For the third time in a row and the fourth time in five years, the New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl. Tom Brady authored multiple fourth-quarter and overtime comebacks and proved why he’s the greatest to ever do it. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs put up a valiant fight, but ultimately the youngster was left on the bench watching Brady stroll down the field. While Rex Burkhead scored the game-winner, Brady converted four third-and-longs on the games final drive. At age 41, the greatest quarterback of all time proved he still has a lot left in his tank.
New England Patriots Beat Kansas City Chiefs, Advance to Super Bowl LIII
The New England Patriots had their way with Kansas City in the first half. Offensively, the Chiefs had no answer for James White and the Patriots running game. White was the star of the first half, recording three catches for 44 yards to go along with 20 yards on four carries. Sony Michel recorded 19 first-half carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. New England used the short passing game to lull the Chiefs defense to sleep, as quarterback Tom Brady connected with Phillip Dorsett on a 29-yard touchdown reception to make it 14-0 entering the half.
The real story of the first half was the defense. Kansas City’s offense was the best in the league but New England held them to zero first-half points. The 32 yards allowed was the fewest in a half by Kansas City since Week 11 of the 2017 season. Kyle Van Noy recorded two sacks and Trey Flowers had a key sack which pushed Patrick Mahomes and company out of field goal position. The only low point of the first half came when Tom Brady threw an interception to linebacker Reggie Ragland at the one-yard line. You’d think they’d know not to throw at the goal line.
However, things took a turn in the second half. Kansas City scored a touchdown on their opening drive and added another score two drives later. With the score 17-14, Tom Brady looked for Julian Edelman over the middle. The ball bounced off Edelman’s fingers and into the waiting arms of Daniel Sorensen. Two plays later, Kansas City took the lead on a Damien Williams touchdown pass.
Kansas City made the mistake of giving Tom Brady took much time. The greatest quarterback to ever do it authored a classic drive, going 75 yards in 10 plays to take a 24-21 lead. The key play on the drive came on fourth and goal when Sony Michel took the rock for a 10-yard touchdown.
Patrick Mahomes answered with a touchdown of his own, but he gave Brady too much give. Given 2:03 on the clock, it was all too easy for Brady to drive down the field and give the Patriots a 31-28 lead. Unfortunately, Brady left too much time for Mahomes, who put together a game-tying field goal drive in just 39 seconds.
The game went to overtime, and the New England Patriots won the toss. Because NFL rules are objectively broken, the Patriots could ensure Patrick Mahomes never saw the ball by scoring an opening touchdown. Brady did just that, marching down the field on a 13-play, 75-yard drive to give the Patriots a 37-31 lead and send New England back to the Super Bowl.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
