasn’t played all season, that will bear watching.

While NFL Week 15 did not do much to the playoff picture other than end the misery for a handful of teams by officially eliminating them from post-season play, it did bring genuine contenders one step closer to clinching scenarios in Week 16. Eighteen teams still have at least a mathematical chance at a playoff spot with two weeks to go; that is surely something that Roger Goodell’s parity-driven Park Avenue league office that strives for participation banners is surely proud of.

Fitzpatrick is having the best season of his career completing 61 percent of his passes, with 3428 passing yards and 26 TDs and just 12 picks for 89.6 passer rating on the year.

For the second week in a row the best teams in each conference will not be televised in the late afternoon slot, but will instead receive primary network distribution among the NFL games kicking off early. CBS will televise the 12-2 New England Patriots at the 9-5 New York Jets in all or parts of 29 states, while FOX will air the 14-0 Carolina Panthers at the 7-7 Atlanta Falcons in all or parts of 40 states. The amount of coverage given divisional rivalries in an early time slot is quite rare; usually the early games are somewhat equally divided with regional coverage.

With a serviceable Jackson in the lineup, the Patriots can platoon him with the 245-pound Joey Iosefa inside with James White remaining free for obvious passing situations out of the backfield.

On Thursday, prior to the start of any Week 15 games, the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook published early ‘look ahead’ odds for the following week’s NFL action. The line originator installed the New England Patriots as three-point road favorites over the New York Jets in what will be the 114th meeting of these two bitter rivals from the AFL. Since the finish of Sunday’s NFL games 14 other venues have followed suit and list the Pats as three-point favorites, while four are placing New England at minus 3½ points.

The Patriots have been a little thin at the running back position, but it looks like Bill Belichick has plans to add another player in hopes of getting a little stronger heading into the postseason.

Iosefa gained 51 yards on 14 carries and immediately has become a fan favorite. The man from Pago Pago was a great midseason under the radar pickup.

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski had an emotional week after losing his good friend and personal trainer Dana Parenteau, and on Sunday he took his emotions out onto the field and left it all out there.

An interesting aspect to this game is how well New England can run the ball, behind an inconsistent offensive line and their top two running backs now on injured reserve. If the Patriots are too one-dimensional on offense then Tennessee might keep it interesting for a while thanks to their pass rush, but in the end the Titans are just far too overmatched in all three phases of the game to keep pace. The Patriots already had their annual WTF game two weeks ago against Philadelphia; they are not about to look past this one or lose a second straight home game.

Take the Patriots minus the points despite the big line.

Harmon has transitioned into a fine safety for the Patriots with a distinct role; one that he’s excelled on. Now he’ll have to take over DMac’s role for the time being.

Through the first 10 games Harmon allowed only one completion on four attempts for 9 yards while logging three interceptions and a pass defensed

He really has a three-week audition for the Patriots. If he can produce and become a reliable target during the games against the Titans, Dolphins and Jets, then he can work himself into a nice supporting role for the post-season.

The X-Factor this week in the passing game is White; he’s been coming into his own in recent weeks in replacing Dion Lewis

Patriots sign free agent DT Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, featured in funny comedy sketch.

Following another Sunday that saw two more New England Patriots added to the injured reserve list this week, the team was once again busy on the waiver wire.

Patriots sign running back Montee Ball and rookie receiver DeAndre Carter.

Mariota is completing 62.4 percent of his passes and has thrown for 2786 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 91.9 passer rating. All very respectable numbers especially for a rookie

It was a total group effort with the interior players pushing the pocket and the edge rushers bringing pressure outside.