Pats Posits: Back in the AFCCG!

The Patriots are back in the AFC Championship game for the eighth-straight time after walloping the Chargers 41-28 in the Divisional Round. This was a game against an early-dynasty rival and it felt like the kind of head-turning wins that those Patriots had to deliver.

This 2018 win over the Chargers is probably as close to a perfect game as you could ask for. In that regard, it’s like the 2007 AFCDG against the Jaguars. But these kinds of occasional explosions of football perfection have not often popped up in the playoffs, especially in games that many were questioning if the Patriots were done.

So now the question looms – can the 2018 Patriots win on the road to get to the Super Bowl?

Of the 12 AFC Championship games the Belichick-Brady Pats have played in, five have been on the road. They’re 2-3. At home they went 6-1.

• 2001 @ Steelers – WIN
• 2004 @ Steelers – WIN
• 2006 @ Colts – LOSS
• 2013 @ Broncos – LOSS
• 2015 @ Broncos – LOSS

The first two they upset the Steelers at home, the last three Peyton Manning played a range from upstoppable (2006 2nd half) to barely being a factor (2015) in snuffing out the Patriots’ season. The Pats will have to stop the three-game skid if they want to play in a third-straight Super Bowl.

The Chiefs will provide the stiffest possible test and there are only two possible outcomes. The Pats will put together the kind of game they’ve played at home in Arrowhead and prove they can play on the road, or they’ll play the same kind of inconsistent games they’ve played on the road all season long and it’ll be their fourth-straight playoff road loss and third-straight road loss of the 2018 season.

Of course, Kansas City’s offense is a force to be reckoned with no matter how solid of a game the Patriots put together. Plenty of time to dive into that this week, but anything less than a perfect game might not be enough. And they’ll need a couple lucky bounces as well.

For now, let’s revel in some Posits about one of the best playoff performances of all time.

— Aside from the Gilmore blown coverage and not getting points before halftime the Patriots played a near perfect first half, a refreshing thing in the playoffs that has been hard to come by. The offense was balanced, the defense was entirely effective, front seven to secondary. This was really a culmination for the home Patriots team. They’ve been very very good at home all season long. It’s easy to overlook given the road losses, but the home team was dominant and if they can’t play like this on the road just once they deserve to lose. It just sucks knowing what they’re capable of.

— Offensively it was a lot like I hit on in my gameplan. James White, the short passing game keyed things, and once Sony Michel got going it was lights out for the Chargers. Michel really was the x-factor and he’ll be it very much again vs. the Chiefs.

— Julian Edelman is firmly a Patriots legend. Fighting off two tackles early on for a first down set a tone. He had eight catches in the first half. Amendola was a warrior last year, the Pats don’t beat the Titans or Jags without him, but Edelman is just that much better that the game wasn’t even close due in large part to him making consistent big plays early. When I saw Edelman in training camp I couldn’t believe how comfortable he looked coming off an ACL injury. I never really bought that he was showing any signs of decline. He always has some drops here and there, but when it’s go time, he brings it every time and he only added to his legend in this playoff game. I can’t wait to see what he does against the Chiefs. Let’s remember Edelman’s last two playoff games have been yesterday and Super Bowl 51.

— In the gameplan I wanted to use the scalpel Tom Brady offense and that’s what we got. The Brady haters were walking it all back after yesterday, but if they had just watched the last few games of the season they’d have seen Brady as comfortable as he’s ever been. Now they’re tacking back to ‘Brady didn’t throw for 500 yards so he’s still declining’ or whatever. What matters is that this is where Tom Brady is at his best, with guys like White and Edelman leading the way with the quick, smart offense. Gronk, Dorsett, Hogan — they are what they are at this point. Getting Michel going is what takes it next level and I very much love Brady not having to throw it up and down the field to win. The more Michel runs the longer Brady plays.

— Gilmore will have his brain farts in zone defense it seems, that touchdown catch to Allen was the latest example, but that was the only thing he gave up the entire game. The biggest focus of the gameplan was stopping Melvin Ingram and with just 19 yards rushing (!!!!!!!!) by the Chargers I’d say the Pats nailed it. Outside the big play TD, the only other real scoring drive was sparked by Gordon’s eight-yard rush, his longest of the day. Otherwise the defense looked as in sync as we’ve seen and it started up front.

— Trey Flowers was a hugely disruptive force as was Dont’a Hightower, who was especially active up front. I don’t know why the veteran secondary with standout rookie J.C. Jackson is getting so little respect. They were outsized by the Chargers’ receivers who certainly made some really tough plays here and there, but they never blinked. McCourty, Chung, Harmon have played in a lot of big games and Gilmore is a shutdown corner like 97 percent of the time.

— Bill Belichick deserves a lot of credit for this football team. We’ve been hearing the “they’re not that talented” drum for almost two decades but he and his staff consistently mold a competitive football team that can execute their gameplan perfectly. The faces almost all have changed at least once or twice but the product on the field is always slightly-varying shades of the same thing — The New England Football Machine.

— The only sad part about this is how large the Miami Miracle now looms. A simple tackle there and the Pats would be playing this AFC Championship at home for the third-straight time.

— What did the 2001 and 2004 teams have that the 2006, 2013 and 2015 teams didn’t? 2006 a sickness ran through the Patriots the week of the game, they were on fumes in the second half and got run off the field. The 2013 and 2015 were undermanned with injuries. Joe Vellano and Chris Jones anchored the heart of the 2013 defense while Brady had breakout Julian Edelman, Shane Vereen and not much else. The 2015 team was banged up but should’ve been able to beat end-of-the-road Peyton Manning. That one hurt the most and should’ve at least gone to overtime.