FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots gave away home-field advantage in the playoffs last season with back-to-back losses to the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

This time New England wants to control its own road through the postseason.

New England Patriots tight end Matt Lengel, left, celebrates his touchdown catch with Julian Edelman, center, and Malcolm Mitchell during the first half against the New York Jets on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass. (Associated Press/Charles Krupa)

Tom Brady passed for 214 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, and the Patriots moved a step closer to securing home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 41-3 victory against the Jets.

A win next week, or a loss or tie by the Raiders next week, would give New England the AFC’s top seed.

Bill Belichick earned his 200th victory in New England, making him the fifth coach in NFL history to reach the milestone with one team. He joined George Halas (318 with the Bears), Don Shula (257 with the Dolphins), Tom Landry (250 with the Cowboys) and Curly Lambeau (209 with Green Bay).

Belichick is 200-71 with the Patriots and also had a 36-44 record with Cleveland.

Brady said the foundation was laid for Saturday’s performance on the plane back after last week’s win at Denver.

“We said, ‘Look, we’re finishing strong.’ You know, the pedal to the metal,” Brady said. “Last year we didn’t finish strong. We didn’t like the way things ended.”

Malcolm Butler added two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and LeGarrette Blount had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.

New England (13-2) took advantage of New York miscues all day, scoring on three of its first four possessions.

The Jets (4-11), who have lost 6 of 7, had four turnovers.

It all helped make for a short day of work for Brady, who sat out the fourth quarter.

The only really good news for the Jets came before the game, when Coach Todd Bowles rejoined the team and coached from the sideline a day after a medical scare had sent him to the hospital.

Bowles, 53, didn’t travel on the team plane Friday but joined the Jets in New England on Saturday morning. He fell ill Friday afternoon with gallstones and kidney stones, and was taken to a hospital in New Jersey.

But injuries for New York continue to pile up.

For the second straight week, starting quarterback Bryce Petty’s day ended early when he went to the sideline in the first quarter with a left shoulder injury.

He was replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick, but it did little to improve New York’s offense.

The Jets finished with 239 yards and were 1 of 11 on third down. Petty was 0-for-3 passing with an interception. Fitzpatrick finished 8 of 21 for 136 yards and two interceptions.

Receiver Brandon Marshall also left in the third quarter with a left hip injury.

New England turned New York’s three first-half turnovers into points.

First, Butler picked off a pass from Petty to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass by Brady to Martellus Bennett that put the Patriots up 10-0.

A few series later, Butler was there again to pounce on Khiry Robinson’s fumble that set up a 22-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

Then, after Fitzpatrick replaced Petty, his second drive started with a deep pass along the sideline intended for Marshall that was intercepted by Eric Rowe.

That was followed by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Matt Lengel, who made his first NFL reception.

NOTES: Tom Brady marked yet another career milestone with 50 career games with at least three touchdowns and no interceptions. … With his 22-yard field goal in the second quarter, Gostkowski notched his 300th career field goal. He is the 30th player to reach that mark. …

Fitzpatrick said the team was pleased to see Bowles arrive in New England after spending time in the hospital.

“There was a sense of relief seeing him in the locker room before the game, just making sure he was OK,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a scary thing.”

Bowles said he wasn’t certain he would be able to make it to the game at all.

“Gallstones got stuck in the pipe. A lot of pain, and (it) went from there,” he said. “I had to pass some tests and be feeling somewhat normal to get out there.” …

The Patriots don’t seem to be having any trouble filling in for tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Lengel was an undrafted free agent who spent last season on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad. The Patriots signed him last month when Gronkowski was injured. Gronkowski returned to play in two more games before having season-ending back surgery.

With the All-Pro tight end out, the Patriots have relied mostly on Martellus Bennett, who had 52 catches and six touchdowns, including the score against the Jets.

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