Brady on Mariota matchup: Experience won't trump youth, better team will win

As New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady continues to defy the perceptions of the effects of age on athletes, the 40-year-old says his 34 playoff games of experience won't impact the results of Saturday's divisional-round game against the Tennessee Titans.

"I think it just comes down to how well you play," Brady said, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss, when asked if experience trumps youth. "At the end of the day, it's not like the old guys are going to win or the young guys are going to win. Or the home team or the road team. It's really going to come down to execution."

An NFL playoff-record of 16 years and 88 days separate Brady and Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, who'll be making just his second playoff start, after debuting with a come-from-behind upset of the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend.

It was Mariota's reception of his own deflected pass for a 6-yard touchdown that helped swing the results of last week's game, pulling the Titans back to within two scores on their first drive of the third quarter, after trailing 21-3 at halftime.

Brady knows it's those types of plays that truly matter at this time of year.

"That was pretty cool," Brady said. "It's plays like that, and things you obviously wouldn't expect; this time of year anything can happen, and any play can really decide the fate of the season."