The New England Patriots made history and joined an elite club after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime on Sunday.
The five-time Super Bowl winners arrived into their eighth consecutive AFC Championship Game as three-point underdogs but prevailed 37-31 in overtime to become only the third team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons.
Read more: The 5 best throws of Tom Brady's 500 touchdown passes
Only the Miami Dolphins between 1971 and 1974 and the Buffalo Bills between 1990 and 1993 achieved the feat, although the Bills always fell at the last hurdle. The Patriots will instead have the chance of winning the sixth ring of the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era when they face the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta on February 3.
The win on Sunday also saw the Patriots clinch their 36th postseason win, equalling a record held by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Of those, 29 have come under Belichick, who now has 30 postseason wins in total, more than Bill Walsh and Don Shula combined.
Uncharacteristically, Brady had two interceptions and New England failed to hold on to its 14-0 lead at halftime, before the 41-year-old engineered the winning 75-yard drive in overttime, which Rex Burkhead capped with the crucial two-yard touchdown.
They won the coin toss. Then the game.
— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2019
Every play from the OT drive that sent the @Patriots to the @SuperBowl! #SBLIII #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/iyGCYeTYSx
Brady, who completed 30 of his 46 attempted passes for 348 passing yard and a touchdown to go with his two pick six, said the final drive epitomized the Patriots' never-say-die spirit.
"Overtime, on the road against a great team," the Patriots quarterback, who faced third-and-10 twice in the final drive, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"They had no quit. Neither did we. We played our best football at the end. I don't know, man, I'm tired. That was a hell of a game."
The Patriots were 3-5 on the road this season and 3-4 on the road in playoff games under Belichick, having lost both their last two AFC Championship Games played away from Foxborough – both against Denver in 2014 and 2016.
Coupled with the Rams win in New Orleans against the Saints, the Patriots win in Kansas City meant it was the first time since 2012 that both visiting teams won conference matches. It was also the first time in history that both games on Championship Sunday went to overtime.
For the Chiefs, the wait for a first Super Bowl appearance since the AFL-NFL merger goes on. Kansas City torched defenses throughout the season but failed to get onto the scoreboard until the third quarter on Sunday, before Patrick Mahomes eventually took control of proceedings.
Thank you #ChiefsKingdom
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) January 21, 2019
This hurts now but we will be back love y’all for y’alls support!
The second year quarterback completed 16 of his 31 passes, for 295 yards and three touchdowns but that wasn't enough to get his team to Atlanta and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is now 1-5 in Championship Games.
"We'll get in the work," Mahomes told The Kansas City Star. "For us, we're going to keep that chemistry going and get better in every way that we can [...] That's the stuff you have to do in order to be a great team and keep the success going."
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About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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