Tennessee Titans vs. New England Patriots RECAP, score and stats | AFC Divisional Playoffs

The Tennessee Titans, led by quarterback Marcus Mariota and running back Derrick Henry, met the New England Patriots, led by quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, in an NFL Playoffs AFC Divisional Round matchup on Saturday, January 13, 2018 (1/13/18) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

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Here's the AP recap:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- 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 owner Robert 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 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.

Titans coach Mike Mularkey revealed after the game that Mariota suffered a strained quadriceps muscle in the first quarter. But Mariota said it was no excuse.

"Everybody plays with something," he said.

He said he walked off the field feeling "embarrassed" a week after leading his team back from 18 points down against Kansas City. But he said watching the efficiency of Brady and the Patriots was a learning experience he will take with him moving forward.

"You don't play to come and lose in the divisional playoff. You play to win the whole thing," Mariota said. "Obviously, this is the blueprint. New England's been in the playoffs consistently. We can learn a lot from them."

FAMILIAR POSITION

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.

RARE COMPANY

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. But it's the most for a tight end. Only two players in NFL history have more receiving touchdowns in the playoffs: Jerry Rice with 22 and John Stallworth with 12.

But Gronkowski said it's not something that is even registering right now.

"That's great to hear and everything, but that's not really the main goal," he said. "Maybe down the road you can look back and look at that stuff, but as of right now, what our main goal is just keep on grinding, get the win and that's what we did tonight."

HARD CRITIQUE

The Patriots feasted on third down against the Titans' defense, going 11 of 17 in those situations.

Titans safety Kevin Byard said they allowed Brady to control the game.

"We didn't play well enough to give our offense a chance," Byard said. "We were giving up too much, especially on early downs."

He said New England's 31 first downs stood out.

"(Brady) definitely outplayed us tonight."

Click here for NJ Advance Media's picks and predictions for the game.

Here's what you need to know:

Who: Titans vs. Patriots

What: 2018 AFC Divisional Playoff game

When: Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018

Time: 8:15 p.m. Eastern

TV: CBS

Livestream: CBS Sports Live

Line: Patriots -13.5

Injury report: TITANS: OUT: RB DeMarco Murray (knee). PATRIOTS: QUESTIONABLE: DT Alan Branch (knee), RB Rex Burkhead (knee), LB Marquis Flowers (illness), RB Mike Gillislee (knee), DE Eric Lee (ankle, finger), RB James White (ankle).

Titans notes: QB MARCUS MARIOTA passed for 2 TDs, incl. deflected pass which he caught for TD, last week. Is 1 of 5 QBs in NFL history with 9,000+ pass yards (9,476) & 900+ rush yards (913) in 1st 3 seasons. Since entering league in 2015, has 40 TD passes vs. 0 INTs in red zone, highest TD/INT ratio in NFL over span (incl. playoffs). * RB DERRICK HENRY rushed for 156 yards with TD last week & joined EDDIE GEORGE (1/16/00) as only players in team history with 150+ rush yards in postseason game. Led team with career-high 744 rush yards. Had 3 65+ yard TDs from scrimmage in 2017, most in NFL. RB DE MARCO MURRAY has 225 scrimmage yards (112.5 per game) & 2 rush TDs in 2 career postseason games. Leads NFL with 43 rush TDs & ranks 2nd in league with 5,614 rush yards since 2013. * TE DELANIE WALKER led team with 74 catches & 807 rec. yards. Is 1 of 2 NFL TEs (TRAVIS KELCE) with 800+ rec. yards in each of past 4 seasons. Has 3 TD catches in his past 2 vs. NE. WR ERIC DECKER had TD catch last week. Had rec. TD in his last game vs. NE (12/27/15 with NYJ). * LB WESLEY WOODYARD led team with career-high 121 tackles. Was 1 of 2 players in NFL (DEMARIO DAVIS) with 100+ tackles & 5+ sacks (5). S KEVIN BYARD tied for NFL lead with 8 INTs, 3rd most by safety in team history. Had league-leading 3 multi-INT games in 2017. DT JURRELL CASEY had 6 sacks, his 5th consecutive season with 5+ sacks. Led team with 12 TFL. Had sack in last game vs. NE. LB BRIAN ORAKPO had 1.5 sacks last week.

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Patriots notes: QB TOM BRADY is all-time postseason leader in career att. (1,325), comp. (831), pass yards (9,094) & pass TDs (63). Has 12 career 300+ pass yard games in playoffs, most in NFL history. Is 25-9 (.735) as starter in postseason, most wins by QB in league annals. Led NFL with 4,577 pass yards & ranked 1st in AFC with 32 TD passes, both most by QB at age 40 or older. In past 6 vs. Ten. (incl. postseason), has 1,528 pass yards (254 per game) with 13 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 111.1 rating. * RB DION LEWIS led team with career-high 896 rush yards. Has 366 scrimmage yards (122 per game) with 5 TDs (3 rush, 2 rec.) in past 3. In last playoff game (SB LI), RB JAMES WHITE set single-game SB record with 14 catches & scored 3 TDs (2 rush, 1 rec.), tied for most in single game in SB history. Since 2015, has 12 TD catches, most among NFL RBs. * TE ROB GRONKOWSKI led all NFL TEs with 1,084 rec. yards, his 4th career 1,000+ yard season, tied with TONY GONZALEZ and JASON WITTEN for most among TEs in NFL history. In past 5 postseason games, has 431 rec. yards (86.2 per game) & 6 TDs. WR CHRIS HOGAN had 332 rec. yards (110.7 per game) & 2 TDs in 2016 playoffs. * S DEVIN MC COURTY led team with career-high 94 tackles. DE TREY FLOWERS had 2.5 sacks in SB LI. CB MALCOLM BUTLER has 7 PD & INT in past 6 in postseason. LB JAMES HARRISON has 11 career sacks in postseason, tied for 5th most in NFL history. * K STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI has made 22 consecutive FGs in postseason, 2nd longest streak in NFL history. -- NFL Communications

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