Patriots in perfect position

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Next stop: Perfection.

Brushing aside Miami the way they might flick lint off their cloak of invincibility, the New England Patriots took their next-to-last step toward a perfect regular season Sunday with a 28-7 victory at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots (15-0) finish Saturday on the road against the New York Giants, who probably will rest players after clinching a playoff berth Sunday with a victory at Buffalo.

But the Patriots have said repeatedly they have no plans to ease their foot off the accelerator, even though they wrapped up home-field advantage a week before the Dolphins came to town.

History hangs in the balance. If the Patriots win at Giants Stadium, they will join the 1972 Dolphins as the only modern-era team to win every regular-season game. That Miami team went on to win the Super Bowl, which, of course, is New England’s goal.

Patriots-Giants will air on the NFL Network, meaning it will be available to only about 40% of TV homes. That should further intensify the ongoing battle between the league and cable companies.

As for the Patriots, even though they won three championships in four seasons, this was the first time in franchise history they went undefeated in their division. They also extended their regular-season winning streak to 18, tying the record they set in 2003-04.

By scoring its 71st touchdown of the season, New England broke the record set by Miami in 1984. Also, the Patriots need only six points to break the scoring mark of the 1998 Minnesota Vikings.

Some of the league’s individual records are teetering too. Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes -- all in the first half -- to push his season total to 48, one shy of the mark set by Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning in 2004.

Twenty-one of Brady’s touchdown passes have been thrown to Randy Moss, who needs one more to match the single-season record San Francisco’s Jerry Rice set in 1987.

But those feats are mere footnotes for the Patriots. The team’s message is clear and unwavering: Records -- and especially individual ones -- are only to be savored when this season is long over.

“If I break the record, I’m cool,” Moss said. “If I don’t, I’m cool. As long as that zero stays in that right column, I’m fine. Basically what I’m saying is I want to keep winning. To hell with that record.”

Moss and his teammates have long-range goals and short-range vision. For the moment, they’re in a New York state of mind. In fact, they’re disclosing so little to reporters that when Brady was asked of his Christmas plans, he shrugged and said, “It’s a hell of a holiday.”

In a game that was more coronation than legitimate challenge, the Patriots showed everything one might expect of the once-and-future kings: a prolific offense, stifling defense, and -- here’s a twist -- even a little mercy.

The latter came at the end of the first half, when Brady ran out the clock by taking a knee rather than trying to build on a four-touchdown lead. Yes, there were only 17 seconds left and the Patriots were backed up to their four-yard line, but this is a team that can score from anywhere and makes no apologies about littering the road to their fourth ring with neck-wringings. Ten times this season, they have won by 20 points or more.

Then again, it’s downright cruel to pulverize a team such as the one-win Dolphins, who make life miserable enough on themselves. Case in point: On fourth and goal from the one, quarterback Cleo Lemon rolled right and made a beeline for the pylon in the front corner of the end zone. With two defenders closing on him, he opted not to dive for the touchdown or even reach the ball across the goal line.

Instead, in a decision emblematic of what ails Miami (1-14) this season, he ran out of bounds.

It’s a good thing for Lemon that Bill Parcells has yet to assume his new position as the team’s director of football operations, because, after a play like that, Parcells might have cut him before the kid boarded the team bus back to the airport.

The mercy didn’t last long. With nine minutes remaining, the Patriots went for it on fourth and eight from the Miami 26. In a moment some might describe as karmic, Brady was stripped on the play and the Dolphins recovered.

Although he didn’t take the beating Lemon did -- he was sacked seven times -- Brady was frequently harassed and hurried. He was sacked three times, and the Patriots were outscored, 7-0, in the second half. Some of that was their sloppiness, and some was good play by the Dolphins’ defense.

Before the game, Patriots owner Robert Kraft hosted a small get-together in the room adjacent to his office. Mingling in the gathering of about 40 people were Red Sox stars Curt Schilling and David “Big Papi” Ortiz, and owner John Henry.

Prominently displayed on a table in the room were five trophies -- three from the Super Bowl and two from the World Series. “This is something historic,” Kraft said, motioning to the shiny cluster. “We’ve never had all five of them together before.”

And that Fab Five might never be together again -- because there will be six.

Six, that is, in Kraft’s perfect world.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com

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Pointed response

With 28 points Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots have scored the second-most points in a season in NFL history and need six points Saturday against the New York Giants to set the record. The top five:

*--* PTS TEAM SEASON 556 Minnesota 1998 551 New England 2007 541 Washington 1983 540 St. Louis 2000 526 St. Louis 1999 *--*