FOXBOROUGH — If Tom Brady wanted to make his case as the greatest quarterback of his generation, he took a huge step last night on his way to the AFC Championship Game, took a huge step past Peyton Manning and toward Ray Lewis and the Ravens.
All Brady (25-for-40, 344 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs) did was make a mockery of those who wondered whether he had lost some of his postseason magic with a 41-28 nuking of the Texans. All Brady did was pass his idol, Joe Montana, with his record 17th playoff win. All Brady did was advance to his seventh AFC Championship Game, and it would be piling on to remind the legions of long-suffering Jets fans that their franchise has been to six across these XLVII years.
So there will be no Peyton Manning standing in Brady’s way Sunday at Gillette Stadium, there will be no Eli Manning standing in his way should he advance to his sixth Super Bowl, and try to win his fourth championship and first in eight years. Montana has his four Super Bowl crowns. If Brady gets his fourth, he will get my vote as Greatest of All Time.
It is Ray Lewis and the Ravens standing in Brady’s way now, Lewis and the gritty Ravens wearing the look of Destiny’s Darlings, and Brady losing tight end Rob Gronkowski (broken forearm) until next season will only lend more fuel to that fiery belief. And they sure turned Brady into a mere mortal in last year’s AFC Championship Game, when Billy Cundiff turned into their Scott Norwood at the end and left all of Baltimore distraught.
Here in Belichick Country, In Tom They Trust.
Brady was asked how he feels about passing Montana, and he said: “I love playing and I love competing. I love being a part of this team and this organization. It’s a lot of mentally tough guys, and I think I’ve just been fortunate to play on some great teams over the years. I very much appreciate that, and I never take it for granted, and I’m always gonna try to be the best teammate and leader I could possibly be.”
The Jets have never found their Belichick and they certainly have never found their Brady. As good as Bill Parcells’ 2000 draft was — Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, Chad Pennington, Anthony Becht in the first round, Laveranues Coles in the third round — imagine if he had drafted Brady in the sixth round instead of a cornerback from North Carolina State named Tony Scott.
Belichick repeated a line he has uttered countless times over the years when he said: “There’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady.”
Aqib Talib, the big cornerback who hounded Andre Johnson (eight catches 95 yards), is thankful he doesn’t have to play against Brady anymore.
“If I could pick a quarterback in this league to be my quarterback,” Talib said, “I’m gonna pick Tom Brady.”
When your best player is your hardest worker, and a fighter, you always have a chance.
“With all that he’s accomplished, he’s still hungry, he still plays with a chip on his shoulder,” Pats special-teams ace Matt Slater said. “He still wants to be the best and he wants to win. And with him being the leader of our team, we just follow his lead.”
Gronkowski landed on his broken forearm on a deep ball out of bounds and was done. Danny Woodhead (thumb) was also a first-quarter casualty. Shane Vereen (three touchdowns and 124 yards total on five receptions and seven rushes) to the rescue.
“We had a whole game plan built for [Gronkowski] and Woody,” Brady said. “We run the first series of the game and all those plans change. I think a little of it was, ‘What are we gonna do now?’ That’s what Josh [offensive coordinator McDaniels] does best — he gets guys in the best position to make plays and always comes up with a way to adapt and scheme things up. … There’s no one better in the league.”
Brady had 210 yards passing in the first half and Wes Welker had 120 of them.
“We needed to hit him and we needed to knock some balls down and we didn’t do that,” Texans all-pro defensive end J.J. Watt said.
In Tom They Trust.
“I wouldn’t want anyone else out there taking those snaps,” Pats LB Rob Ninkovich said.
Brady smiled when first asked about passing Montana.
“Well,” he said, “I hope I’m around for a few more years.”
Destiny’s Darlings vs New England’s Darling.
steve.serby@nypost.com