Bruschi stays put on sideline

FOXBOROUGH -- Linebacker Tedy Bruschi was in uniform, though he did not play in New England's 28-3 romp over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium last night. Bruschi, who strained his calf against the Jets two weeks ago, warmed up, but stood on the sideline for much of the contest.

In the second half, he wore a pressure wrap on his left calf as he sat on the team's heated bench. Bruschi declined an interview after the game, saying that teammates who played deserved the attention.

One such teammate is Monty Beisel, who earned the start in Bruschi's place.

Maligned in many corners for being in the starting lineup when the Patriots' defense struggled early in the season, Beisel played well with two tackles, one that accounted for an 8-yard loss in the first quarter.

''Obviously it was a huge game for me," Beisel said. ''We were kind of unsure what was going to happen with Tedy, and I just had prepare all week like I was going to go out there and play.

''I think we went out there and were able to get 'em out of what they wanted to do and get 'em into throwing the ball. I think it was a great overall effort for the whole team."

That early run-stuffing effort actually led to Beisel not playing much in the second half. For the most part, Jacksonville went with four wideouts from the midway point of the second quarter, forcing the Patriots to play nickel or dime defenses.

That opened the door to plenty of playing time for Chad Brown, who started at inside next to Beisel early in the season, but has since given way to Mike Vrabel.

''It totally was fun," Brown said. ''I came here to help the team anyway I could."

Brown had three tackles, including one on special teams, and a pass breakup.

A horse is a horse

The Patriots won't find out who their next opponent will be until tonight, but coach Bill Belichick said the team has already done ''preliminary work" on the Colts and Broncos. If Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati today, New England will play in Denver Saturday night. Should the Bengals win, the Patriots will play at Indianapolis a week from today. Denver topped the Patriots, 28-20, at Invesco Field Oct. 16, and Indianapolis beat the Patriots, 40-21, at Gillette Nov. 7. ''Whoever we play, they beat us pretty handily this year," Belichick said . . . Twice New England was within Adam Vinatieri's normal field goal range, but elected not to try the kicks in the cold night air (game-time temperature of 24 degrees). Vinatieri has said that the wind in night games at Gillette typically blows half as hard as it does during the day, and the night air was rather calm before kickoff. In the first quarter, Vinatieri had the third punt of his career, a 24-yard pooch kick that deep snapper Lonie Paxton covered at the Jacksonville 4. Vinatieri lined up for a 46-yard field goal toward the north end zone, but his pregame workout indicated that distance was at the edge of his range. ''When we decided yardages, that exactly the distance that we decided [was the max]," Vinatieri said. ''At that point of the game it was a field-position game and we work that punt thing every week now. ''If it works like this one did . . . and you put 'em back on their own 4-yard line, that's just like scoring 3 points." A little later in the quarter, the Patriots decided not to try a kick from the 47, going for it on a fourth-and-10 from the 30. Tom Brady threw incomplete to turn the ball over on downs. Vinatieri said he was cleared up to 50 yards heading into the south end of the stadium . . . The game got off to a stuttering start, as there were two penalties marked off before an official play from scrimmage. Patriots guard Stephen Neal was called for holding to nullify the first play and Jacksonville's Marcus Stroud was flagged for a neutral-zone infraction prior to the next snap. When a play was finally put into the books, it was a humorous one, as Brady drilled umpire Chad Brown (no relation to Patriots' linebacker) with a throw over the middle . . . The Jaguars said they were not concerned about the temperature, but you could not tell by their actions. By NFL rules, the Patriots are required to supply visiting teams with the same heating devices used on their sideline: heated benches and a pair of large, industrial heaters on each end of the row of benches. The Jaguars brought along four additional ''All Pro" forced air heaters, and six heat lamps that they placed behind the bench. ''In college, I played in snow just about every weekend," said Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich, who is from Washington, D.C., and played at Marshall in Huntington, W.Va."

Lots of love for Smith

Lovie Smith was hired to resurrect a proud franchise in Chicago. He did such a strong job in 2005 that he was chosen the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year yesterday. And he beat out his mentor, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, for the honor. In his second season, Smith guided the Bears to the NFC North title with an 11-5 record, earning a first-round playoff bye. Chicago had the league's stingiest defense, which figures because Smith made his reputation as a defensive mastermind, first in Tampa Bay under Dungy, then in St. Louis. Smith is the fourth Bears coach to win the award. George Halas, the founder of the franchise, won it in 1963 and '65. Mike Ditka was honored in 1985 and '88. Dick Jauron won in 2001. Also receiving votes were Belichick (2), and one each for Seattle's Mike Holmgren, Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, and the Giants' Tom Coughlin. . . . Perhaps only one Patriot -- receiver/return man Bethel Johnson -- was on the inactive list that might have seen any meaningful action last night. Johnson (knee) was inactive for five games. Joining him were receiver Bam Childress, running back Heath Evans, defensive linemen Santonio Thomas and Dan Klecko, offensive linemen Ross Tucker and Billy Yates. Matt Cassel was designated the No. 3 quarterback. The Patriots moved Thomas onto the active roster and dropped fellow rookie tackle Mike Wright (ankle) to injured reserve . . . The Patriots signed quarterback Todd Mortensen, wide receiver John Stone, running back Earl Charles, and wide receiver Rich Musinski to future contracts. The players are eligible to be put on the squad when the team's roster expands to 80 at season's end. The Patriots said Charles and Musinski will be allocated to NFL Europe. All four of the players were undrafted free agents. Charles originally signed with the Patriots last April, but was released before training camp. Musinski was with New England for a week of training camp before being cut.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.