FOXBOROUGH - There was a lot to like yesterday at Gillette Stadium. Tom Brady looked as good as he has since the 59-0 rout of Tennessee. The running game, even with Laurence Maroney bolted to the bench after another red-zone fumble, rolled up 197 yards, produced big plays, and covered tough ground. The run defense held the Jaguars to 3.9 yards per carry and Maurice Jones-Drew to 63 yards on 18 attempts. And David Garrard was sacked twice and hit seven times. So here's what you say if you're Bill Belichick: 'I've seen enough.' No reason to risk Brady's health, or the well-being of Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, or anyone else on the roster who's even marginally nicked. And it's not hard to figure the reason. Without Brady or Wilfork, this team isn't going anywhere, and the margin of error is thin enough that the slightest player attrition could spell the end in the playoffs. Now, don't get the message mixed up. If players are healthy, they should play next Sunday in Houston against the Texans. But that threshold for putting banged-up guys out there has to come down a couple of notches, because this team needs as close to a full deck as it can get to make any noise in the tournament. Warren said after yesterday's win over the Jaguars that a motivating factor for him to play was to get the division wrapped up, and give the team the leeway to make the decision next week on his availability. 'I mean, the only reason I suited up today was to clinch the division, so I can rest for the playoffs,' he said. 'To get this out of the way is nice ... Other guys can get the rest they need and the healing they need to make a push in the playoffs.' It's important to note what will be on the line Sunday. The Patriots cannot catch the Colts or Chargers, and they will be playing the first weekend of the playoffs at home. The only thing left to be decided is whether they'll be the third or fourth seed. The Bengals clinched the AFC North yesterday, meaning they're the other team in that mix, and Cincinnati has to play at the Jets next week. The fifth and sixth seeds will be determined among the mess of 8-7 (Denver, the Jets, Baltimore, Houston, and Pittsburgh) and 7-8 (Miami and Jacksonville) teams battling for the two wild cards. Does the Patriots' playoff seeding make a difference? It could. But this is unlike 2005, when the Patriots knew they wanted the Jaguars instead of the Steelers in Round 1, and were well aware of what it would take to avoid Pittsburgh. That pursuit led to Matt Cassel being instructed to hit the beer vendor on an 'attempted' 2-point conversion at the end of a 28-26 loss to Miami. In this case, there's no telling what will emerge from the Week 17 muck. On top of that, the Bengals - who lost two straight before scuffling to beat the sad-sack Chiefs yesterday - aren't a lock to make it through to the Divisional round. So the Patriots could wind up, with a win in the first round, as the de facto third seed anyway. Either way, looking at all that is enough to give one a migraine. There's a ton of uncertainty, so the Patriots will preach trying to control only what they can. Player health falls under that heading, and is much more important than breaking down all the possible scenarios. 'There are a lot of guys that are banged up, myself being one of them, Vince, and right on down the line,' Warren said. 'We could definitely benefit from some rest this coming week. We just have to see what's in the coach's plans and what way he wants to go with it. 'It's like my situation today, they helped me manage what I had going on.' And now, they have to manage the team's greater goals. 'It's their decision, and they're going to do what they feel is best,' said running back Fred Taylor, who returned to action yesterday following ankle surgery. 'I guess it depends on how severe an injury you'd had. Going ((into the playoffs)), that's what it's all about. That's why we play.' In 2005, Taylor was shelved for the final game of the regular season by Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio, as was quarterback Byron Leftwich, fullback Greg Jones, guard Chris Naeole, and defensive end Paul Spicer. The Jags won anyway, 40-13, over the Titans, then were routed, 28-3, by the Patriots - the ones who 'lost' that Dolphins game - in the wild-card round. But regardless of how it played out, Taylor said he and the rest of the Jaguars who sat out got the desired result. 'We tried to sneak and use it as our bye week,' Taylor said. 'Personally, I think it worked for me. I was a little fresher. I had a pretty severe injury and they didn't want to lose me.' There is another school of thought here, and it has validity. The Patriots' offense had been stuck in neutral for weeks before breaking out yesterday, and it hasn't put two big-time performances together in more than a month. The defense hasn't really slowed a high-powered opponent all season, and a desperate Houston team loaded on the offensive side of the ball could provide a test that, if passed, would boost confidence. When asked about players resting next week, the dean of the Patriots' locker room, Kevin Faulk, responded, 'This team? We gotta keep playing. We haven't played consistently enough to say that guys need to take a rest. Hands down, we have to keep playing, and keep playing good football, and be consistent.' And they can try to do that next week, while being smart about it. The healthy players play. Those who aren't don't. Simple as that. 'I don't think anybody's 100 percent this time of year that's played 15 regular-season games,' Belichick said. 'We're out there, those guys are fighting through it, fighting through to be on the practice field so we can get our timing and execution during the week, and then fighting through it on Sunday. That's what good players do, and we're fortunate to have a lot of good players on this team.' The way things have gone this season, it's clear they can't lose too many more of those guys and have any hope of making more than a cameo in the playoffs. So now, it's time to give the players who need that breather a rest. Because if one thing is clear, when this season is reviewed, no one will be raising their glasses to a win in Houston in Week 17. And if the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs comes down to having the third seed, this team probably wasn't going to reach its ultimate goal anyway. Albert R. Breer can be reached at abreer@globe.com. 