The long, onerous one-year absence from playoff football is over for the New England Patriots.
Mac Jones and Co. officially punched their tickets to the dance on Sunday with a 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium which, coupled with a Miami Dolphins loss to the Tennessee Titans, ensured the Patriots at least a wild-card spot.
Jones, the fifth quarterback drafted last April, outplayed the first overall pick, Trevor Lawrence, in every facet. Jones completed 22 of 30 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, good enough for the second-highest passer rating of his career at 128.1.
Lawrence, meanwhile, was picked off three times, finishing the game 17 of 27 for 193 yards, a late touchdown pass on a screen giving his passer rating a boost to 57.1. Lawrence, who's now thrown a league-high 17 interceptions, was picked off by J.C. Jackson, Myles Bryant and Kyle Dugger.
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The Patriots scored on all four of their first half possessions, just the third time in the Bill Belichick era they've done so:
Damien Harris plunged in from 2 yards out on New England's opening possession, putting the team ahead for good, and scored from 7 yards out following a Jacksonville field goal to up the Patriots' lead to 14-3 early in the second quarter.
With his pair of rushing scores, Harris matched Curtis Martin for the second-most touchdowns on the ground in franchise history for a single season, with 14.
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Kristian Wilkerson -- in the lineup in place of N'Keal Harry, a healthy scratch -- caught his first of two touchdowns for a 21-3 lead on a 6-yard pass from Jones with 4:40 to go in the first half and Jakobi Meyers notched the second receiving touchdown of his season (and career) from 4 yards out in the final minute of the frame.
Wilkerson, who finished the game with four catches for 42 yards, scored his second touchdown on a wide-open throw from Jones from 20 yards out to open the second half.
Rhamondre Stevenson added a pair of rushing touchdowns to extend the New England lead, along with a 43-yard field goal from Nick Folk to help the Patriots top 50 points for the second time this season (Week 7 vs. the Jets, 54-13).
On 18 carries, the rookie Stevenson had a career-high 106 yards rushing.
New England closes out the regular season in Miami next Sunday at 1 p.m.
