This weekend the New England Patriots will battle the New York Jets for the right to go to the AFC Championship.  The football experts give the Jets little to no chance to win this game and the oddsmakers have listed the Jets as surprisingly big underdogs for the game to be held in Foxboro.

As we found out last week, any underdog can win in the NFL, as the Seahawks toppled the defending champion New Orleans Saints. So the Jets believe that they can pull off the next great upset in the 2011 NFL playoffs.

The Jets are known for a tough defense and a braggart coach in Rex Ryan. In fact, this week the talk off the field has dominated the game previews as cornerback Antonio Cromartice took centerstage for his rant against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

The focus instead should be on the New York Jets player who may be playing this game with his career on the line.

If the defense plays well enough they can beat any team in the league, but the difference maker in this game could be quarterback Mark Sanchez.

This has been a tough year for Mark Sanchez, who had to endure injuries and criticism as the Jets failed to live up to the preseason hype.  There was even a point in the season when the Jets discussed the possibility of benching Sanchez, with the belief that a quarterback that can manage the game can win on this team.

When he has struggled, the Jets have had to rely on other aspects of their football team. The defense and strong running game has had to step it up in the past to make up for his sub-par play in big games.

In fact, in the recent playoff win against the Colts, his inaccuracy almost cost the Jets the victory. On two occasions he overthrew open receivers that could have possibly scored. He passed for a measly 189 yards and finished 18-of-31 with one turnover. Those numbers will not be good enough to beat the New England Patriots.

In the first meeting this year, the Jets defeated the Patriots behind a strong running game that piled up 136 yards on the ground.  LaDainian Tomlinson averaged 6.9 yards a carry and kept the Patriots defense on their heels all game long. This opened up the passing game and allowed Sanchez to take his time and it paid off as he tossed a career-high three touchdown passes.

The Patriots adjusted in the second meeting and put the pressure on Sanchez to perform. The Jets still ran for 152 yards, but quickly fell behind so the Jets had to turn to Sanchez to try to make up points quickly. The results were disastrous. He completed just 51 percent of his passes, fired three interceptions and finished with a quarterback rating of 27.8.

This game is huge for many reasons, because the winner will advance to the AFC Championship game. However, if the Jets lose badly and Sanchez fails to perform, then the Jets could be looking for a replacement to start next year.

The Jets can talk all they want, but the one player that could lead them to victory in this game is the same player that could cause them to lose.  

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at mregaw@gmail.com.

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