AFC Championship Game Review
Game Summary
The New England Defense held up against red hot Peyton Manning and the Colt offense. Ty Law and Rodney Harrison stopped Peytons air attack after 4 interceptions. The first half was dominated by New England after Rodney Harrison's interception in the end zone. The Patriots had scored a touchdown with a 7 yard pass from Brady to Givens, on their first drive and the sucess continued.
After the first quarter ended 7-0, the Patriots would reach the red zone twice and pick up two field goals from, Mr. Clutch, Adam Vinateri at 31 and 25 yards. The Patriots had stopped the Colts and Hunter Smith came out to punt for the first time in the postseason. Obviously the long snapper was a little rusty and launched the snap over Smith's head and down to the 15. To save a touchdown or great field position Hunter Smith booted the ball into the back of the end zone for the safety.
The first half would end with New England shutting out the Colts 15-0. After a great kick return Edgerrin James showed why he is the Colt's all time rusher, by basically carrying the Colts down the field and capping off the drive with a 2 yard touchdown, 15-7. At halftime Charlie Weis told his offense that they have to give the Colts no hope at all, and the first drive after halftime the Patriots marched down the field and picked up a 27 yard field goal. On the next series Hunter Smith would finally get off a 55 yard punt and the Patriots drived and picked up another 21 yard field goal. Ty Law would pick up his second interception only to have Tom Brady drive down to the red zone and give up his first interception at home. The third quarter would end 21-7, and the Colts with the ball at the twenty.
The Colts would drive to New England's thirty put Ty Law caught the ball on an over thrown pass. The Patriots drive would eventually end with Walter getting off a 44 yard punt. The Colts would drive and cap off the series with a 7 yard pass from Manning to Pollard to get within one score of New England. After a failed onside kick attempt Walter would punt and get off his first touchback of the season. The Colts would then try 4 downs and turn the ball over on downs. This field position gave New England a chance to burn time on the clock and score 3 more points on a 34 yard field goal by Vinateri. With 50 seconds to go New England gave the ball back to the Colts who turned the ball over on downs after Troy Walters went out of bounds to conserve time rather than fight for the extra yard, the Patriots kneeled and then celebrated because they are heading to Houston for Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Trophy Ceremony
Larry Cszonka, former '72 Dolphin, spoke and said that it was an honor to give Bob Craft and the Patriots' franchise the AFC Title as long as they would bring back the Lombardi trophy to the AFC. Craft spoke and thanked the fans for their dedication and then Law spoke on his three interceptions and as he spoke I thought to myself "There may only be one more game left for Law in a Patriot jersey" because like Milloy was released this year, Ty Law has said that he will not play for anything less than he does now but Belichick may believe that Law is more of an asset and find a way to make room in the salary cap.
Final Thoughts
This game definetly held up expectations for Patriot fans as they witnessed another gridiron fight that the Patriots have played all season. I think that Charlie Weis has called much better plays in the postseason then he has and in the Patriot two losses you can tell that some play calling leaves the fans wondering, WTF? (for all you instant messengers). I was pretty upset to see Brady throw that interception but you knew it was going to come eventually after Greg Gumbell mentioned it about 4-5 times during the game. The Patriot defense looked great and only made a few mistakes, like the play in which Harrison's quick thinking got him an interception as they left Pollard wide open for a second in the end zone. The Patriots looked psyched and ready to pick up another Super Bowl ring in 3 years. Although many people think that the Patriots were "favored" by officals because of September 11th, if the Patriots pick this Super Bowl title up maybe some people will realize that a dynasty is forming in New England with young players. And although the Patriots don't have many great players the best players are the ones that make the team great... You have to love NFL commercials.
Front Office
Damien Woody was put on IR and JJ Stokes was re-signed to the New England roster.
Patriot Stats: courtesy, NFL.com
Leading Passer: Tom Brady, 22/37, 237 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Leading Rusher: Antwoine Smith, 22 ATT, 100 yds
Leading Receiver: Troy Brown, 7 catches, 88 yds
Leading Defender: Ty Law, 3 Tackles, 3 INT