The Patriots finished with the top seed in the AFC playoffs, which assured they wouldn’t have to play games anywhere other than Gillette Stadium in order to make it to Houston for the Super Bowl.
That’s seen as significant accomplishment for teams and a boost to their chances of advancing out of the conference. Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn’t overly convinced about that being the case, however.
Belichick was asked at Wednesday’s press conference about how much help the team gets from playing at home and noted that two teams who were at home last weekend aren’t playing this time around.
“I don’t know,” Belichick said. “Go ask Dallas and Kansas City ... the game is won by the players on the field. That’s who wins football games -- the players. And they’ll decide it Sunday night.”
The Patriots have played in 10 conference title games under Belichick. They are 4-1 at home and 2-3 on the road in those games, so history would say that being at home gives them a bit of a boost.