FOXBOROUGH - If only looking the part meant you were entitled to play the part.

The New England Patriots performed very much liked a playoff team on Sunday, obliterating the Arizona Cardinals 47-7 at Gillette Stadium, but the thoroughly embarrassed NFC West champion departed for the warmth of its desert home as the only team of the two assured of a postseason berth, the only one of the two comfortable that there would be Football life after the regular season.

The Patriots were nearly perfect, using a balanced attack to pile up 514 yards of total offense without committing a turnover, yet despite the steadiness they showed on their snowy home field they continue to fight the slippery slope of playoff elimination.

Entering the weekend, the Patriots needed to slip past two of the three teams - Jets, Dolphins, Ravens - that were above them in the playoff pecking order. They managed to pass the Jets, who lost 13-3 at Seattle on Sunday, but they still need another win next Sunday at Buffalo and more help.

A New England victory over Buffalo coupled with a Jets win over visiting Miami gives the Patriots the AFC East title and the third seed in the conference. If Miami wins and takes the division, New England can still grab the final wild-card spot and sixth seed with a win at Buffalo and a loss by Baltimore to visiting Jacksonville.

There are also scenarios involving ties, but the bottom line is the Patriots must have a better result in Week 17 than at least one of those two teams - Dolphins, Ravens - if they are to make the playoffs. All three are 10-5, but the Patriots lose all tiebreakers, so they must advance based on a better record.

It is possible New England will become only the second team to finish 11-5 and miss the playoffs since the league went to 16 games in 1978. The 1985 Denver Broncos lost a tiebreaker with the Jets and the Patriots to miss out despite that impressive mark.

"Whatever happens, happens," New England coach Bill Belichick said. "There's nothing we can do about the (other games). We just have to do what we can do, which (was) win today and go out there and play well against Buffalo next week."

The NFL is expected to set game times for Week 17 on Monday. However it works out, the Patriots are steadfast in their belief that making or missing the playoffs will be their own doing.

"We have no one to be frustrated with other than ourselves," guard Logan Mankins said. "We lost five games. That's on us. If we hadn't lost those five games, we'd have nothing to worry about."

Although New England deserved much credit on Sunday, Arizona was due its share of the blame. Despite all the talk about the team's rise this season and the need for a signature win before the playoffs, the Cardinals were total no-shows as they finished with 186 net yards on offense and were just as inept on defense.

Certainly, the Patriots were more suited to the conditions because of familiarity and a stronger running game, but that could only explain some of the disparity in play.

"It's disappointing, it's unacceptable," Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said of his team falling behind 31-0 in the first half. "You're supposed to be playing better Football than that at this time of the year."

The Patriots did not allow the Cardinals to pick up a first down in the opening 19 minutes, and it was already 21-0 at that point.

The Patriots held the Cardinals to zero net yards of offense in the first quarter and minus-10 in the third. By the end of that third, the lead was 44-0 and the edges in total net yards (470-45) and first downs (24-4) were seemingly reaching historical proportions.

"I think we have to continue to grow up," Whisenhunt said. "If we have adversity early in the game, it seems we can't recover from that."

Matt Cassel completed 20 of his 36 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns, impressive considering counterpart Kurt Warner was 6 for 18 for 30 yards in a little fewer than three quarters of action.

"Matt talked about it in the pre-game that his grip on the ball was fine," New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "The footballs were not all that wet, even though it was snowing and all that. As long as the wind is not a significant issue, we don't really see changing the passing game all that much. We kind of call the game the way we want to call it."

Although Cassel did throw the ball down the field, most notably to Jabar Gaffney (5-90), the Patriots mostly used the running game and short passes to do the damage.

Sammy Morris carried 15 times for 88 yards, and LaMont Jordan carried 20 times for 78 yards and two scores as part of ground attack that piled up 183 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry.

Morris also caught a screen pass that went for 42 yards and set up a touchdown, and Randy Moss went 76 yards for a score on a wide receiver screen in the third quarter.

"I think when you start to build a little momentum, and you start to get ahead by a few touchdowns and know you have control of the game, that's when it becomes fun," Cassel said of playing in the snow. "Until that point, you keep pressing forward."

The Patriots were as impressive on defense as on offense, with perhaps the only true downer coming when defensive end Richard Seymour left with a back injury.

"We aren't going to take any teams for granted, and we aren't going to be complacent," said New England linebacker Junior Seau. "We are going to finish off what was guaranteed to us, which was one more game."

Patriots 47

Cardinals 7

Left, Patriots receiver Wes Welker breaks free for an 11-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter Sunday at Foxborough. Above, Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel celebrates a first-quarter touchdown run by LaMont Jordan. The Patriots won 47-7 to improve to 10-5.