Jets Freeze Patriots in Their Quest

The New York Jets defeated the New England Patriots 28-21 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. While the fans were quiet and shivering, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and the number one defense in the NFL sent Tom Brady home, ending their playoff run.

According to Sam Farmer and the Associated Press, the Jets defense sacked Brady a whopping five times and caught an interception early on in the game. He was definitely confused and hurried almost every play, especially after an early interception and sack after sack. The Patriots were favored by 10 points to win, but all that didn't matter because the Jets played to win and finished seven points ahead.

Brady and the Patriots just made too many mistakes to get in the lead. There was a fake punt that went awful and gave the Jets great field position to grab some easy points. Brady's interception resulted in a missed field goal by the Jets and should have easily cost him another three points. Brady's offensive line had a difficult time containing the Jets' aggressive defense and their extreme pressure. Wes Welker got benched and no one confirmed that it was because of him making fun of Jets coach Rex Ryan the previous week.

New England's coach, Bill Belichick, admitted that they didn't play as well as the team can and it was going to be tough to pack it up for the season. The Jets will be playing the Steelers for the AFC Championship next week. Pittsburgh had to come from behind to win against the surging Baltimore Ravens. This is going to be a tough match up because both teams have an outstanding defense.

Sanchez had a great game, throwing three touchdown passes and avoiding an interception and a sack. It will be almost impossible to have that kind of repeat performance against the tough Pittsburgh Steelers. Being in the league for only two years could be a point against him, as the games get bigger and more important. Sanchez will be looking for receiver Santanio Holmes, who made an amazing grab in the back corner of the end zone, barely keeping himself inbounds.

Sources: My own reporting and view of the game.

Sam Fisher associated press http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/nfl-wire/article314416.ece