Joy to our world this Christmas
It’s a Christmas miracle for sure. Those of us who put money on the Patriots to cover the 21⁄2-point spread yesterday in Pittsburgh had little hope for most of the game.
The Pats took a 7-0 lead on their first possession after stopping the Steelers to start the game, but the true colors of the defense came through shortly thereafter.
That was the Patriots’ last lead until the final minute of the game, and we all benefitted from yet another team throwing up on itself in the face of pressure from the five-time Super Bowl champions.
Tom Brady’s first pass of the goahead drive was tipped and should have been intercepted by Sean Davis. Then Jesse James allegedly did
not catch the winning touchdown, the latest in a long line of ridiculous calls that should force the NFL to change its rules. And the finishing touch was Ben Roethlisberger’s interception on a botched fake-spike play in the waning seconds, when a simple field goal would have forced overtime.
Hey, it doesn’t matter how you get there. Take the money and run. Despite giving up 72 yards in three plays on the final drive, the Pats held on for a 27-24 victory that likely will give them home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. They improved to 9-5 against the number and clinched yet another AFC East title.
The late-game shenanigans also were shocking to anyone who bet the under. With the total at 54, it seemed the game would either go to overtime tied 27-27, or the Steelers would win 31-27.
But when Duron Harmon collected another one of his patented right-place, right-time interceptions, under bettors rejoiced. That’s seven unders, six overs and one push in 14 Pats games this year.
The season concludes with two home games against AFC East tomato cans. First up are the Bills, who were embarrassingly bad two weeks ago against the Pats. The AFC East champs opened as 12-point favorites, and the line could climb to two touchdowns.
It’s not enough.
The defense, which looked really bad yesterday, is sure to bounce back against a weaker opponent. And if this team can get outplayed by the Steelers and still walk away with a win, imagine what will happen when it returns home to face Buffalo with the conference’s No. 1 seed in sight.
This defensively challenged version of the Patriots might not have what it takes to beat the league’s best teams in the playoffs, because miracles don’t always happen (though they seem commonplace around here), but it will cover the big number on Christmas Eve.