Brady delivers a chilling reminder

FOXBOROUGH -- You could have seen it coming by checking the game-time temperature (24 degress) and the date.

Tom Brady, you see, gets hotter when the temperature gets colder and better when the stakes are higher, such as in last night's AFC wild-card game against Jacksonville. Brady stepped onto the Gillette Stadium field 20-1 as a starter when the temperature is less than 40 degrees and 9-0 in playoff games.

Brady tied his franchise postseason record with three touchdown passes in a 28-3 victory that sent the Patriots into next weekend's divisional round against either Indianapolis or Denver, depending the outcome of today's Pittsburgh-Cincinnati matchup. Brady also set an NFL record by winning his 10th consecutive postseason start at quarterback.

But the buzz around the Patriots' Pro Bowler the past few days wasn't so much about what he's done, but what he's said. Brady felt the two-time defending Super Bowl champions weren't getting the respect to match their lofty status.

Brady, who led the NFL this season with 4,110 passing yards, picked apart the Jaguars all night until they simply disappeared from the playoffs the way almost everyone outside northeast Florida expected.

''As long as we win, we're happy," said Brady after completing 15 of 27 passes for 201 yards. ''That's what it's all about."

Brady is all about winning. Always has been. And it doesn't seem to matter if it's the exhibition season, regular season, or playoffs. ''Tom is Tom," said Kevin Faulk. ''He's the leader of this team."

Wide receiver Troy Brown agreed. ''Every game is the same for him," said Brown, who had just one catch for 11 yards, but gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead in the second quarter with his catch.

Still, the Patriots struggled through the first half. ''We were all pretty sloppy in the first half," said Brady. ''We had to put it together in the second half and I think we definitely did that."

''It starts at the top," Brady added. ''No stone is left unturned. And we perform well under pressure. It's all part of it."

Brady knows the pressure will increase, starting next weekend against either the Colts or Broncos, two teams that beat them during the regular season.

''''We can't afford some of the mistakes we've made in the past," said Brady. ''If we don't play our most consistent brand of football, we're not going to win."

The Patriots will not be favored regardless of who they play. ''We're going to be underdogs," he said with a smile. ''We're going on the road. It's going to be a tough challenge. It's tough on the road, but we put ourselves in that position."

The chance of playing another home game at Gillette Stadium, where much of their playoff success has come, is slim. But the Patriots are still the defending champions, and they still have Brady and his unbeaten playoff résumé.

Where they play or who they play just doesn't matter. Not as long as they reach their final goal.

''To win the Super Bowl," said Brady.