Tom Brady says game vs. Ravens different than previous playoff losses
Brady is confident that Saturday is a “great matchup” for the Patriots, despite previous playoff losses to the Ravens in New England.
Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
When the Baltimore Ravens hit the road to face the New England Patriots this weekend, it'll be familiar territory for Joe Flacco and company. The Ravens traveled to Gillette Stadium and dealt the Patriots upset losses in 2010 and 2013, but Tom Brady says the previous defeats as well as the victory over Baltimore in Jan. 2012 have no bearing on the fourth postseason matchup between the two teams in six seasons.
In each of the three games against the Ravens, Brady finished with more interceptions than touchdowns, combining for 713 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions. While Flacco passed for only 34 yards in his first postseason victory over the Patriots, he managed 546 passing yards, five touchdowns and an interception in the next two games.
Still, Brady told The Dennis & Callahan Show on WEEI that the previous games don’t matter at all when the No. 1 seeded Patriots host the No. 6 Ravens on Saturday:
“Everything’s different at this point,” Brady said. “We can never change anything that’s happened in the past, nor can they. You can’t bring players out of retirement, they can’t either. It’s the guys we’ve got vs. the guys they’ve got, which that’s an entirely new team that we have and an entirely new team that they have. There’s some carryover, there’s some characteristics that are the same, but these teams have established their own identities. It’s going to be the Patriots’ 2014 version vs. the Ravens’ 2014 version and we go from there.”
For the Ravens, however, the memories of previous postseason victories in Massachusetts are enough to plant some confidence. The mentality was summed up quickly by five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who returned from a suspension to record a sack against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round on Saturday:
“You’ve done it before, so you think you can do it again,” Ngata said.
For Brady, the previous matchups are firmly in the rearview mirror and he considers the Divisional round game against the Ravens to be a great matchup for the Patriots:
“We love playing at home, the weather will be very Foxboro-like, which we love that. But our execution is the thing that’s got to take us into the next round. That’s got to be a solid game of execution. We play a team that is not going to let you have anything easy. This team makes you work for everything you get. They’re a very tough, hard-nosed team. That’s why they’re a great matchup for us.”
Kickoff in New England is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET on Saturday and will be televised on NBC.
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