FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -The New England Patriots moved ahead in the playoffs this season without two of their best players from last season.

Receivers Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell made up for the absence of Deion Branch. And rookie Stephen Gostkowski's perfect day at making field goals put memories of clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri far in the background.

Gaffney led the Patriots with eight catches for 104 yards and Gostkowski was 3-for-3 on field goals as New England beat the New York Jets 37-16 on Sunday. The Patriots visit San Diego for next Sunday's second-round playoff game against the Chargers.

``We keep playing like that, we can make it a long ways,'' said Caldwell, who caught five passes Sunday and joined the Patriots this season after leaving San Diego as a free agent. ``Jabar Gaffney made some key plays.''

Branch was traded to Seattle after a contract holdout. And David Givens, the Patriots second-best receiver last year, signed as a free agent with Tennessee.

The receivers ``were clicking. Jabar did a great job,'' Caldwell said. ``I think we're just improving each week and it's showing on Sundays.''

Gaffney had three receptions, all for first downs, on the game's opening drive that led to Corey Dillon's 11-yard scoring run.

``That was probably his best week of practice all year,'' quarterback Tom Brady said of Gaffney, who joined the Patriots this season after being released by Houston. ``He was the guy that was singled (on coverage) a lot out there. He really played well in his first playoff game ever.''

So did Gostkowski. He kicked field goals of 20, 40 and 28 yards - the last giving the Patriots a 23-13 lead with four seconds left in the third quarter.

For one week, at least, he answered fans who questioned his ability to perform in big games the way Vinatieri did in kicking game-winners in two Super Bowls.

``We don't bring guys in here that can't handle the pressure,'' second-year Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. ``The one thing you can say about all of us is we're always prepared. Steve has always been prepared. The pressure is there, but we know how to handle it.''

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