In the nightcap of Championship Sunday, QB Tom Brady and the New England Patriots went up against MVP-favorite, QB Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. What a game this was, as both teams played their hearts out right through the end of the game.
Game Summary
First Half
The game began exactly the way we expected from New England. 15 plays and 80 yards in eight minutes is what it’d take for the Patriots to go up 7-0. This first drive was a pure clinic. As a bonus, they were able to chew up half of the first quarter.
After forcing the Chiefs to punt on the ensuing possession, Tom Brady threw a pass on the goal line that was intercepted by LB Reggie Ragland. From there, both teams punted for three straight possessions until right before halftime.
With three minutes left in the second quarter, led by great RB play, the Pats marched down into FG range. With 31 seconds left, most people expected a FG. Nevertheless, Brad slung a 29-yard pass to WR Phillip Dorsett. The Patriots went into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
Third Quarter
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs only had a total 53 yards of offense in the first half. However, come the rest of the game, they were scorching hot. On their first drive of the half, the Chiefs only needed four plays to get into the end zone. The highlight of the drive was Mahomes’ 54-yard completion to WR Sammy Watkins on third down.
From there TE Travis Kelce caught a touchdown pass for 12 yards.
With a 14-7 lead, the Patriots were held to a FG, then leading 17-7 with 3:36 left in the third. The Chiefs answered that with a nine-play 75-yard drive for yet another touchdown. With a 17-14 game in the fourth, everyone was in for a thrilling finish.
The first Patriots drive of the quarter saw them reach 4th-and-inches on the Kansas City 25. Knowing HC Bill Belichick, of course, they’d go for it. RB Rex Burkhead was stopped by the Chiefs defense leading to a turnover on downs. The Chiefs, however, failed to capitalize, forcing them to punt. As the kick happened, it bounced around the turf and WR Julian Edelman tried to catch it. At first glance, it touched Edelman, and everyone believed he muffed the punt. Kansas City recovered.
Controversy surrounded this call because the referees reversed the ruling. The officials ruled that the ball didn’t touch Edelman, meaning that the ball would go back to New England. But, as they say in basketball, “ball don’t lie.” Tom Brady threw another interception after the ball ironically slipped off the fingertips of Julian Edelman. From there, this game
A Fourth Quarter Masterpiece
Mahomes led the Chiefs to score on a beautiful 23-yard pick play. This gave Kansas City their first lead of the game at 21-17. The Patriots got the ball with 7:45 left. What did you expect? 10 plays, 75 yards, and a touchdown snagged the Pats the lead.
On 3rd-and-7 at the New England 28, the Pats failed to convert, which should’ve forced them to punt. DE Chris Jones was questionably called for a rough the passer penalty, gifting the Patriots the first down. The key play on this drive was the 4th-and-1 conversion by RB Sony Michel for the touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, the Chiefs answered yet again. With 3:32 remaining, Mahomes, once again, marched down the field (repetitive right?) and leaved it to RB Damien Williams to score.
Two minutes left, Patriots down 28-24, ball in Brady’s hands.
Brady hit both Edelman and Hogan for gains to set the Pats up at the Kansas City 34. Brady hooked up with Hogan again. The call was reversed to a non-catch. Then, all hell broke loose. With 54 seconds on the clock, on 3rd-and-10, Tom Brady would be intercepted. This should’ve ended the game, right? Not quite.
The referees call an offsides penalty on OLB Dee Ford to give the Patriots another opportunity on 3rd-and-5 to take the lead. With that, TE Rob Gronkowski was hit for 25 yards. The drive was capped off with a four-yard rushing touchdown by Burkhead. With 39 seconds left, the Patriots held a 31-28 lead. Mahomes and the Chiefs managed to get into FG range and tie the game with eight seconds left. Next up, overtime
Overtime
The Patriots won the toss and put the ball in Brady’s hand once again. A whopping 13-play, 75-yard drive took the Pats to the promise land. Julian Edelman came up clutch on third down twice. Gronkowski came through when it mattered most with a third-down conversion of his own. With those 3rd-and-10 conversions, the Pats were set up to win the game. On 2nd-and-Goal on the Kansas City 2, Rex Burkhead ran it in, giving the Patriots their third straight trip to the Super Bowl.
How do you define clutch? Tom Brady. It was reported that Brady walked into the locker room during the week and simply shouted “I am the
There were many questionable calls in this game. It started with Edelman’s thumb. If Dee Ford was offside, and whether or not Chris Jones committed a roughing the passer penalty were all included. Either way, credit must be given where credit is due and that’s to the New England Patriots.
In the final six drives of the AFC Championship game, we saw five lead changes in 12 minutes. Patrick Mahomes didn’t touch the ball in overtime which had many people questioning the rule book yet again. However, one simply can’t deny the greatness that was displayed by Tom Brady. He went 13/19 on third down alone, which is a pure testament to why he’s the greatest football player of all-time. Brady will now move on to a record ninth Super Bowl. The Patriots will face off against the Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of Super Bowl 36.
Have an opinion on the referees in this game, or on the Patriots & Chiefs? Sound off in the comments or through my social media.