There was terrible irony to Gostkowski's first XP miss in forever

The classic between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos came down to a missed two-point conversion with 12 seconds left. The Broncos knocked down the Patriots' attempt to tie the game, earning them a trip to Super Bowl 50.

But the reason the Patriots had to go for two can be traced back to a rarity that happened way back in the first quarter. The Patriots had just won a huge challenge on a fumble and were poised to tie the game 7-7. Steven Jackson rushed for his first playoff touchdown, and Stephen Gostkowski lined up for the gimme extra-point try.

Why such a given? He hadn't missed one since his rookie season, and even with the longer tries this season Gostkowski was a perfect 52-of-52 on one-pointers. Whoops. Guess the NFL got its wish this offseason when it pushed back XP tries 13 yards — the rule clearly has made a difference.

And the horrible irony for the Patriots? It was their rule proposal the league enacted at the league's spring meeting. It hasn't been the easiest season for the Patriots, as great as they are, in relation to league issues — first deflate-gate, and now this.

Gostkowski appeared to inside-out the ball and it sliced outside the right upright. Weird. That ended a streak of 523 straight extra-point makes — including playoffs — since he last botched one back on New Year's Eve 2006 against the Tennessee Titans.

That kept it at 7-6. The Broncos would keep the lead the entire game, and the Patriots never could convert early enough to prevent it coming down to a two-point try.

After Rob Gronkowski beat double coverage to score a touchdown to cap an amazing fourth quarter and make it a 20-18 Broncos lead, the Patriots had no choice but to go for two. The Broncos took Gronkowski out of the play, and Tom Brady's pass to Julian Edelman was tipped by Broncos corner (and former Patriot) Aqib Talib. The ball was picked by Bradley Roby, and the Patriots' ensuing onsides kick attempt was recovered by the Broncos to ensure a trip to Santa Clara.

Until Sunday, that had been the only miss of Gostkowski's career. This one was a bit bigger. Although you can't say it alone cost the Patriots the game, it clearly didn't help.