To say that the New England Patriots don’t play with an “FU” attitude is like saying that Frank McCourt’s ex-wife is a nice lady. There’s no discernible difference for between the two either. The Patriots, standing two minutes away from a victory over the undefeated Colts, stuck their middle fingers in the air, decided to put zero faith in their defense, and go for it on a critical fourth down from their own 28-yard line. For the most part, Belichik’s arrogance usually pays off. This time, it didn’t.
Watching the game from my couch like most of America, I was already trying to figure out if I would list the Patriots ahead of the Vikings or Bengals behind the Saints. I was convinced that they would win this game, throw a wrench in the NFL rankings and earn that juicy win over a previously undefeated Manning. Everyone was siding with Manning because he’s had magic in his pocket all season. And everyone was right.
The play call was arrogant. Brady should’ve forced the Patriots to punt the ball away, give Manning a long field with two-minutes left and hoped to God he coughed up a third interception. But how do you question a coach like Bill Belichik when he’s led you to three Super Bowl wins? And how, deep down inside, do you ignore the need to stick it to your biggest rival in a huge, prime time game? As Sunday Night’s
football betting showcase proved, you simply just find a way.
Peyton Manning was watching home field advantage in the playoffs and a perfect season slip away from his grasp until Tom Brady and Uncle Bill handed it right back to him. Tom Brady was given the chance to put Manning away, and he blew it as his receiver caught the ball past the first-down marker, and then landed behind it sealing the fate of the Patriots. While Brady failed to deliver, Manning didn’t and now the Colts have capped the “Rivalry of the Decade” with a win.
It’s sad to think that Belichik literally died on Sunday night by his own sword. The Patriots betting backers are probably going to be reminded of the Super Bowl against the Giants, where the Patriots watched a perfect season whittle away when they played like scared chickens. In the Super Bowl, they should’ve come out five wide with missiles on lines for Randy Moss and Wes Welker. In stark contrast to their entire 2007 season, the Patriots came in to the Super Bowl with the nerves of a coward and lost in the biggest moment of their season.
On Sunday night, they tried to be that cocky team again…and missed their mark in the worst way possible. Now the Patriots fall back in to a cluttered pack of teams in the playoff hunt including the Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. Hell, they’re just two wins above the Jets right now.
In an effort to separate themselves from the pack, the Patriots stumbled right back in to it and instead allowed the Colts to remain perfect and virtually unreachable if they maintain this pace. Peyton knows he escaped that game by the skin of his teeth, and while this game showed that hubris can still clip the wings of any soaring team, I think it speaks much larger to the depth of legitimate competitors in the AFC. But hey, at least they covered that -1.5 point spread right?