Bill Belichick doesn't mince words to get his message across. Sunday was no exception.
Following the New England Patriots' 38-3 trouncing of the New York Jets that clinched a first-round playoff bye, Belichick aptly summed up the importance of the victory in a postgame speech to his team.
"Winning today means we won next week," Belichick said. "That's what winning today means."
(Click here to watch Belichick's speech and the Patriots' locker room celebration on Patriots.com.)
If the Patriots had lost in Week 16 or Week 17, they would have had to play on Wild Card weekend for the first time since 2009.