Tom Brady Shakes Demons of Patriots Playoff Loss in Win over New York Jets

The New England Patriots looked like a team on the doorstep of greatness in 2010, but the opportunity slammed shut on their fingertips before they even really got a crack at it. 

Against the same team that dashed New England's playoff hopes the last time around, Brady refused to go down despite largely the same circumstances.

Just look at the numbers. In the 2010-11 divisional playoff game, Brady was sacked five times. He finished 29 of 45 (64.4 percent) with 299 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT and an 89.0 passer rating.

In Week 5, he was sacked four times. He finished that game 24 of 33 (72.7 percent), 321 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and a 97.3 passer rating.

He was noticeably disappointed in his performance after the game, and said, "I thought we did a decent job at times, but we obviously left a lot of points out there." This after he put up nearly 300 yards against the vaunted Jets defense.

Besides the higher completion percentage and fewer attempts, those numbers are very similar. What was different, though?

Balance

The Patriots achieved their best balance of the season against New York. They ran the ball 48.6 percent against 51.4 percent pass attempts. They were able to expose the weakness in the running game (never thought I'd type those words about a Jets defense) by picking up 4.4 yards per carry.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis had the best game of his career, tying a career-high in touchdowns and setting a career-high in rushing yards with 136. His ability to take the air out of the ball was essential in New England sealing the deal on the win, as he carried the ball 10 times for 59 yards on the Patriots final offensive drive.

This took the pressure off of Tom Brady to be Superman, as it had been placed so squarely on his shoulders in the playoffs.

Turnover battle: Lost. Game: Won.

The Patriots have relied heavily on ball security to win ball games over the past few years. In fact, the Patriots are 4-8 when they lose the turnover battle since 2009, and have been outscored 178-254 in those games, roughly a touchdown per game.

Yikes.

It may have been just one turnover, but there's no describing how big that play could have been to the outcome of the game. Antonio Cromartie's interception on Aaron Hernandez's bobbled goal line pass robbed the Patriots of at least three points, but nine times out of 10 that play is a touchdown.

The fact that New England was able to round it out with a solid defensive performance.

Wait...

Defense? 

Did I just say "solid defensive performance?" Did the Patriots really have four three-and-outs to start the game, and seven overall? The Patriots must have kidnapped the Ravens defense and suited them up in Pat Patriot red uniforms.

New England held Mark Sanchez to 166 yards passing, while holding the Jets running game under four yards per carry.

Those aren't spectacular numbers, especially considering the competition, and it's fair to say the defense may have benefited in part from the Jets offense which is in a bigger tailspin than anything BMXer Mike Spinner could pull off. New England's defense didn't let a less-than-mediocre quarterback look like Joe Montana. And that, for these Patriots, is a huge compliment.

Resolve

The only appropriate word to describe Brady against the Jets last year is "shook." Not only did Brady not know where the pressure was coming from, but he didn't know when it was coming. Despite hitting him a lot and sacking him four times on Sunday, he hung in the pocket to make the throws.

On second thought, maybe that completion percentage is more important than once portrayed. A lot of those incompletions in the playoffs were simply misfires or plays where Brady made a bad read. None of that happened on Sunday.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.