The final game of the 2016-17 New England Patriots season is almost here. It has been a run to remember. And Sunday night the Pats’ will look for their 5th Super Bowl ring against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. After New England started 3-1 on the season without Tom Brady, they seemed like a lock to make it back to the Super Bowl. And despite taking an unexpected path, here they are.
It’s really difficult to say when this Patriots team looked like a championship team. Maybe it was as early as week 1, when Jimmy Garoppolo showed the world that the Patriots were in good hands for the first 4 games. Or maybe it was the home loss against Seattle. The first game without Jamie Collins; Which was an absolute defensive nightmare. But the game that stood out to me was the week 14 Monday night win against Baltimore.
At the time, the New England defense really never got a chance to prove themselves after the Seattle loss. And the New England offense had to go up against it’s toughest opponent to date. But Brady of course got the job done. He raced the Pats’ out to a 23-3 lead in the second half. And the defense was finally starting to show signs of life.
But things took a bad turn late in the 3rd quarter, as New England muffed two kick returns deep in their own territory to let Baltimore back into the game. It was now 23-17 with plenty of time left. And for a moment, it looked like Joe Flacco was going to sneak away with one at Gillette yet again. And he kept creeping closer. another field goal made it 23-20 midway through the 4th. And I was fearing for the worst if he got the ball back with a chance to win the game.
Tom Brady used to be a deep ball quarterback. It’s how New England won Super Bowls with Deion Branch and Troy Brown. It’s how he set records with Randy Moss. Ever since Josh McDaniels took over as the OC in 2012, it’s been a conservative but solid offense. It is rare that you see Brady throw it long on a designed play these days. But in the situation in front of him, he had to put the game away. And he did just that.
Brady threw a perfect pass to Chris Hogan who had nobody in front of him as he strolled into the end zone. That was the dagger. Now 30-20. A win that would result in the final score of 30-23. Despite leading by 20 at one point, it ended up being maybe the toughest win of the season.
Since that game, it’s been all business. The mission to step on the throat of Roger Goodell and the NFL has been revived. They got revenge in Denver and Miami. Handled Houston in the Divisional round despite more special teams mistakes. And they demolished the Steelers in the AFC title game to advance to their 9th Super Bowl in franchise history.
So how good are these Patriots? I know just as well as you do. There are only a select few people in the league that know just how good the Patriots are. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Not too many people beyond that.
