Shortly after the No. 2 seed New England Patriots rolled over the Los Angeles Chargers, 41-28, in the divisional round, CBS interviewed quarterback Tom Brady.
Tom Brady's been listening. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/1369j2dddJ
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) January 13, 2019
“It’ll be a good game, they’re a good team,” Brady said about the impending matchup against the Chiefs. “We played them earlier this year and everyone thinks we suck, can’t win any games, so we’ll see. It’ll be fun.”
On Wednesday, wide receiver Julian Edelman tweeted out a social media video highlighting the phrase “Bet Against Us,” before releasing the following T-shirts.
#BetAgainstUs pic.twitter.com/IzqVxVV7PP
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) January 16, 2019
First, let’s be fair.
According to the sports betting site Bovada as of this writing, the Patriots do stand as 3.0-point underdogs. But that 3.0 point spread is a margin so small, the game could truly go either way, and the belief is that teams are awarded a league average of three points for simply being home, anyway.
The Chiefs were asked about the Patriots adopting the “underdog” role by saying “everyone thinks we suck” on Wednesday.
the Chiefs respond to the proven fact that the Patriots now suck as they prepare for their eighth straight AFC championship game built on a track record absolutely sucking pic.twitter.com/fTRzidn4iE
— Tom Martin (@TomKCTV5) January 16, 2019
CHIEFS TIGHT END TRAVIS KELCE: “I don’t think they suck. I can tell you that.”
CHIEFS LINEBACKER JUSTIN HOUSTON: “I just think he’s just trying to get himself and everybody else over there fired up. Everybody knows the Patriots, this is I think their eighth year making it to the AFC Championship, so I think it’s something for himself and the Patriots.”
CHIEFS HEAD COACH ANDY REID: “I think that probably in that building they’re just going and doing their thing. They’re pretty good. This is like their eighth one in a row, so with all this disrespect, they’re pretty dang good.”
The fact a team that has been to the AFC title game eight seasons in a row needs to get behind the idea of being underdogs seems a bit silly. Just imagine if the Golden State Warriors of the NBA decided to jump on such an idea—because that is the equivalent.
Our own Aly Trost brought up a decent point:
*Published the morning of Super Bowl 2018. Are the #Patriots now using what they believe gave the #Eagles a winning edge? Interesting read: https://t.co/9sCNsQZtSV
— Aly Trost (@AlyTrost) January 16, 2019
Remember last year when the Philadelphia Eagles bought into the idea so much they wore dog masks all the way to the Super Bowl?
Maybe the Patriots are trying to tap into that.
Maybe, if Brady, Edelman and the Patriots want to play the role of underdogs, well, let them.