Die Allianz T-D-P » generated some good scoring chances

East Rutherford, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - It wasnt pretty, but the New England Patriots secured a first-round bye with a 17-16 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Tom Brady completed 23-of-35 passes for 182 yards with one touchdown for New England (12-3), which will clinch the AFCs top seed if Denver loses at Cincinnati on Monday night. With the Patriots clinging to a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Brady threw an interception while under pressure, a theme throughout the game. Cornerback Marcus Williams picked off the pass that deflected off wide receiver Brandon LaFells hands at the New England 31-yard line. The Patriots defense stiffened as a third-down sack by linebacker Donta Hightower forced a 52-yard Nick Folk field goal attempt that was tipped by lineman Vince Wilfork and landed short. New England ran out the remaining 5:16, converting a pair of third downs. Danny Amendola, filling in for Julian Edelman on both offense and special teams, was tackled near the marker at the New York 48-yard line after a screen pass on 3rd-and-7. Some confusion ensued as the ball appeared to be inches shy of a first down based upon a measurement. However, the official signaled a first down, leading to a unsuccessful challenge by the Jets. Brandon Bolden then ran around the right edge for 17 yards on 3rd-and-1 to seal the win. Geno Smith passed for 210 yards on 17-of-27 efficiency with a touchdown and one interception for the Jets (3-12). The New York defense hounded Brady right from the start, registering three first-quarter sacks. New England began the second quarter in New York territory after a 39-yard punt return by Amendola, who had eight catches on 11 targets for 63 yards in place of Edelman. The Patriots leading receiver missed the game with a concussion and a thigh injury. Brady capped the six-play, 36-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. The tight end lined up wide left and hauled in a back-shoulder fade from three yards out. The Jets tied the game at 7-7 when tight end Jeff Cumberland beat safety Patrick Chung on a seam route for a 25-yard touchdown catch. Center Nick Mangold was carted off the field with a left ankle injury during the 12-play, 87-yard drive. Folk kicked a 26-yard field goal to put New York up 10-7 late in a first half that saw New England limited to 52 yards. The Jets reached the red zone on their opening possession of the third quarter, but settled for a 23-yard Folk field goal. New England then changed its tempo on offense, going no-huddle, and had success moving the ball. The drive ultimately stalled at the New York 6-yard line and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 24-yard field goal. Smith was then picked off by linebacker Jamie Collins on an underthrown pass to tight end Jace Amaro. The Patriots moved in front off the turnover as Jonas Gray ran for a 1-yard touchdown 1:09 into the fourth quarter. Folk made a 37-yard field goal with 7:53 remaining to cap the ensuing New York drive. Game Notes New England head coach Bill Belichick earned his 230th career win, surpassing Curly Lambeau for sole possession of fourth place in NFL history .... New York wide receiver Percy Harvin (ribs) left the game and didnt return ... The Jets outgained the Patriots 307-231 ... Brady was sacked four times overall. Eric Lichaj USA Jersey . Alina Fodorova of Ukraine took third place. Broersen based her gold-medal performance on great high jumping, and finished with 4,830 points, while Theisen-Eaton, from Humboldt, Sask., set a national record of 4,768. Matt Besler USA Jersey . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/John-Brooks-Copa-America-Jersey/ . "I dont know where we would be without him," McClendon said. "Hes done a tremendous job for us and (Wednesday) was no different." Logan Morrison drove in two runs in Seattles big sixth inning, Young pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat the Houston Astros 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Sean Johnson USA Jersey . George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. Andrija Novakovich USA Jersey . Espanyol midfielder Sanchez intercepted Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizozs clearance and, having spotted a gap, risked using his less-favoured left foot to fire a beautifully precise long-range shot that bounced in from high up the near post in the 24th minute. ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- Its clear that if the St. Johns IceCaps want to win their American Hockey League playoff series against the Norfolk Admirals theyll need to solve goalie John Gibson. Gibson stopped 42 of 43 shots he faced to beat St. Johns 3-1 on Tuesday in Game 1 of their series, improving his 1.42 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in four first-round playoff games. "Their goaltender is obviously really strong in net," IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge said. "He has the numbers he has in the playoffs for a reason and he was very strong for them tonight. I thought we did a good job of trying to get traffic in front of him. "Their defencemen did an excellent job boxing out and making our forwards work." St. Johns defenceman Will ONeill said the key to solving Gibson is the same as beating any hot goalie. "Just like (solving) any goalie, we need to get more traffic to the net," ONeill said. "I think second and third opportunities are where we are going to have success. We need bodies to the net and to (capitalize) on those opportunities." McCambridge said scoring the first goal would have been key Tuesday night. "I thought we had some opportunities," he said. &"Obviously we would have liked to get the first goal to build some momentum.dddddddddddd With regards to generating offence, I thought we generated some good scoring chances and had some decent traffic." Nic Kerdiles scored two goals and John Kurtz had the game-winner for Norfolk. Andrew Gordon replied for St. Johns, while IceCaps goalie Michael Hutchinson stopped 24 shots. Norfolk opened the scoring when Kerdiles one timed a wrist-shot from the slot 10:14 into the first period, finishing off a pass from Andre Petersson, who sent a pass from behind the net. St. Johns killed a 40-second 5-on-3 power play, starting at 13:15 in the first period. Despite the IceCaps outshooting the Admirals 18-5 in the second period, Gibson was impenetrable in the Norfolk net. St. Johns found the equalizer 3:20 into the third period when Gordon tipped in a heavy point shot just as a power play expired. Gibson saw little of the shot, if anything, as Jason Jaffray and Gordon had set up on the doorstep. Admirals forward Zack Strotini carried the puck to the net and, on the ensuing scramble, Kurtz tapped it in to retake the lead, 2-1, at the 7-minute mark of the third period. Kerdiles added an empty netter with 13.8 seconds left. ' ' '