Patriots' Tom Brady challenged to beat the clock

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Time is getting tight for Tom Brady.

It has been nearly a decade since the Patriots quarterback last won a Super Bowl, and at 37 years old he can't bank on too many opportunities to win it all.

The clock is ticking, louder than ever. Now or never again?

Even with New England playing in its fourth consecutive AFC title game, Brady has been around long enough to know that next season is hardly promised. Especially with Andrew Luck, 25, positioning himself as a perennial threat.

Brady will have a few factors in his favor on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. He will have his home field, the home crowd. He will have perhaps New England's best defense in several years. And oh yes, he will have the experience of 15 NFL seasons in his pocket.

That experience, no doubt, prompts a certain urgency.

"At some point, you don't have the experience," Brady said. "It didn't matter much to me when I was younger. As you get older, experience is definitely good as long as you play well.

"It's a game like all the other games," he added. "It's just there's a finality to this game and obviously only one team advances. It was the same as last week, so we're fortunate to be in this position. More than anything, you're just excited for the opportunity. It's hard to do and our team found a way to get there this year, so hopefully we can take advantage of the opportunity."

The Patriots almost blew it last week, but survived against the Ravens by becoming the first team in NFL playoff history to overcome two separate 14-point deficits.

Strikingly, with the Patriots riding Brady's arm to the hilt – New England passed on 82% of its snaps – didn't kick into gear until the GQ quarterback beat the clock in another sense.

Quick-strike passes provided the juice for the offense as the AFC divisional playoff progressed. In the first half, Brady was pummeled on a few deep dropbacks – which is always asking for trouble against a Ravens defense can send prolific edge rushers in Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, while big fella Haloti Ngata crashes the pocket from inside.

But the Patriots adjusted, and the quick passes kept the pass-rush out of Brady's face.

When I asked him about it afterward, Brady said, "Yeah, you've got to keep it moving against a great rush like that."

The clock in Brady's head was a great resource in beating Baltimore.

Now it serves as a tool to tell time in another fashion, too.

• Who's hot: Russell Wilson. The Seahawks' stud quarterback – who passed for 3 touchdowns with no picks last weekend -- heads into the NFC title game with the best career postseason passer rating in NFL history (109.6). Whoa. Made me wonder where does Joe Montana rank? Sixth (95.6). It's also worth noting that Wilson, with his big-time defense in tow, has never lost (9-0) when matched against a quarterback with a Super Bowl win on his resume. That stat will be updated on Sunday, when Aaron Rodgers, ranked No. 2 for career postseason passer rating (105.3), comes to town.

• Key matchup: Rob Gronkowski vs. LaRon Landry. Tight ends loom as an intriguing X-factor for the AFC title game. The Colts have a two-headed monster with Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener – they combined for 16 touchdowns during the regular season, then 11 catches and 127 yards with a TD at Denver last Sunday. Meanwhile, Gronkowski is a one-headed monster. The wrecking-ball, 26-yard touchdown that Gronkowski had at Indianapolis in November to seal the rout underscores the challenge. The Colts typically use single coverage against tight ends, and Landry, the strong safety, will likely get first crack while linebacker Jerrell Freeman is another option for single or double coverage help.

• Rookie watch: Davante Adams. Green Bay's second-round receiver marked his playoff debut by putting up 117 yards against Dallas. He's just the fifth rookie in the past 10 postseasons to put up 100 receiving yards. But that came against Dallas, and some awful open-field tackling (or non-tackling) in the secondary. It will be a different deal at Seattle, but Adams should have some opportunities if the Seahawks use Richard Sherman to blanket Jordy Nelson.

• Next man up: Josh Kline. Patriots rookie center Bryan Stork has been ruled out with a knee injury, which forces two adjustments: Kline will start at right guard, allowing Ryan Wendell to slide over to make the snaps. On one level, the Patriots are prepared to handle it. Injuries forced New England to use eight different starting O-line combinations, with the lineup for Sunday used in the Week 6 win at Buffalo. But Stork's setback could limit the option of using the type of power-rushing, six-man line formations that New England pounded Indianapolis with in Week 11.

• Stat's the fact: The Colts haven't had a 100-yard rusher since Week 15 of the 2012 season, with Vick Ballard's 105-yard day at Houston. That's 39 consecutive games – the longest streak in the NFL. That's also too bad for Indianapolis, because Justin Forsett rushed for 129 yards last weekend when the Ravens exposed New England's run defense – then squandered their opportunity to win the game with that matchup advantage.

Source: USA Today