Scout’s Eye: Patriots ready, Browns’ misery and playoff focus

The Patriots win to lock up the top seed in the AFC didn’t have the ups and downs as Steelers/Browns, but as usual, New England took care of business when they needed to. Brandin Cooks and Dion Lewis were the engines of New England’s offense on a day when Rob Gronkowski was invisible and Tom Brady was rather ineffective by his lofty standards.

Cooks ran free most of the day and could have posted much better numbers, but this is very encouraging after Cooks came into this contest averaging just 33.5 receiving yards over the past four games.

Lewis touched the ball 32 times and the Patriots were able to lean on him for consistent production. New England possessed the ball for nearly 35 minutes and very effectively shortened the game. Newcomer James Harrison played about half the defensive snaps and finished this game with a flourish.

Who knows, maybe Harrison gives this front seven a shot in the arm that they desperately need for the playoffs. A problem for much of the season, New England basically eliminated the Jets run threat from the start. As usual, Brady stayed in the game much longer than he should have while playing with a big lead, but who are we to judge?