NAUGHTY & ICE
Deflategate Tom, Pats to face Matty, Falcons in Super Bowl after title-game routs
Tom Brady, who served a four-game suspension for Deflategate to start the season, is headed to his seventh Super Bowl after throwing for 384 yards and three TDs in a 36-17 rout of the Steelers. He’ll match up with Matt Ryan, aka Matty Ice, who accounted for five TDs in the Falcons’ 44-21 bashing of the Packers.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — There is one more stop for Tom Brady and the Patriots in the Deflategate Revenge Tour — Super Bowl LI in Houston on Feb. 5.
The Patriots pummeled the Steelers 36-17 in the AFC Championship game on Sunday night, setting up a Super Bowl date with the Falcons and possibly the most awkward Lombardi Trophy presentation in NFL history.
A season that began with Brady suspended for the first four games of the season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for Deflategate could end with Goodell handing Brady and the Patriots the silver trophy on the middle of the field at NRG Stadium.
“For a number of reasons, all of you in this stadium understand how big this win was,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said to the Gillette Stadium crowd after the game. “And we have to go to Houston and win one more.”
It would be fitting payback for Brady and the Patriots, who feel Goodell wronged the 39-year-old quarterback with the suspension for the scandal that began two years ago in another AFC title game win by the Patriots. Late in the third quarter, the Patriots fans began chanting in a sing-song fashion “Roooooger, Roooooger.”
Patriots radio announcer and former player Scott Zolak held up a “Where’s Roger?” sign when shown on the giant videoboard. Goodell went to Atlanta for the NFC game instead of here, a stadium he has avoided since Deflategate began.
For the most part, the Patriots were not interested in talking about Goodell or that storyline. Tight end Martellus Bennett did make note of Goodell skipping the game.
“Where is he? He’s like [Where’s] Waldo right now,” Bennett said.
Brady was his usual amazing self on Sunday. He carved up the Steelers defense like a butcher. He threw three touchdowns and completed 33-of-42 passes for a franchise-postseason record 384 yards. His favorite target was New Jersey native Chris Hogan, who had a career game with nine catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was a good day,” Brady said. “We’re going to the Super Bowl, man. [Shoot], you’ve got to be happy now.”
The Patriots went 3-1 with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brisset at quarterback to start the season. Then Brady came back and played out of his mind, throwing 28 touchdowns and two interceptions over 12 games and then winning these two playoff games to reach his seventh Super Bowl.
Brady avoided any talk of Deflategate or extra motivation.
“This is my motivation right here, all these fellas in front of me, these guys,” Brady said on the field, pointing to his teammates. “The boys showed up to play today.”
The Patriots defense did its part in the game, shutting down the Killer B’s or Pittsburgh. Running back Le’Veon Bell had 20 yards on six carries before a left groin injury knocked him out of the game in the second quarter. Wide receiver Antonio brown had 77 yards on seven catches, a non-factor for most of the game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played a decent game, but got little help from his receivers. Roethlisberger completed 31-of-47 passing for 314 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Steelers had some chances to make it a close game, but came up short each time. There was a dropped pass in the end zone and two failures inside the New England 10-yard line that kept points off the scoreboard. You can’t give away points against the Patriots.
New England is now in its record ninth Super Bowl and seventh of the Brady/Bill Belichick era. A win would give them a fifth Super Bowl title, and their second in three seasons. This is Belichick’s seventh conference title, passing Don Shula for the most all-time by a coach. He can now become the first coach to win five Super Bowls, breaking a tie with Chuck Noll.
The Patriots showed their focus early. Brady connected with Julian Edelman for 41-yard catch on the second play of the game. Pittsburgh held the Patriots to a field goal on that first drive, but the issues its secondary was going to have with the Patriots were clear.
Brady got the team into the end zone with 2:47 left in the opening quarter with a 16-yard pass to Hogan, the improbable hero of the game. The lead was just 10-0, but it felt like a much bigger margin.
Bell left the game for the first time late in the first quarter with the groin injury. After running for 167 and 170 yards in his first two playoff games, Bell was shut down. He came back in for one more run in the second quarter, but then exited for the rest of the night.
Brady threw two more touchdown passes, one on a pretty fleaflicker to Hogan in the second quarter and another to Edelman that put the Patriots up 33-9 in the third quarter.
The Revenge Tour is almost complete. It is on to Houston.