The New England Patriots are facing off against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, and fortunately for the Patriots, they will be playing in Foxborough. Head coach Bill Belichick is obviously no stranger to the environment in the playoffs. In true Belichick fashion, he provided an unpopular opinion on home-field advantage in the playoffs.
According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Belichick seems convinced that home-field advantage is not a factor in games. “I don’t think it’s any advantage. Last week three of the road teams won. The advantage is to the team that plays well.” The consensus has always been that the advantage in playoffs goes to the team with home-field advantage. It's rewarded to the top two teams in the NFC and AFC so clearly, it should make a difference and be beneficial for the teams that earned it. Belichick does not buy into the idea and just wants to go out there and play regardless of where he is.
Smith stated, “Obviously, home-field advantage does exist, and the fact that three road teams won in the wild card round doesn’t mean there’s no advantage at all.”
There has to be some kind of advantage. Fans are loud for the home team when it's needed and provide a different kind of atmosphere for the visiting team, also it's always great to play on your home turf. The Patriots will likely have this advantage on Sunday regardless of what their head coach thinks, the environment simply benefits the home team. Any given day a visiting team can win and overcome adversity which the Chargers could very well do.
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