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Jets at Patriots

Sunday's festivities kick off when the New York Jets play the New England Patriots (11 a.m., CBS).

It takes a great coaching matchup to steal headlines during the playoffs, and I don't care what ESPN says, it's going to take a lot more than Bill Belichick vs. Eric Mangini to get me excited. (Mangini, of course, was an assistant with the Patriots before taking the Jets job, thus the angle.)

But who cares? If this game really comes down to head coaches, what makes you think the Jets have a prayer?

Chad Pennington and Tom Brady are two weaker-armed "game mangers". One problem: in Brady's case, it's not true. He's still the most dangerous quarterback around.

So the Patriots are ahead after maybe the two biggest matchups: coach and quarterback. Anything else? Yes, New England has a higher-ranked defense. And offense. And they scored more points than the Jets. And they gave up fewer. And they're at home. I'm not getting paid by the word: the Patriots win.

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