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Patriots have score to settle with Jets

Dec 16, 2007 - 1:08 PM NY Jets (3-10) at New England (13-0) 1:00 pm EST

FOXBORO, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- The New England Patriots can make history on several fronts this weekend, but first there's a little matter of payback.

The Patriots look to become only the second team in league history to win their first 14 games when they host the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins in 1972 are the only team to start a season 14-0 en route to their historic 17-0 mark - the only undefeated campaign in league annals.

And while the Patriots' pursuit matching the Dolphins has been widely hyped, it may take a back seat to extracting revenge on the Jets.

In the season opener, New England beat up on the Jets, 38-14, in what turned out to be its most costly victory of the season.

The Patriots subsequently were found guilty of violating league policy by attempting to videotape the offensive or defensive signals of the Jets, who reportedly tipped off league officials.

That led to a $500,000 fine for New England coach Bill Belichick and a $250,000 fine for the organization. New England also was stripped of a conditional draft pick or picks in 2008.

Of course, Belichick had the usual pat answer when asked if the Patriots had any extra motivation this week against the Jets and coach Eric Mangini - his former best friend and assistant coach with New England.

"We're going to approach it like every other game," Belichick said. "We try to play our best game out there every week and we try to win every week, so we're going to try to win this week."

Mangini also attempted to distance himself from the "Spygate" controversy.

"It's a matter that's handled by the league. It's a league issue," Mangini said. "I really said all that I can say on that. I understand there's a lot of interest on it, but it's no different than what we talked about the first time."

The Patriots do have loftier goals in front of them. A win against the Jets will clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Individually, Tom Brady is four touchdown passes shy of tying Peyton Manning's single-season mark of 49 set in 2004, while wideout Randy Moss needs three more scoring passes to tie Jerry Rice's all-time record of 22 in a season for a wide receiver.

Brady threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns - two to Moss - in last weekend's 34-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

New England also is within 54 points of shattering the record for most points in a season, set by the Minnesota Vikings (556) in 1998.

A mauling of the Jets could yield all three records in front of what is sure to be a revenge-starved crowd.

"I'm sure it will be as warm as it always is for us when we head up there," Mangini said. "They have passionate fans. We encounter a lot of hostile environments. Whenever you go on the road, you get that. I'm sure we'll appreciate their passion."

While the Jets are winding up a dismal season, they have shown promise in the past month, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers and playing the Cleveland Browns tough in a 24-18 loss last week.

New York can also take solace in the fact that they won at New England, 17-14, on November 12, 2006 - sending the Patriots to back-to-back losses for the first time in 57 games.