By Kiley O’Donnell
Sports Assignment Editor
The New England Patriots will once again be going to the Super Bowl for the seventh time during the Brady-Belichick-Kraft era, after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Tom Brady had a stellar game, throwing for 384 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of them to wide receiver Chris Hogan. The Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger threw for 314 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception. But it was not enough to stop the train that is the New England Patriots.
Just to do some simple math, Robert Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994, 22 years ago. Averaging it out, that’s a Super Bowl appearance every three years, and I’m not even mentioning AFC Championships, in which they have made 12 appearances since Kraft took over. They have dominated every aspect of the AFC East, collecting the title for 14 out of the last 17 years.
On Sunday night, I was expecting more of a game from the Steelers, but as a Pats fan, I couldn’t be upset with how it went.
After a field goal early on by Stephen Gostowski, the Pats went up 10-0 late in the first quarter on a beautiful pass from Brady to a wide-open Hogan in the back of the end zone. The Steelers would charge back with a TD of their own, only to miss the PAT and cut the lead to four.
The most exciting part of the game, to me, was the flea flicker in the second quarter. Once LeGarrette Blount tossed it back to Brady, my entire family stood up in the living room – (except my aunt, who is a Steelers fan) – because we knew what was about the happen. Hogan was wide open down the field, and Brady’s laser converted for the second touchdown of the night, all the way from the Steeler’s 46 yard line.
Besides the flea flicker, it was pretty awesome to see Blount carry seven defenders nearly into the end zone with him. At this point, it just looked like the Steelers were absolutely shot. Touchdowns from Blount and Julian Edelman would end the game, securing a Patriot victory.
What’s so cool about the Patriots is that they take in mediocre players and make them into absolute superstars, thanks to Brady and Bill Belichick. Just look at Chris Hogan. He played four years of lacrosse at Penn State, one year of football at Monmouth and was undrafted and cut by four different NFL teams.
Now look at him. Sunday night against the Steelers, he set the Patriots’ record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 180 yards on nine catches.
Another example is Malcolm Butler. How can you NOT know him after Super Bowl XLIX? He made one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history by intercepting a slant pass on the one by Russell Wilson, winning the Super Bowl for the Patriots. Before that, he was an undrafted rookie out of a Division II school.
Now, I’ll be honest, I’m a tad nervous to face the Falcons in a few weeks. I’m excited because it’ll be a high-scoring game, but I just hope our defense is up for it.
I have so much respect for Matt Ryan and where he has taken his team, but at the end of the day, I was raised in the town next to Foxboro, Massachusetts, so I’m sticking with my boys for this one.
To most Pats fans, however, this is a showdown with Roger Goodell, and I hope I see him presenting the Lombardi trophy to Robert Kraft on the night of Feb. 5 in Houston.
odonneke16@bonaventure.edu
