The rematch between the New York Jets and New England Patriots set for Monday night is quickly becoming one of the most-hyped games of the 2010 NFL regular season.
And rightfully so. Both teams are 9-2 after Week 12 wins (the Patriots over the Lions and the Jets over the Bengals). New York sits atop the AFC East because they own the tie-breaker after downing New England in Week 2, 28-14.
The Patriots will be looking to exact some revenge on their home turf, where Tom Brady hasn't lost a game since 2006. But the Jets are confident, too. With the scoreboard still blowing Thanksgiving night after his team beat the Bengals, Jets head coach Rex Ryan proclaimed that New york was up for the challenge.
"I don't care what people believe. I know what I believe," Ryan said. "Our football team believes that we can beat anybody. They've won 25 straight at home, we've won eight straight on the road, so we plan on making it nine. I know it's gonna be tough, but we're just the men for the job."
Naturally, since he is a professional athlete, Tom Brady has also expressed confidence in advance of Monday's game.
"I'm pretty confident we'll be ready to play this week," Brady told Dennis & Callahan. "We've played some big night games. At Miami against a damn good team, and I'm really proud of the way we responded. Then at Pittsburgh, a night game on the road and I thought we responded pretty well. I think we've shown we can respond well in big games. Against Indy, the Thanksgiving Day game... So, I don't think the event is too big for us. We'll be ready to go."