The New England Patriots bullied and beat up on the New York Jets so badly in their  41-3, Christmas Eve win that they may be relegated to Santa's naughty list by the end of the night.

Here are some initial post game thoughts following the holiday thrashing:

Dominating From Start To Finish- The New England defense dominated from start to finish, holding the Jets to just three points on a lowly 239 total yards of offense on 55 plays. Against the pass, the Pats secondary was superb, holding two New York quarterbacks to just eight total completions and 129 yards on 24 attempts. They also picked off Bryce Petty once, before he left the game due to injury, then added to picks of former starter Ryan Fitzpatrick. On the day, the Pats took the ball away four times and held the Jets to 1-11 from third down. There's just no other way to say it other than that the Patriots defense was just absolutely dominating all day long.

21 For 3- New England's top cornerback Malcolm Butler had himself quite the day on Christmas Eve. Butler came down with two interceptions on the day and also recovered a fumble that was forced by a major hit by middle linebacker Elandon Roberts. Overall, Butler came away with three takeaways in the game. Oh, and he also finished the game tied for the Jets team lead in receptions with both Brandon Marshall and Bilal Powell, who each only caught two passes.

Give Him 2 More- Patriots power back LeGarrette Blount didn't have the best day in terms of yards and yards per carry, as he ran the ball 20 times for only 50 yards on the day. The burly running back did add a pair of goal line touchdowns to his record setting season, however. The two scores pushed Blount's rushing touchdowns total up to 17 for the season, which is a single season franchise record. The veteran back, who also has put together his second 1,000 rushing yard season so far, passed Hall-of-Famer Curtis Martin for the franchise's single-season record in last week's win over the Denver Broncos.

Beating Up Their Rival- It's one thing to play well against a divisional opponent and it's a completely different thing to do what the Pats just did to the Jets. Coming into the game, many thought that with the two teams moving in completely opposite directions, the Pats would come away with a relatively easy victory in what is otherwise usually a tight match up. It appears that everyone underestimated just how abysmal the Jets truly are.

A Merry Christmas For New England- The Pats can now sit back and enjoy a nice Christmas holiday, after ripping the Jets apart. A happy holiday to all of you out there and your families as well.

The Pats are in complete control of their own destiny, following the win. With just one game left to go, New England is just about locked into the top spot of the AFC. With their defense getting better and better each week and continually creating turnovers as of late and their offense head and shoulders above the rest of the league, it should be a long postseason for New England.

 

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