FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots will collect some free hats and T-shirts Sunday with a win.
The Patriots can clinch their 12th AFC East championship in 14 years Sunday when they take on the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who only has missed the playoffs once during a full season — 2002 — said winning the division never gets old.
“Absolutely not,” Brady said Wednesday. “I think we’re trying to win every time we take the field. Winning never gets old, I know that. That feeling that we had the other night was a great feeling, and that’s what motivates you to win because you know the opposite side of that. We’ve got to do the things that help us win as opposed to do the things that make us lose games. It should be a fun week.”
Brady seemed slightly surprised that head coach Bill Belichick hadn’t mentioned to the team that they can win the division this week.
“Coach hasn’t mentioned that today,” Brady said. “Normally he has. You’re playing for a division championship, so it’s a very important game. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point. The guys have put a lot of work in over the whole offseason and to put ourselves in this position has been a lot of fun, but we’ve got to go out there and capitalize. This is a tough team to do it against. They’ve got some goals that they have, too, and I think that’s what makes for a great game is when both teams are determined to win, and only one team can win.”
The Dolphins beat the Patriots 33-20 Week 1 at SunLife Stadium in Miami, but they’re just 2-11 in Foxboro since Tom Brady took over as New England’s starting quarterback. One of those wins came in 2008, when Matt Cassel was under center for the Patriots.
Thumbnail photo via Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press
