Trailing by three points in the waning seconds of the College Football Playoff National Championship, Clemson rallies past Alabama as Deshaun Watson connects with Hunter Renfrow on a 2-yard touchdown, lifting the Tigers to a 35-31 victory. (5:10)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was working late Monday night -- no surprise there -- but he still carved out time to watch parts of Clemson's thrilling 35-31 victory over Alabama in the College Football National Championship presented by AT&T.

In sharing his thoughts on the game Tuesday morning, Belichick drew a parallel to the situation his own team is in as it begins its playoff quest Saturday night against the Houston Texans.

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“In the end, the national championship came down to a yard. We’ve been in that situation before, both ways. I think that’s the kind of football you see at this time of year, whether it be the national championship level or NFL playoffs, there are a lot of games like that that come down to one play, 1 yard and defines an entire season,” he said Tuesday morning.

“You have to be prepared for that.”

Asked what drew him to want to see how the national championship unfolded, Belichick pointed to, among other things, his personal ties with Alabama coach Nick Saban.

“We’ll see what it looks like in a couple months [on film review in scouting], but I’d say there are a lot of good football players on the field, some of whom I knew about, some of whom I need to find out more about,” he said. “I remember watching that game last year probably at least 10 times in the offseason because there are so many players.

“So the ones who played last year that didn’t play this year are being replaced by guys that are going to be a factor in the NFL who are now draft eligible. You’re getting to see them against other players of comparable [skill]. Whether they’re draft eligible or not, guys that are playing in this game are pretty good. If they’re not draft eligible this year, they’ll be draft eligible next year, or soon thereafter. So competitively, it’s a great game to watch.

“Two great teams. Two great programs. In the end, it’s one or two plays that if they go the other way, you get a different result. That’s the level of competition we’re talking about.”