Brady, Patriots look to end playoff slide

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Tom Brady is on his usual late-season roll. He'd just like to stop his recent playoff slide.

The quarterback with tunnel vision, focusing on the next practice and the next game, is on an eight-game winning streak. That may be a better sign of how his next one will go than his three-game postseason losing streak.

A win tomorrow night would send Brady and the New England Patriots to the AFC championship game and end the Tebowmania season of the Denver Broncos.

Preparing for the upcoming game is all Brady cares about.

"I haven't thought about anything about last year or last week," he said before practice this week. "I'm trying to think about today."

Before last week's bye, the Patriots (13-3) scored 49 straight points and beat the Buffalo Bills, 49-21. During the winning streak, Brady has thrown for 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions. His success has made an impression on Tebow.

He can learn, Tebow said, from "being able to watch a quarterback like that -- how he handles himself, the emotion that he plays with but at the same time the calmness that he plays with . . . the way he motivates his players."

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Brady won his first 10 postseason games and three Super Bowls. He was 14-2 before having a drastic reversal with three consecutive losses -- 17-14 to the Giants in the Super Bowl of the 2007 season, 33-14 to the Baltimore Ravens two years ago and 28-21 to the Jets last year. Those last two were at home.

The Broncos (9-8) lost their last three regular-season games but still won the AFC West. Then they beat Pittsburgh, 29-23, on an 80-yard pass from Tebow to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime last Sunday. The Broncos, on their home field, already have lost to the Pats this season. Denver rushed for 167 yards in the first quarter, led 16-7, but committed three turnovers in the second and lost 41-23 on Dec. 18.

"Those guys are fast and explosive," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "They can go inside, outside, power rush, occasionally drop into coverage, make a lot of plays from behind. They're strong at the point of attack. They're very good, very good."