Brady knows Sunday will be a tough matchup

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (WHDH) -- Bill Belichick called the Baltimore Ravens as good a team as the New England Patriots have played this year, if not the best.

As it should be -- Sunday’s matchup is a battle between the two best teams in the conference for a shot at the Super Bowl. Quarterback Tom Brady knows it will be a tough game.

“It’s not like you beat this team 50 to nothing,” said Brady on Wednesday. “I mean it’s always a tight game. It’s tight coverage. There’s tight throws, there’s tough reads, because schematically they do quite a few things. So it’s never easy. There’s not an easy throw. There won’t be an easy throw this weekend. So I think they really challenge you and that’s why they’re in this game. That’s why our guys will step up to that challenge…They’re not just going to hand you the ball, hand you the points, hand you easy scores. They’re great in the red area. They’re great on third down. They really make you earn it and that’s where we gotta have our mindset and that’s what we’re really going to need to be able to do here in a few days.”

Brady may be the winningest player in playoff history, but Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco is the top-rated passer in the postseason. One spot above Brady, but Flacco has played one more game than Brady this year.

"He's a great quarterback. I don't care what nobody says about it," Vince Wilfork said.

"I've played against him a bunch of times and he's always played really well. Watched a lot of film on him and his offense this year and he's obviously a great leader," Brady said.

Joe Flacco may be writing a new chapter in his quarterback career, but Tom Brady wrote the book on winning in the playoffs; a testament to the work he puts in to get there.

“Sometimes I look at him in practice and I say, ‘Man, you’ve been doing this for so long and you’re still worrying about your footwork,’ but it’s just little things to him. He’s always going the extra mile to make sure he’s in the best shape, the best situation,” Wilfork said.

It's a situation Brady doesn't see as work, but rather a passion.

“A lot of my time and energy is spent focused on trying to help this team win, trying to be a good teammate and a good leader. Like I said last week, I take those things very seriously,” Brady said.