PATRIOTS 31, JETS 14

FOXBORO - Darrelle Revis shut down Randy Moss yesterday. Wes Welker shut up the New York Jets. As trade-offs go, the Patriots will take it. After a week of endless palaver over whether or not the third-year cornerback shut down Moss during the Jets' 16-9 win against the Patriots nine weeks ago, Moss said we'd see if Revis could back up such talk yesterday. We did. He did. So what? Early in what would become a 31-14 Patriots rout at Gillette Stadium, Tom Brady took several shots downfield in Moss' direction. Every time, Revis was in his grill. That being the case, Brady decided to throw to whom he long ago said was always his favorite receiver - the open one. More than half the time that was Welker, who ended up with 15 receptions for 192 yards, enough catches that even Revis noticed even though he was otherwise occupied. ``We played those guys straight up,'' Revis said. ``Welker and Brady, they're a 1-2 punch and they got the best of us. (Welker) kept us in the middle of the field, running all the pivot moves. One time we came back to the sideline and he ran a triple move route or something. It was crazy, but I mean, he's a great player and he beat us today.'' Like Ginger Baker on drums, he did. Moss' presence had something to do with that because Revis is the Jets' best cornerback and he was fully occupied with him, limiting Moss to five receptions on 11 balls thrown in his direction for only 34 yards (6.8 per catch) and a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter that was all but impossible to stop if properly run, which it was. But while Moss was being shut down, the Jets were being run over by the 185-pound Welker, whose 192 yards were the third-highest total in team history. It was the fourth time this season he's made 10 or more catches in a game and a reminder that he had not played in that Week 2 matchup against the Jets, an absence the Patriots could not afford. ``That Welker, he's like the Energizer Bunny,'' Revis said with admiration. ``He keeps going and going, even when you knock him down. With Welker you have to press him. You have to get physical with him. He's shifty in there.'' Welker's success was a combination of the Jets' close attention to Moss and the fact that he may be the most dangerous slot receiver in Football because he not only uses his speed and agility coming out of cuts to paralyze defenders but also possesses an understanding of the usage of space that would rival Frank Lloyd Wright's. Since the slot receiver has more space at his disposal than any other receiver on the field, that understanding of open space - where it is and how to get to it - is the essence of his game. Yesterday, it was also the end of the Jets' season, for all intents and purposes. ``When you line up in the slot you have the whole field to work with . . . and you're typically on the third DB that comes on the field,'' Brady said. ``You're part of all the combination routes with the tight ends and the running backs. It's tough to do. You've got to see things very quickly. Wes is able to use his quickness to get open over the middle, in the flat, down the field. ``When you're the outside guys you're usually against the better players and you have a really limited amount of field to work. So if they decide to really cover you, then you've got to find other guys to work and Wes really took advantage of it.'' Welker tortured Drew Coleman and Donald Strickland and Eric Smith. Condemned men suffered less than they did at the hands, feet and head of Welker, who repeatedly came open. Yet for all he had done, he still was left alone to run straight up the field on what would be a 43-yard gain when three different Jets jumped one of Moss' routes after initially showing blitz and then changing their minds. While all that focus was on Moss, the little guy from Texas Tech was loping downfield, his hand up like Mini Moss signaling Brady to change the route and throw him the ball, which he did. Gladly. ``I knew there were probably going to be a lot of balls coming my way but not to that extent,'' Welker said. ``Knowing they were going to probably match Revis on (Randy) and play a lot of deep safeties back there I'd be able to work the midde of the field in there. ``I expect the ball to come my way every time I'm on the field so I wouldn't necessarily say just because we got in the groove or anything today. That's my mentality every time I step out there.'' Yesterday, the Jets' mentality was to stop Randy Moss. They did. So what? - rborges@bostonherald.com