FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Wearing a dark winter hat on his head and a mix of disappointment and frustration across his face, Tom Brady reacted to Tennessee’s 20-13 wild-card game victory over New England here by doing what he’s done better than any other quarterback in the history of the game.

He threw the ball ... in this case, right into the decision-making court of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick.

At least that’s how it sounded.

Is Brady, who would turn 43 before the 2020 season, going to retire from the NFL?

“I would say it’s pretty unlikely,” Brady said.

OK, well, if he’s coming back to play, will it be with New England? After 20 years here, his contract is up and he’s free to go wherever he wants.

“I love the Patriots,” Brady said. “They obviously [are] the greatest organization and playing for Mr. Kraft all these years and Coach Belichick, nobody has had a better career, I would say, than me, just being with them. So, I’m very blessed. I don’t know what the future looks like and I am not going to predict it. I wish we had won tonight.”

He was asked again, later, and while he tried to deflect things, he also got his message across.

“Again, I don’t want to get too much into the future and stuff,” Brady said. “We fought hard. We battled every day to get better ... I was proud to be a part of this team. Not only this year, but every year. Again, I don’t know what is going to happen and I am not going to predict it. No one needs to make choices at this point.

“I love playing football,” Brady continued. “I love playing for this team. I’ve loved playing for this team for two decades and winning a lot of games. I don’t know what it will be like moving forward, so we’ll just take it day by day.”

View photos Tom Brady shakes hands with fans at Gillette Stadium as he leaves the field after losing to the Tennessee Titans. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) More

Brady has been talking to the media for decades. He knows exactly what he is saying and what he isn’t saying. He also knows when to say nothing.

What he got across late Saturday night was that he wants to play football and he seemingly wants to play football for the Patriots. He doesn’t want to go anywhere, no matter if his mansion is for sale or he stepped down from a local charity or anything else that’s out there.

That shifts the pressure to the Pats braintrust. This isn’t Tom seeking greener pastures — not that there are many great options out there for him.

Brady wanted a contract extension last year, but didn’t get one. Instead he restructured so he was free to leave. His words Saturday suggested this will mostly be Kraft and Belichick's decision.

“Right now, we just finished the game, so we’re focused on the game,” Belichick said.

That was all the Tom Brady talk Belichick was going to engage in.

The New England offense wasn’t good enough Saturday, or at nearly any point during the season. Brady wasn’t bad, however.

He finished 20 of 37 for 209 yards on a night when no one was moving the ball (the two teams combined for 579 total net yards). He made some excellent throws and his only true blemish was a pick-6 on the last play from scrimmage when the Pats were pinned on their own 1-yard line and in desperation mode.

It was again obvious that Brady had little to work with. There was no deep threat. Veteran Julian Edelman dropped a sure first down on a would-be game-winning drive that effectively ended the season. Rookie N’Keal Harry dropped an easy pass in the flat early to help stall another drive.

Brady’s longest pass downfield was called back due to a lineman wandering too far downfield. When the Pats were sitting at first and goal in the second quarter, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called for three running plays (all of which failed). McDaniels either chose to take the ball out of his Hall of Famer’s hands, or suspected he didn’t have a single receiver capable of getting open.

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