Giants vs. Patriots: Why Surviving Baltimore Ravens Gives Tom Brady Huge Edge

Winning in the playoffs is never easy, but the New England Patriots made it look that way in their divisional-round rout of the Denver Broncos in which quarterback Tom Brady threw for 363 yards, six scores and one interception in the 45-10 win.

It wasn't as smooth for Brady in the AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, which saw the Patriots just one dropped touchdown pass away from watching the Super Bowl from home this year.

The Ravens had the top defense in the AFC in 2011, and they certainly proved why against the Patriots last week. Brady put up the worst postseason performance in his career, and even he knew it. Brady had just 239 yards on 22 completions, threw no touchdowns and was intercepted twice.

Though he was sacked just once and hit three times, he still faced constant pressure and was throwing off the mark all day because of it. It's certainly not the ideal situation for any quarterback to be in, but for Brady, it was the perfect way to prepare to meet the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

The Giants defense ranked just 25th in points allowed and 27th in yards allowed in the regular season, but were sixth in interceptions with 20 and had 48 sacks. They notched 9 sacks in their three postseason games, along with 18 quarterback hits and a single interception.

Brady's clearly in more danger of being hit and sacked by the Giants in the Super Bowl than he is of being picked off, but that's cold comfort for a team that relies so heavily on passing the ball.

At least Brady had a preview of what he's likely in for in the Super Bowl. It's no secret that the strength of the Giants defense lies in their pass rush, and they're going to be honing in on Brady every time he drops back to pass.

Brady's good at reading defenses, to be sure, as well as evading pressure, however it's hard to keep that up through four quarters against a squad as brutal as the Giants.

The Ravens are equally as tough up front and while they had success against Brady, it wasn't enough to keep the Patriots from ultimately winning.

Brady also has an advantage by having already met the Giants defense during the regular season. In that game, a Week 9 24-20 Patriots loss, Brady was sacked twice, threw two picks and lost a fumble.

He's well aware of what the Giants pass rush is capable of accomplishing, but facing the Ravens last week was a good refresher course.

If Brady and the Patriots can learn what they did wrong when faced with the Ravens' defensive pressure last week, they'll have a leg up on the Giants in two weeks.

While it's never fun to take on two of the more effective pass rushes in the NFL in two consecutive games, it actually is an advantage for Brady to first have to go through the Ravens before meeting the Giants in this year's Super Bowl.

He'll be far more prepared for what the Giants are likely to attempt in order to stop him, which means his chances for success are that much greater.