For the third straight year, and the fourth time in five years, the New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl. After a thrilling 37-31 shootout last night, Tom Brady emerged victorious over wunderkind Patrick Mahomes.
For the entire first half, the Patriots controlled the game. The Chiefs, who were the leagues best first quarter team by far, were held to exactly zero points in the first two quarters of football. New England attacked the weak run defense of the Chiefs, and Sony Michel had amassed 75 yards and a score in just one half. Also, the Pats had extremely good pressure up the middle, and sacked Mahomes three times, including one to push the Chiefs out of field goal range.
However, the Chiefs were not even close to being done. On the very first drive of the third quarter, Mahomes threw an insane 45 yard bomb to Sammy Watkins, and followed that play with a touchdown strike to Travis Kelce. In a matter of two plays, the game went from a blowout to an exciting one. The Chiefs limited the Patriots to a field goal for the rest of the quarter, and it was a 17-7 game going into the fourth.
The final period of regulation was an exciting one. The two teams combined for 38 points in the fourth quarter alone. The Chiefs struck first, with a Damien Williams touchdown catch making it a three point game. After Daniel Sorensen made a fourth and inches tackle on Rex Burkhead, the Chiefs were given the ball with good field position to take the lead.
This is where things got wild. The Chiefs punted on that possession, but it looked as if Julian Edelman muffed the punt, and the Chiefs returned it for a score. Upon review, it was said the ball barely avoided Edelman's thumbs, giving the Pats new life. However, in a moment of extreme karma, Tom Brady threw an interception that, well, bounced off of Edelman's fingertips. The Chiefs were able to capitalize and Mahomes threw is third touchdown of the da y to Damien Williams again.
The stage was set up for Tom Brady. The score was 21-17, and he was given the ball with 8 minutes left to play. After a five minute drive, Sony Michel was able to punch the ball in with about 3 and a half minutes left to play. Not to be outdone, Mahomes responded with a lighting fast touchdown drive that was capped off with yet another Damien Williams touchdown, his third of the game. This left Tom Brady with two minutes to drive down the field and score a touchdown to send the Pats to their 3rd consecutive Super Bowl.
Yet again, Tom Brady delivered. After a neutral zone infraction penalty on Dee Ford that nullified an interception, Brady dropped a dime to Rob Gronkowski to set the Pats up. Rex Burkhead ran in for the score with just 37 seconds left. Somehow, someway, Mahomes answered. After two throws to Spencer Ware and Demarcus Robinson, Harrison Butker nailed a 39 yard field goal to send this game to overtime too.
Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater always calls heads on coin tosses, as it is a family tradition. He called heads during the Super Bowl, and the Pats got the ball. Once again, the top of the coin delivered. The Patriots had fifteen minutes to go the length of the field and score a touchdown. Tom Brady surgically picked apart the tired Chiefs defense. He converted two 3rd and 10s and a 3rd and 9, with legendary broadcaster Tony Romo predicting all those plays. Rex Burkhead capped the vintage drive off with a two yard touchdown run.
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