Brady comes out on top, just like he always does
Patriots headed back to the Super Bowl after thrilling overtime win over Chiefs
Tom Brady was right. The New England Patriots do suck. They suck at sharing.
And he’s just the worst.
The Kansas City Chiefs did everything they could to pry the Lamar Hunt Trophy named after their original owner from Brady and the Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night. They even scored three touchdowns and had another waved off in the fourth quarter. They made a last gasp drive for a 39-yard field goal that sent one of the most thrilling playoff games in memory to overtime.
Then they lost the coin flip. That’s all it took for Brady to lead the Patriots to the clinching touchdown, a two-yard burst up the middle by Rex Burkhead, and to a 37-31 victory that prolongs the agony for Chiefs fans.
The Patriots are en route to their third consecutive Super Bowl and fourth in five years, fifth in eight.
Now their the Los Angeles Rams’ problem.
Give lots of credit to the Chiefs, who rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit.
Their last touchdown, the third of the game by running back Damien Williams, was a two-yard surge set up by a pass interference call on Patriots rookie J.C. Jackson and a clutch connection between Patrick Mahomes and Sammy Watkins, his favourite receiver on this day. It put the Chiefs ahead 28-24 with 125 seconds left.
That would be that, at least in the minds of all the people who believe the Patriots suck, as Brady stated following last week’s playoff win over the Chargers.
Which was no one.
Brady promptly led the Patriots back downfield for a four-yard touchdown run by Burkhead to seemingly seal another deal for the New England dynasty.
But Mahomes, the young buck that he is, pulled off his own magic in the final 39 seconds. He moved the ball into position for Harrison Butker to send it into overtime with a 39-yard field goal.
The drama couldn’t get any thicker.
Trailing 17-14 with 8:35 left, Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt booted a ball down field to where Julian Edelman was waiting, and then reaching out for it when it bounced his way. The awkward last hop appeared to go off Edelman’s finger, or his thumb or his arm and then past him, to where a streaking Gehrig Dieter picked it up and bolted to the end zone.
Who would have guessed the star to be the Chiefs’ No. 12, not the guy wearing that number for the Patriots. The moment of glory was fleeting for Dieter, a backup receiver, as after a long look at the replay it was decided the ball didn’t even touch Edelman.
The Pats retained possession and the slim lead, while beer cans and bottles were lofted from the higher levels at Arrowhead Stadium.
As fate would have it, the next ball coming Edelman’s way definitely did touch him. A Brady pass went off his hands to Chiefs safety Daniel Soreneson, who took the interception to the Patriots’ 23-yard line.
The Chiefs’ second play, after the first went nowhere, was a perfectly designed screen to Williams, who raced all the way to pay dirt and the home team’s first lead of the day.
The Patriots erased it with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a fourth-andinches gamble which became a 10-yard touchdown jaunt by Sony Michel. The ensuing point after put the Pats in front by a field goal with three and a half minutes to play.
After making only two plays worth mentioning in the first half, Mahomes was a different quarterback to start the third quarter. Just like when the teams met in New England on Oct. 14, his seventh career start. Mahomes fell behind 24-9 at the half that night, then pieced together a rally that fell just short in a 43-40 loss.
Three months and many impressive moments later, Mahomes dropped back into the pocket a minute into the second half and planted his feet while the O-line bought him a ridiculous amount of time.
Finally he lofted the ball high and long for Sammy Watkins, who made the catch and tripped as he was heading to the end zone. The Chiefs had to settle for a 54 yard gain instead of six points. but they took care of business one play later when Mahomes found Travis Kelce for a 12-yard score.
With some momentum, the Chiefs offence kept rolling. Mahomes made a fantastic sidearm pass to Watkins for a first down just as he was about to be hit. The next play, he led Damien Williams with a screen that turned into a 33-yard gain down the sidelines.
Soon, Williams would be scoring one a one-yard catch, and the Chiefs would be tailing by a field goal. Things were getting interesting, a more so still when the Patriots next possession took them to the Chiefs 25-yard line, where a fourth and inches game was snuffed out by Dee Ford and friends.