The New England Patriots are in the unfamiliar position of being underdogs entering Sunday's AFC Championship Game showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, and that fact is not lost on quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady, in a radio interview with Westwood One's Jim Gray aired Sunday ahead of the AFC title game, talked about the Patriots embracing the underdog role.
“Well, it's the truth," Brady said. "This team is the No. 1 seed. We’re the No. 2. Everyone makes their projections and so forth, and we’re definitely an underdog in this game. We’re playing against a great football team. They're playing well at home. Hopefully we can go take care of business.”
Brady surprisingly admitted in a postgame interview with CBS last weekend that he hears the critics, and with many people picking the Chiefs to beat the Patriots and reach Super Bowl LIII. It doesn't sound like the chip on his shoulder that he's carried his whole career has gone away, either.
“I have my moments," Brady said. "You’ve known me pretty well over the years. I definitely have a little chip, so to speak. That hasn’t gone away in many years. It’s still there.”
Oddsmakers have pegged the Patriots as 3-point underdogs to the Chiefs, and New England hasn't won an AFC Championship Game on the road since 2004. Brady, however, is playing at a very high level going into the AFC title game and has plenty of extra motivation to reach the Super Bowl for the ninth time in his career.
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