The Jets, the lowest seed in the AFC draw and 45-3 losers against the Patriots last month, will travel next Sunday to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers for a berth in the Super Bowl and their first trip to the NFL title game in 42 years.

In the run-up to the game, one Jets player profanely called out Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, New York coach Rex Ryan vowed to out-coach triple Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick and another Jets player threatened physical harm to an outspoken New England receiver.

The longshot New Yorkers put on a performance that justified their cocky approach.

"Plans are useless without great playing from your players," Ryan said after his squad contained the NFL's top-scoring team. "It was a total effort there on defense.

"I knew if we applied ourselves and played the way we were capable of playing, we would win."

Belichick, whose Patriots teams won three Super Bowls in a four-year span from 2001-04, said: "We didn't do enough good things to win. We just didn't play well.

"They did a good job, better than we did."

The Jets defense, varying their blitzes and coverages, rattled Brady into indecision and mistakes, sacking the All-Pro signal caller five times and ending his NFL-record streak of 339 consecutive passes without an interception in New England's first possession.

New England dominated the first quarter but led by only 3-0. The Jets took charge after that with second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez showing his cool under fire.

Sanchez threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to LaDainian Tomlinson and Braylon Edwards for a 14-3 lead at intermission, setting up the first by dancing to his left to avert the pass rush before hitting Edwards for 37 yards.

The second score, in which Edwards dragged two defenders the last five yards of a 15-yard play, came after a botched fake punt with the Jets taking over on the New England 37.

The Patriots climbed within three points after Brady capped an 80-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown toss to tight end Alge Crumpler and a two-point conversion that made it 14-11 at the end of the third quarter.

The Jets answered right back. Sanchez hit Jerricho Cotchery over the middle and the receiver turned it into a 58-yard gain by making one Pats' defender miss and hurdling over another.

Sanchez capped the drive by floating a seven-yard TD pass to Santonio Holmes, who made a diving grab in the corner of the end zone to make it 21-11 and restore some breathing room.

A late field goal by Graham with less than two minutes left made it 21-14 and the teams traded late touchdowns for the final result with Jets safety Eric Smith recovering an onside kick in the dying seconds to ice the victory.

Sanchez, who had looked lost in December's loss to the Patriots, completed 16-of-25 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns. He threw no interceptions and was never sacked.

Brady, 29-of-45 for 299 yards, gave the Jets credit for their defensive approach.

"They mixed it up quite a bit," he said. "They spun the dial pretty good on their pressures, their coverages. It was a good plan by them, you have to give them a lot of credit.

"I certainly wish I had done a better job."