Tom Brady: 'New England Patriots are underdogs'

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has admitted that his side will go into Sunday's AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos as underdogs.

The Broncos have been in fine form this season, ending the regular campaign with a 13-3 record having scored more points than any other side in NFL history, thanks largely to a record-breaking year from quarterback Peyton Manning.

Denver opened as five-point favourites for the match and Brady has admitted that he wasn't expecting many people to back his side.

"Truthfully, I don't turn the TV on, I don't read anything," Brady told reporters.

"I just try to focus on what I need to do and, like I said, put all that stuff around us - I know different times, Coach will make us aware of, I know when we played Baltimore nobody picked us to win, and I'm sure no one is going to pick us to win this week.

"We've got a bunch of underdogs on our team and we'll be an underdog again, and we'll see how that shapes up at the end of the week. But I know we're as tough, as physical as we've ever been, and that's how we're going to need to go out and play this game."

The Patriots have already beaten the Broncos once this season, triumphing 34-31 after overtime on November 24.