by Sports Xchange

--WR Wes Welker had another huge game with 192 receiving yards and even ran vertical routes in addition to his dominance in the slot. Welker continues to be the team's most consistent player on a weekly basis.

--NT Vince Wilfork earned his paycheck Sunday with a dominant performance at the line of scrimmage. His play allowed the Patriots to put pressure on QB Mark Sanchez and put the Jets in unmanageable situations.

--CB Leigh Bodden made waves with his three interceptions Sunday, even though none of them was overly spectacular. The point is Bodden has emerged as a quality addition and a good anchor in this secondary.

--G Dan Connolly did not get the job done replacing Stephen Neal on Sunday. He got beat for two sacks and was the only weak link in what was an otherwise solid performance by the offensive line.

--The Patriots have reportedly given LB Eric Alexander a contract extension with noticeable escalator clauses. Alexander has been a solid contributor on special teams and a key cog with Larry Izzo playing elsewhere.

REPORT CARD VS. BENGALS

PASSING OFFENSE: A-plus -- Hard to find anything wrong in this department. Tom Brady had another 300-yard passing game, and Wes Welker finished with 15 catches, setting a franchise record for a regulation game. The Patriots have been clicking on all cylinders in the passing game recently, and Sunday was no exception.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus -- This was a mixed bag. Laurence Maroney had two touchdowns Sunday, but he also fumbled for the second week in a row. Overall, the Patriots dominated through the air, and the running game was merely an afterthought. Nothing great, but nothing terrible either.

PASS DEFENSE: A-plus -- Pretty close to perfection here. The Patriots held Mark Sanchez to eight completions with four interceptions. They completely dominated at the line of scrimmage and made the once-promising rookie look incredibly awkward.

RUSH DEFENSE: C -- Thomas Jones finished with 103 yards, and they weren't just garbage-time yards either. The Jets once trailed 24-0 but got back in the game thanks to their performance on the ground. For all the pressure the Patriots put on Sanchez, there were some holes in their run defense that need to be corrected.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Stephen Gostkowski had a rare miss from 40 yards out, but Chris Hanson did a nice job with two punts inside the 20-yard line. Again, there wasn't much going on in the return game on both sides of the ball and no major field-position swings as a result.

COACHING: A -- You can't find fault with any of Bill Belichick's calls this week. Then again, he didn't face any major decisions late in the game. Aside from losing a challenge in the first half, everything went according to the game plan, and the Patriots did a nice job rebounding from their early-season loss to the Jets.