The Patriots beat the Texans in Week Three without Tom Brady. By 27 points. The Patriots are favored by 16 in the postseason rematch. Quarterback Tom Brady, however, doesn’t want to hear talk of a looming blowout.
“I view it as the biggest game that we’ve played all season against the best defense that we’ve played all season,” Brady told Houston media on Wednesday. “I don’t see any letdown from us. That’s ridiculous to think that. I’m preparing like this is the hardest game we’ve faced all season, which it will be, and it means the most. There’s only one priority for all of us this week, and that’s to be at our best mentally, physically, emotionally for three hours on Saturday night starting at 8:00 p.m. All of my attention is focused on those three hours and getting prepared for that moment so that we can go out and play with anticipation and confidence against the best defense we’ve played all season. There’s nothing easy about it.”
And that’s precisely why it likely will be a blowout. The Patriots will never take anyone lightly, no matter how much better they may be than the opponent.
Really, taking an opponent lightly is one of the more common elements of an upset. And with Brady surely motivated to tell the warden to stick this in your trophy case in Houston next month, Brady will be doing all he can to ensure that the Patriots win every game on the path to Super Bowl LI.