Jets/Patriots' War Of Words Won't Matter Much Come Sunday

Though the game is still a few days away, the tension is palpable.

Both teams don’t like each other, we get that. Regardless on which side of the fence you are on, it has been an entertaining buildup to one of the more intriguing playoff games this weekend.  The showdown features two teams with different mindsets.

The Jets have the junk-yard dog mentality. They are big and bad and are not afraid to show it. They have made headlines attacking the Patriots from everything from game preparation to calling Tom Brady names.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are like Cool Hand Luke. They don’t fire back and let their play do the talking.

It’s Rocky vs. Clubber Lang. So who wins the rubber match?

Both teams look better since their last showdown. The Jets had an impressive win over Indianapolis. In that game, they ran the ball well and did something we haven’t seen them do much this year, not blitz. Instead of bringing the house at Peyton Manning, they sat back and allowed their talented secondary to make plays. The result was a 17-16 win. They will need a similar game plan this week.

On the other sidelines, the Patriots must ride the horse that got them to this point.

While the running game hasn’t been lights out, they have shown patience with it and this has paid huge dividends. You know that Tom Brady will have a solid performance so as long as the run game can provide some balance; they will be hard to stop.

Defensively, they need to shut down the run and make Mark Sanchez beat them with his arm. If it comes down to that, New England fans should like their odds.

Recent history is not on the side of New England. In the last five playoff games that saw a six seed go against the one seed, the six seed is 4-1.

With that said if the Patriots play their brand of football they’ll win. And like the Jets' comments, recent history won’t play a factor.