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Tag: Patriots Win AFC

Patriots gunning for sixth Super Bowl title

Written by Thomas L. Seltzer on . Posted in NFL FOOTBALL.

The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the ninth time in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. The incredible run for coach and quarterback started back in the 2001 season, when Brady took over as starting quarterback and led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title.

Their opponent 17 years ago in Super Bowl XXXVI was the Rams, who called St. Louis their home from the 1995 through the 2015 seasons before relocating back to Los Angeles where the team had played from the 1946 season through the 1994 season.

Back in 2002, the Rams were back in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years and favored to beat the Patriots. Their offense included Kurt Warner. Marshall Faulk. Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. They were the Greatest Show on Turf, but the Patriots beat them, 20-17.

Since February 3, 2002, the fortunes of the teams have been very different. In the ensuing years, New England has become the greatest dynasty in football history. Since 2001, the Patriots have won 220 regular-season games, 16 AFC East titles and are 29-10 in playoff games.

The Rams, meanwhile, haven’t been back in the Super Bowl since that then. They missed the playoffs in the 2002-2003 season, and lost in the divisional playoff round the next two years before missing the playoffs for 12 consecutive years without having a winning season.

The Patriots opened as a Super Bowl underdog. But   a flood of money came in on Brady’s team, and the line went as high as Rams +2. If the Patriots close as underdogs, it would be the first time they’ve held that distinction in a Super Bowl since the last time the played the Rams.

The Super Bowl traces its roots back to January 15, 1967. On that day, U.S. military and the South Vietnamese army were fighting Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces in the Mekong River delta, and  the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” was the top song on the radio.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with his teammates after the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Super Bowl I between National Football League’s powerhouse Green Bay and the American Football League champion Kansas City was aired on both CBS and NBC. NFL games were carried on CBS then, and NBC aired the AFL games. The Chiefs kept it close for a half but lost 35-10.

Two years later, the New York Jets of the AFL defeated the Baltimore Colts of the NFL 16-7 in a stunning upset that Jets quarterback Joe Namath had guaranteed in spite of being a 18-point underdog. The upstart league won the next two games and were finally taken seriously.

In spite of three straight Super Bowl victories, the undefeated Miami Dolphins were 2-point underdogs before beating the Washington Redskins 14-7 in 1973. Forty-six years later, no NFL team has ever completed an undefeated season – although the Patriots came close 11 years ago.

The 2007-2008 Patriots team in its 8th season under Belichick, won 16 straight regular season games and two playoff games to enter Super Bowl XLII 18-0. On the brink of making history, and starting the game as 12-point favorites, the Patriots lost to the New York Giants, 17-14.

While the Patriots have the most Super Bowl berths (11), the Dallas Cowboys are tied for second with eight. The Cowboys, who won their first Super Bowl in 1972, have won the world championship five times. But the last time was 23 years ago, when Dallas beat Pittsburgh 27-17.

It was forty years ago when Roger Staubach and the Dallas Cowboys battled Terry Bradshaw and the Pittsburgh Steelers in what many consider to be the best Super Bowl of all times. The Cowboys lost 35-31 after Jackie Smith dropped an easy pass in the end zone.

The Cowboys hopes of earning their sixth championship ring in 2019 ended in Los Angeles on January 12th when they lost to the Rams 30-22. The Cowboys had advanced to the divisional round for the first time in four years, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 24-22 the previous week.

The Houston Texans finished the 2018 regular season with an 11-5 record, which was good enough to win the AFC South. After losing the first three games, the Texans won nine straight but bowed out in the first playoff game, losing 21-7 to the Indianapolis Colts.

Read Thomas L. Seltzer’s blog daily at www.doubtingthomassports.com.

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Patriots make 3rd straight Super Bowl, beat Chiefs 37-31 OT

Written by Russell Dowden on . Posted in NFL FOOTBALL.


By BARRY WILNER, AP Pro Football Writer


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The New England Patriots are headed to their third straight Super Bowl, once more thanks to Tom Brady’s brilliance.
The five-time NFL champion guided the Patriots 75 yards after winning the overtime coin toss, and backup Rex Burkhead’s 2-yard TD lifted New England past Kansas City 37-31 for the AFC championship Sunday night.


The drive, during which New England had three third-down conversions, against an exhausted defense was reminiscent of when the Patriots beat Atlanta in the only Super Bowl to go to OT two years ago.


“Overtime, on the road against a great team,” Brady said. “They had no quit. Neither did we. We played our best football at the end. I don’t know, man, I’m tired. That was a hell of a game.”


New England (13-5) benefited from two critical replay reviews and made its ninth Super Bowl with Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as coach.
“This is crazy,” Brady said. “What a game.”


Awaiting them in Atlanta are the Los Angeles Rams, who won 26-23 in overtime in New Orleans for the NFC championship. The Rams last made the Super Bowl in 2002 while based in St. Louis, losing to the Patriots.
It’s the first time both conference title games went to OT. The last time both visitors won conference championship matches was 2012.
Several times, the Patriots appeared to have it won, only to see Kansas City (13-5) come back in spectacular fashion.


Brady, at 41 already the oldest quarterback to have played in a Super Bowl, drove New England 65 yards in 1:24 to Burkhead’s go-ahead 4-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in regulation. That was enough, though, for his far younger counterpart, the 23-year-old Patrick Mahomes, to take the Chiefs 48 yards to Harrison Butker’s 39-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to force overtime.


It was a sizzling offensive showing in the fourth quarter after defense had been in charge most of the way. Indeed, the Chiefs were blanked in the opening half for the first time all season.
And they never saw the ball in overtime, which along with the two replay decisions might call into play NFL rules and officiating.


No matter to New England, which became the third franchise to reach three Super Bowls in a row. And Belichick now has 30 postseason victories, more than Bill Walsh and Don Shula combined. That Hall of Fame coaching duo also won five Super Bowls; Belichick shoots for No. 6 in two weeks.
COIN TOSS
Reid’s decision to defer after winning the opening coin toss proved unwise as New England had 22 plays in the opening period, and Kansas City had seven. Then, the Chiefs lost the more important toss before overtime. Less than five minutes later, they were headed to the offseason.
UP NEX T
The Patriots head to Atlanta to play the Rams in the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady calls signals at the line of scrimmage during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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