Patriots brush off reports, return to AFC title game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have handled every bit of adversity that has been thrown at them this season — from a string of injuries to the recent off-field firestorm created by reports of purported discord within the core of the franchise.

Now, they’ll have a chance to play for yet another AFC championship.

The Patriots’ 35-14 victory over the Titans in Saturday’s divisional round was yet another reminder of the defending Super Bowl champion’s unique ability to not only compartmentalize, but play some of their best football in the face of it.

Tom Brady chuckled when he was asked after the game about his name being mentioned in a swirl of media reports last week about alleged bickering between himself, coach Bill Belichick and team Kraft.

“Noooo,” he responded sarcastically, when a reporter asked about Brady’s name being mentioned in a negative light.

But Brady said it “just goes with the territory.

“I just try to be consistent, show up and do the best I can do every week for the team and regardless of whether I’m the worst quarterback in the league or the best quarterback in the owner Robert league or somewhere in-between,” he said.

It was Brady’s 10th career postseason game with at least three TD tosses, moving him past Joe Montana for the most in NFL history. It also brought out some of the best football in his teammates.

James White caught a touchdown pass and ran for another, and Danny Amendola had 11 catches for 112 yards — his first career 100-yard receiving game.

“All the hard work we put in is for these moments,” White said. “We have to make the most of these opportunities.”

Marcus Mariota tossed an early touchdown pass to give the Titans an early 7-0 lead. But Tennessee faltered down the stretch as the Patriots defense swarmed the third-year quarterback and sacked him a Patriots playoff-record eight times.

Brady will be making his 12th AFC championship game appearance in his 18 NFL seasons. He now has 221 career wins as a starting quarterback (regular season and playoffs), extending his NFL record. Peyton Manning is next with 200 career victories.

Gronkowski finished with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. It was his 10th career postseason TD. He’s tied with five others for third all-time.