New England won its sweet 17th of the year Saturday night, beating a Jacksonville team that might have been writing the first chapter of an interesting book to come.

 

So here are 10 Cold, Hard Football Facts to be culled from New England's 31-20 victory.

1. Whether or not they win it all, no offense in the Super Bowl Era has been as good as the 2007 Patriots. There can really be no debate about it anymore. There’s no use even trotting out the stats any more to reinforce it – people have seen the stats. They’ve watched the games. It’s a Cold, Hard Football Fact.

 

You almost wonder, after watching New England’s offense send another Quality Team into the meat grinder (8-0 now vs. teams over .500 with an average of 37.4 PPG in those eight), whether the league is considering Patriots-influenced rule changes for the 2008 season.

 

After all, it can’t be legal what the Patriots are doing, can it?

 

Every time you think you’ve seen the best of what New England can do, it puts together a totally different offensive masterpiece. This time, it was Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk doing their best tandem impression, with 207 combined yards from scrimmage.

 

Oh, and that Tom Brady guy.

 

2. Two quarterbacks have rarely played that well in one playoff game. We’ll try to do the research on this in the week to come, but it’s tough to imagine a much better combined passer rating in a playoff game: David Garrard’s 100.3 and Tom Brady’s ridiculous 141.4.

 

The Jaguars game plan was to not let Randy Moss beat them. And he didn't. He caught one ball for 14 yards. So Brady beat them instead with his ridiculous accuracy. The Patriots’ game plan was to make Garrard beat them (the vaunted rushing tandem of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor combined for 19 carries, 66 yards and 3.5 YPA). So the Jacksonville quarterback certainly did his share to keep the Jaguars in the game (22 of 33, 66.7%, 278 yards, 8.4 YPA, 2 TD, 1 INT).

 

But Brady was the story, in a game in which he set the all-time completion percentage record. He connected on 26 of 28 passes (92.9 percent) and nobody in NFL history (among passers with 20 or more attempts) has matched that mark.

 

In five days, five years or five decades, when they’re debating whether Brady is the greatest of all time, this game should be a highly ranked exhibit:

3. David Garrard is fantastic. Garrard’s numbers this regular season (102.2 rating, 18-3 TD-INT ratio) were incredible, and he proved those doubting his stats wronger than wrong with his performance Saturday night.

 

David Garrard is a championship-caliber quarterback, and that’s a Cold, Hard Football Fact we’d dare any rational football fan to rebuke. On most evenings, againist most any other teams and any other QBs in history, his would have been a game-winning performance.

 

Clearly, coach Jack Del Rio doesn’t deserve to get any more credit for “making a bold move and cutting Byron Leftwich.”

 

Are you kidding us? The way Garrard played this year, Del Rio should be slammed for keeping him behind Leftwich in the first place. Garrard is what Michael Vick could have been, a scrambler with a great arm who can also run a football team like clockwork.

 

The Jags might have been a bit late handing Garrard the keys to the car, but they’re lucky/smart/happy they did.

 

4. Vegas nailed this one. The most common ending line on the game was New England -13, with an over/under of 50. So, Vegas is basically saying the score will be around NE 31, Jacksonville 19 – in that scenario the line is exactly what they set, and all bets would be pushes. Instead, it was NE 31, Jacksonville 20, a point off either way. Here’s hoping that the betting public hit it on both sides.

 

5. Teams have a blueprint to beat the Patriots, but still haven't built a house. There is definitely a blueprint to beat New England's defense right now, and it’s all about controlling the line of scrimmage and passing the ball accurately. Garrard passed with style and grace, as did New York's Eli Manning in the regular-season finale.

 

But actually beating the Patriots? You better bring the defense. Jacksonville couldn’t have looked better on offense, averaging 6.2 yards per play, a phenomenal output in most games. But the Patriots averaged 6.9 yards per play, and the Jaguars weren't even close to winning in the end.

 

AFC title opponents Indianapolis or San Diego, however, boast significantly better defensive numbers than Jacksonville and at least one of them has a Peyton Manning.

 

These Patriots are remarkable, but they're not champions yet, for sure.

6. Gillette Stadium is the quietest arena in the NFL. Maybe it's because the Patriots play with such precision and confidence that the crowd doesn’t feel like it needs to be a part of the game.

 

Or maybe the crowd at Gillette is just lame.

 

Earlier in the day, we watched on our big-ass TVs a Lambeau Field quake and dance and party for three hours, all green and yellow and white. Then the Patriots compete (and win) in one of the best playoff games in recent memory, and the place sounds like it was between sets at an Aerosmith concert.

 

Patriots fans, if you disagree, or have some explanation for this strange phenomenon, please try to explain. Otherwise, make some noise.

 

7. The Jaguars and Patriots showed why they topped our Offensive Hog Index in 2007. Jacksonville’s Offensive Hogs gave Garrard all the time he needed, and really dominated New England’s defensive line in the first half (The Jags averaged 7.12 yards per play). In the second half, the Patriots defense generated more penetration than a Tommy Lee bedroom video as its offense built the lead. In the end, the New England defense continually got after Garrard. Still, a great effort by the Jaguars’ Hogs.

 

New England's offensive line, however, once again won bragging rights in a big game with its near flawless showing. With RG Stephen Neal and RT Nick Kaczur both back in the lineup, Brady sat back there like a zit-faced kid at the Bunny Ranch, choosing which receiver he wanted to party with (8 different Patriots caught passes). And the Patriots averaged an even 5.0 yards per run against a Jaguars defense that allowed just 4.12 yards per rush attempt during the regular season.

 

8. It’s Jag-uars, like Jagw-arrs, not Jag-Wires. Jim Nantz became the 1,400th different NFL broadcaster to mispronounce the name “Jaguars.” It’s a “wah” sound, not a “why” sound in the middle. Everyone does this. It’s like there’s something wrong in people’s brains that makes them unable to pronounce the name “Jaguars.” Very strange. Jag-wahrs. Not Jag-wires. Moving on?

 

9. New England missed CB Ellis Hobbs. The Patriots clearly missed their starting CB in the secondary (100.2 rating against). But they also missed him as a kick returner.

 

Second-year men Chad Jackson and Willie Andrews combined for five kick returns and an 18.2 yard average – light years behind Hobbs’ 26.0 average on the regular season.

 

Stephen Gostkowski’s missed FG was another bad play for the special teams, but holding Maurice Jones-Drew to a 12.2 yard average on kick returns was another key to victory.

 

10. New England's ability to avoid mistakes is their greatest single attribute. The Patriots were No. 2 in the regular season on our Big Play Index, but No. 1 in terms of fewest Big Plays allowed. Big passes, long runs, interceptions, long kick returns – nobody allowed fewer than New England..

 

And Saturday night the Patriots allowed exactly zero (0!) Big Plays to Jacksonville – one of the most explosive teams in the league – while making five of their own.

 

The defense didn’t have a great game, but it did force two turnovers, and it didn’t give up any Big Plays. As long as this ability to contain opponents continues, all the short passes and 8-yard runs in the world aren’t going to be enough to beat this remarkable football team.