New England has become postseason Patsies

FOXBORO, Mass. - The New England Patriots know plenty about the teams playing for a berth in the Super Bowl. They beat all four of them during the regular season.

Once the postseason starts, though, the Patriots don't stick around very long. At least not anymore.

They were thoroughly outplayed for the second straight year in the playoffs on Sunday, losing to the Jets, 28-21, one year after falling to the Baltimore Ravens, 33-14. And both games were at home where Tom Brady's streak of 28 wins - and counting - as a regular-season starter is an NFL record.

New England was 14-2 heading into the playoffs. The Patriots regrouped following a stunning 34-14 loss to the Cleveland Browns, and won the last eight regular-season games. But in the playoffs, there's no chance to come back from a setback.

Coach Bill Belichick spoke to the media yesterday, with the loss fresh in his head. He didn't dwell completely on the negative, though, saying that the Patriots had "a better record than any other team. It was good, but it's not the final measuring stick. We've all got a lot of disappointment in the final results."

So the team that led the NFL in scoring (32.4 points per game) will be on the sideline Sunday, when the Jets (13-5) visit Pittsburgh (13-4) for the AFC title, and Green Bay (12-6) visits Chicago (12-5) for the NFC championship. The Patriots split their regular-season series with the Jets, losing 28-14 then winning 45-3, and beat the Steelers, Packers and Bears.

Brady led the NFL in passer rating, most touchdown passes (36) and fewest interceptions (4). But against the Jets on Sunday, he threw his first interception in 340 passes, was sacked five times and was uncharacteristically off target on several throws.

"We won a bunch in a row against some very good teams and played well," he said. "But playoff football comes and, really, it comes down to who makes the plays. And we made too many mistakes."

There was a time when fans felt that as long as the Patriots had Belichick as their coach and Brady as their quarterback, the team always would be a threat to win the Super Bowl.

The evidence to counter that view is mounting now that the Patriots have gone six seasons since their last Super Bowl win.

"There are obviously some things that we're going to have to do better," Belichick said. "[We] found that out last year, too."