Ever heard of The Minneapolis Miracle? How about The Miami Miracle? I’m sure you have. Well now you can add another one to the list.
Over the past 20 years the New England Patriots have dominated the NFL winning Six Super Bowl Trophies lead by the greatest QB of the modern era Tom Brady and led by the greatest coach of all time Bill Belichick.
Over the past 20 years the Patriots have been the team to beat and it looked like no one could end their reign atop the NFL kingdom. But there was one team who might have just put an end to their reign once and for all.
The Tennessee Titans formerly known as the Houston Oilers are that team. Led by one of the best running backs in the NFL Derrick Henry and a QB who has revived his career after leaving Adam Gase and the Miami Dolphins Ryan Tannehill. The Titans are coached by Mike Vrabel former player and coach for the Patriots. So I guess you could say Teacher vs Pupil for this game.
This year the Patriots have looked mortal. Brady has looked older the offense not as efficient as it once was and multiple injuries have made the Patriots not look dominant for the first time in forever.
Going back to the game tonight. A lot of people expected the Patriots to win and with good reason. Tom Brady usually plays great in the postseason and the Patriots were at home. Usually it’s almost guaranteed a loss under those circumstances against the Patriots.
But this year a young hungry Titans team were determined to do the unthinkable beat the Patriots at home in the playoffs for the biggest upset in the playoffs since Super Bowl 42 when the New York Giants beat the undefeated Patriots. (Greatest night of my life)
And right from the Opening drive Tennessee made a statement by scoring a TD on their opening drive of the game. The turning point of the game was when the Titans defense made 4 crucial stops at the goal line forcing the Patriots to kick a field goal. Because on the next possession the Titans scored on a Derrick Henry TD just before the end of the first half.
The Patriots offense never got going in the second half in fact they were shut out in the second half. And Titans coach Matt Vrabel devised a brilliant strategy after the the Titans were in 4th down. He did a delay of game penalty that took away time on the clock. The Patriots did a neutral zone infraction penalty And the Titans ran a running play for their final drive. They used up as much time as possible so the Patriots couldn’t score. And on the final play of the game Brady throws a pick 6 and the game was over. No going to the Super Bowl this time. The Patriots won’t defend their title this year.
So what’s next for the Patriots now? Will Brady go to another team? Will Belichick leave as well? I can’t tell you for sure but I feel like that would be the case. We’ll see what happens. But one thing is for sure it’s a new era in the NFL and its exciting. The playoffs just got a lot more intriguing. We’ll see what happens together.
