AFC Championship Game

Last Sunday, the New England Patriots hosted the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium for the AFC Championship game. The game was a blowout, with the Patriots dominating and finishing victorious with a final score of 45-7. This was the second largest blowout in history for an AFC game. The biggest blowout in AFC title history was in 1990, where Buffalo beat the Los Angeles Raiders, 51-3.

Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady completed 23 of 35 passes for 226 yards and was eventually replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo for the game’s remaining 3:20 minutes. Brady threw three touchdown passes. Running back LeGarrette Blount ran for 148 yards and three scores.

The Patriots led 17-7 at halftime. It appeared to still be a fairly competitive game at this point. New England then scored touchdowns on all four of their first possessions in the second half of the game, pulling away from the Colts quickly.

It was a tough game for Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who completed just 12 of 33 passes. Luck had no touchdowns and two interceptions in the game. This was the Colts third appearance in the AFC Championship game in three years. They last won the game in 2009 but were defeated by the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.

Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will break records as they enter the Super Bowl, for the most appearances in the game by a quarterback or a head coach.  This will be the duo’s sixth appearance in a Super Bowl, beating out John Elway and Don Shula’s records respectively. In 2001, which was Brady’s first year as a NFL starter, Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl win. This began a run of three championships in just four years.

The Patriots will face the NFC champions and reigning Super Bowl champs, Seattle Seahawks in the big game. Both teams finished 14-4 this season. The Super Bowl is on Sunday, February 1st in Glendale, Arizona.

New England Patriots

Football fans all across the nation have strong opinions about the New England Patriots: mostly they love them or they hate them. With head coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft, a distinct culture has been created in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Belichick is known to continuously make moves in an effort to create a stronger team and create a tighter bond among the players. This is evident as the Patriots have been AFC East Champions for 9 of the past 10 seasons (2003-2013 - all years excluding 2008). The Pats finished last season 13-5 and were knocked out of postseason play by the Denver Broncos who went on to play in Super Bowl XLVII.

In their 1st preseason game this year, the Patriots lost 23-6 against the Washington Redskins, going scoreless until the 4th quarter but in their 2nd game, defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 42-35. Quarterback Tom Brady threw 1 touchdown pass to wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins and the team took advantage of 4 turnovers by the Eagles. In a postgame interview, Bill Belichick noted that the team played with competitiveness and good energy. Their remaining 2 preseason games will be played against the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants.

This season the Patriots will face off against AFC East division rivals: the Miami Dolphins, NY Jets and Buffalo Bills each twice in addition to teams such as the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers among others. The Patriots schedule also features 5 prime time games this season. 

Last week the Patriots signed 3 tight ends: veterans Ben Hartsock and Steve Maneri in addition to rookie TE Terrence Miller. The team also released 3 rookie free agent tight ends. With these new additions and veterans like Tom Brady, TE Rob Gronkowski, CB Darrelle Revis and DL Vince Wilfork it seems like the Pats will be off to a strong start!