SHUTTING THEM DOWNThe Patriots defense completed a streak of more than five full quarters without allowing any points, outscoring opponents 36-0 over that span. The streak was ended on Jerricho Cotchery's 71-yard touchdown catch with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter and began following an 18-yard touchdown run by Buffalo's Anthony Thomas with 11:40 left in the second quarter on Sept. 10. Following that score, New England did not allow any points in 80:25 of clock time. New England outscored Buffalo 12-0 in the second half of last week's game and then built a 24-0 lead over the Jets prior to Cotchery's score.

FRANCHISE CLIMBS ABOVE .500 TODAY
With today's victory over the Jets, the Patriots' overall franchise record climbed above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1968 season, when the Boston Patriots' franchise record stood at 60-59-9. The Patriots dropped the 1969 season opener (35-7 at Denver on Sept. 14, 1969) and had not been above .500 again until today. Following today's game, the Patriots' overall team record is 357-356-9, including regular-season and playoff games. During Robert Kraft's first season of ownership in 1994, the Patriots' overall record bottomed out at 54 games below .500 (228-282-9). The low point was reached on Nov. 6, 1994 following a 13-6 loss to Cleveland (to a Browns team coached by Bill Belichick). Kraft has since transformed that team into a model NFL franchise that has won more Super Bowls (3), conference titles (4) and playoff games (13) than any other NFL team since 1994. The Patriots are now 52 games above .500 in the Kraft era, compiling a 132-80-0 record.

JACKSON'S NFL DEBUT
Rookie wide receiver Chad Jackson made his NFL debut this afternoon and made an impact with his first career touchdown, a 13-yard grab with 14 seconds left in the first half, giving the Patriots a 17-0 lead. Jackson also made a big play early in the game with a 29-yard reception from Tom Brady on the Patriots' second drive, making the grab along the sideline in spite of tight coverage from New York's Justin Miller. Jackson's catch moved New England into Jets territory and was a key play on New England's 82-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown by Corey Dillon and a 7-0 Patriots lead.

DILLON IN THE ZONE
Corey Dillon gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard plunge in the first quarter. The touchdown was Dillon's 27th score in 29 regular-season games as a Patriot (25 rushing touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns). The touchdown was the 70th rushing touchdown of his career and his 77th overall touchdown (70 rushing, 7 receiving). Dillon is the NFL leader in rushing yards among players currently on 53-man rosters, entering today's action with 10,502 career yards.

MARONEY IN THE ZONE
Rookie Laurence Maroney scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to give the Patriots a 24-0 lead. Maroney had a pair of 14-yard runs today, each a big part of touchdown drives. Maroney's first 14-yard scamper brought New England to the Jets' 4-yard line in the first quarter, helping to set up Corey Dillon's 1-yard touchdown run two plays later. His second 14-yarder came in the third quarter, bringing New England to the Jets' 3-yard line and setting up his own touchdown two plays later.

DRIVE ENDER
Richard Seymour played a key part in back-to-back third-down stops in the first half. First, he batted down a Chad Pennington pass at the line of scrimmage on third down in the first quarter, forcing a New York punt on the next play. On New York's next drive, Seymour pressured Pennington, running in on the quarterback and forcing him to throw early, resulting in an incomplete pass to Laveranues Coles on third down, forcing another punt. Seymour capped off his solid half with a 1-yard sack of Pennington late in the quarter.

QUICK HITS
* Tom Brady's first six completions of the day were to six different receivers – three tight ends and three wide receivers.

• Linebacker Tedy Bruschi saw his first action of the season today, starting New England's first defensive series of the second quarter. Bruschi missed all four preseason games and last week's season opener with a wrist injury.

• Kevin Faulk drew a 28-yard pass interference penalty on New York's Victor Hobson in the third quarter that gave the Patriots a first down at the Jets' 12-yard line. New England capitalized on the opportunity by ending the drive with a 1-yard touchdown by Laurence Maroney, taking a 24-0 lead.

A DAY OF FIRSTS
In today's game, running back Laurence Maroney scored his first career touchdown, wide receiver Chad Jackson made his first career reception and caught his first career touchdown pass, tight end David Thomas recorded his first career reception and defensive lineman Mike Wright made his first career start.

MAGIC NUMBER 29
The Patriots had three completions of exactly 29 yards in the first quarter, to Chad Jackson, David Thomas and Daniel Graham. The 29-yard grabs for Jackson and Thomas marked the first career reception for each player. Interestingly, the Patriots' two completions that did not go for 29 yards in the first quarter added up to 29 yards (a 15-yarder by Troy Brown and a 14-yarder by Benjamin Watson).