Sunday afternoon in San Diego, when Rex Ryan and the Jets come into Qualcomm Stadium to take on the Chargers, New York will be riding high after an impressive 24-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last week in the Wild-Card Round.
San Diego on the other hand, hopes that their week off doesn't slow any of the momentum they were able to build by closing out the regular season on an eleven game winning streak.
Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was 12-of-15 for 182 yards and a touchdown in New York's victory over the Bengals, however the most important piece of info is not listed in his stat-line.
He had no turnovers. Sanchez tossed 20 interceptions in the regular season, however he has not thrown a pick since Week 15 against the Falcons when he threw three.
If the Jets hope to get passed the Chargers, they will need to execute a similar game plan as they were able to pull-off against the Bengals. Offensively, New York will pound the ball on the ground with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. The Jets want Sanchez to throw when he wants to and not when he needs to.
On the other side of the ball, New York will need to stop Phillip Rivers. The San Diego offense used to surround the running of LaDainian Tomlinson, however in 2009 Rivers put up MVP type numbers and has clearly become the most explosive weapon on their offense.
Rivers threw for over 4,500 yards in 2009 and tossed 28 touchdowns while leading the Bolts to a 13-3 record.
The Chargers will be a heavy favorite in this one and for good reason. They are one of, if not, the hottest team in the league right now. San Diego has their sights set on the ultimate goal this season and anything short of a Super Bowl may be considered a failure.