WEEK 16
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Gillette, not a creature was stirring, not even the Pats offense.
OK. That's not exactly the making of a holiday classic. But yesterday's game will be remembered as a classic comeback if the Pats can nail down the top seed next week and take advantage of that home-field advantage in the playoffs like they did in the good old days. (7 or so years ago).
I had the holiday evening shift at the newspaper so Shep, two of his sons, and his dad took in the atmosphere in section P2. Handicapped parking (Shep's dad gets that sweet spot). He texted me a photo from the chilly pre-game tailgate. I was a little bummed to be missing out. Then the Pats fell behind 17-0 and I was feeling a little less bummed.
Was Tony Mazz right? Were the Dolphins the perfect team to expose the Pats weaknesses? As Stephen Gostkowski's field goal attempt flew woefully left as time expired in the first half it was sure looking that way. The Pats D was playing its usual up and down game, bending and sometimes breaking. The offense was getting harassed by a good defense. In just the first quarter, Brady was sacked twice, hurried four times, and knocked down three other times. It looked a lot like the last three playoff games in which the Pats are 0-3. The difference was that Brady -- while constantly under pressure -- didn't make any mistakes. That will be the key come playoff time. The Pats will face some tough defenses and the yards will not be so easy to come by. Brady and the offense has to protect the ball till they can weather the storm and start making some plays.
That's what they did against Miami.
The Pats offense started making plays and scoring points while the defense held Miami at 17. Brady ran the QB sneak for two TDs and threw for a third... a classic Brady scramble inside the 10 that ended with him finding Branch at the back of the end zone. The Pats scored 27 unanswered points, but not with lightning quick strikes. An 11-play drive. A 7-play drive. Another 7-play drive. A 10-play drive. An 11-play drive. The Pats, down 17-0, methodically worked their way back into the game. The Pats, down 17-0, ran for 119 yards. That's patience. That's good play-calling.
If the Pats find themselves down early in the playoffs in the face of a ferocious pass rush, it's the formula they will need to use to survive. Hopefully they will get off to a fast start. Slow starts have been a problem this season. But the 12-3 Pats have overcome most of them. Just like the Christmas Eve win over Miami. It wasn't pretty, but it was a W.
I got a text from Shep after the game.
"Whew!'
Whew indeed.
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