In Week 4, Tom Brady was benched at the end of a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and New England was abuzz: Were the good times over for the Patriots?
Fast-forward three and a half months, and Brady was benched again. Up 45-7 with just over three minutes remaining in the AFC championship game, with rain and cheers raining down in equal shares at Gillette Stadium, Brady came off the field and enjoyed a hug with Bill Belichick.
Together, the duo will be heading to — amazingly — their sixth Super Bowl as quarterback and coach. The Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts Sunday by that same score and will face the Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 1, gunning for their fourth title together.
The Patriots turned on the afterburners after half, when they led 17-7, and roasted the Colts, who upset the Denver Broncos a week ago. But the Patriots led throughout the game, and Brady overcame a slow start to complete 23-of-35 passes for 226 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
After a punt for each offense to start the game, Colts returner Joshua Cribbs let the ball hit off his chest, and it was recovered by the Patriots’ Darius Fleming. Six plays later, LeGarrette Blount — after his initial touchdown was ruled short by replay — found the end zone from less than a yard out.
Dropped passes — two by running back Boom Herron — hurt the Colts, as they bogged down again offensively, this time on the Patriots’ side of the field, and Adam Vinatieri missed a 51-yard attempt way wide right. Much to the delight of the Foxboro faithful.
The Patriots went for the carotid artery. They drove 59 yards on eight plays, the big one being a great catch from Shane Vereen on an underthrown pass from Brady for 30 yards. James Develin ran through a D’Qwell Jackson tackle attempt to score on a 1-yard TD reception to make it 14-0 Patriots before the end of the first quarter.
After a Colts three-and-out, Blount pounded the Colts defense and even squirted through a few tackles to put Patriots in a position to step on the Colts’ necks. But Brady, who struggled early in the game, made a mental error by trying to force a pass into the red zone to Rob Gronkowkski, and it was intercepted by the Colts’ Jackson.
Luck responded with a good start to the drive, and the Patriots helped him out with two major defensive penalties to aid the Colts. Receiver T.Y. Hilton made a terrific catch on the sidelines for 36 yards on a huge 3rd-and-8 conversion, and the Colts finished the drive with a 1-yard Zirlon Tipton TD run to cut the lead to 14-7.
The Patriots went back to basics on the next drive, and Blount — who was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers two months ago after he quit on the team — was the engineer.
With 4:31 left, the Patriots drove all to the Colts’ 4-yard line, where Brady’s fourth-down sneak set them up with first-and-goal in the final minute. But three passes were incomplete, and the Patriots settled for a field goal and a 17-7 halftime lead.
The Patriots got the ball first and made a statement — and pulled out yet another trick play. Driving all the way to the Colts’ 16-yard line, Brady threw a screen pass to left tackle Nate Solder — who declared eligible — who rumbled into the end zone for a 24-7 Patriots lead.
It got worse. After a Colts three-and-out, Gronkowski started the drive with a 16-yard catch to get things going and then capped it with a 5-yard slant for a touchdown and an insurmountable 31-7 lead. With the pass, Brady had his eighth three-TD game ever, which is tied for the second-most ever behind Joe Montana’s nine.
And then it got even worse for the Colts. Four plays into the Colts’ next drive, Luck threw an awful pass that Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis undercut and ran back 30 yards to the Indianapolis 13-yard line. One play later, Blount slammed it in for the backbreaking touchdown, turning Gillette Stadium into a party in the rain. It was 38-7 with time left in the third quarter.
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