FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Two days before the first anniversary of the game that spawned a polemic controversy over deflated footballs, theNew England Patriots and their fans gathered for the first playoff game since that contretemps shrouded the franchise for nearly nine months. The atmosphere was festive, with the home side clearly happy to host another mid-January postseason game. But there was also an edge in the air.
The opponent Saturday was the Kansas City Chiefs, but if this Patriots season is indeed a mission of revenge against the N.F.L.’s leadership, Saturday’s assignment was unquestionably to advance to a fifth consecutive A.F.C. championship game.
From the first drive of the game, which led to a quick New England touchdown, until a swarming Patriots defense protected a fourth-quarter lead, New England emphatically imposed its will on the game. The result was a 27-20 divisional-round victory that was more convincing than the score indicated.Despite injuries to key players and mysterious distractions — Coach Bill Belichick showed up last week with an unexplained black eye, and the defensive star Chandler Jones arrived unannounced at a police station shirtless and disoriented — the Patriots are one victory away from their third Super Bowl in the last five years.“We’re tough,” said receiver Julian Edelman, who returned Saturday from a two-month absence because of a broken foot to catch 10 passes for 100 yards. “I’m waiting to see what the next story around here is.”
New England will face the winner of Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos on Jan. 24 for a berth in the Super Bowl.
As determined and efficient as the Patriots were, it was not one of their finest efforts. There were a host of dropped passes, and they rushed for only 38 yards.
In fact, if Kansas City Coach Andy Reid had not bungled his clock management duties at the end of each half, the Chiefs might have been able to tie the Patriots, or go ahead, by the end of the fourth quarter. But in the end, New England aggressively took an early lead it never surrendered. As the Patriots were scoring touchdowns — Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns and ran for another — the Chiefs were answering with field goals, which is hardly a winning strategy.
The Chiefs, who came into the game with an 11-game winning streak, always seemed breathlessly in chase of the poised and experienced Patriots, who are now 9-1 in divisional-round postseason games at home. Belichick and Brady have won 22 postseason games, the record for a coach-and-quarterback tandem.
While the Patriots came into the game losers in four of their last six games, on Saturday they looked whole again, with Edelman back in the lineup alongside other pivotal players, like tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Danny Amendola, who had been nursing injuries.The attack nonetheless largely revolved around Brady, who completed 28 of 42 passes for 302 yards without an interception. The focal point of the monthslong deflated footballs episode, Brady seemed energized by the return of a home playoff setting. It probably did not hurt that several times during the game, the crowd saluted Brady by chanting his name.Brady was also at the center of the most emotional sequence in the game. With the Patriots leading by 7-3 late in the first half, he dropped back on a second down at the Kansas City 11-yard line. With no receiver open, Brady took off in a dash for the end zone.
“It was a slow takeoff,” Brady said later, joking. “I thought I could make it.”
He was wrong. The nation of Patriots fans must have gasped as Brady was violently knocked out of bounds just short of the goal line by two defenders.
“Hard hits,” Brady said of the play. “But it’s football season — you get some bumps and bruises.”
As the Patriots challenged the call on the field, hoping that Brady had crossed the goal line — the call was upheld — Brady went to the sideline. He was shouting and hugging the offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“There were a lot of emotions,” Brady said. “Josh and I were laughing about it three minutes later.”
They could laugh because Brady, on the next play, did something else he does well. He dived over the pile of bodies to thrust the football over the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown that put the Patriots ahead, 14-3.While the Chiefs cut the lead to 8 points by the start of the second half, they soon made a crucial mistake that disrupted their momentum for most of the rest of the game.
On a play that began at the Patriots’ 40, running back Knile Davis lost control of the football after catching a pass over the middle and the Patriots recovered the fumble.
Gronkowski caught an 18-yard pass from Brady on the next play. Edelman then ran around the left end for 11 yards. Three plays later, Gronkowski was split wide of the formation like a wide receiver. Brady pump-faked in Gronkowski’s direction, and Chiefs safety Eric Berry charged forward. Brady then threw to the wide-open Gronkowski for a 16-yard touchdown that put New England ahead, 21-6. It was Gronkowski’s second touchdown reception of the game.
The Chiefs remained pesky and rallied with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with quarterback Alex Smith throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson. The Patriots responded with two Stephen Gostkowski field goals for a 27-13 lead.The Chiefs cut the deficit to a touchdown with 73 seconds left in the fourth quarter. A 16-play Kansas City possession ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Charcandrick West, but the Chiefs repeatedly wasted time — using a huddle in the final two minutes and squandering timeout opportunities.
Asked about the situation after the game, Reid offered little in the way of an explanation.
Any last-ditch comeback by the Chiefs ended when the Patriots recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt.
Afterward, Brady said he was pleased to be advancing to another A.F.C. championship game — his 10th — after such a tumultuous 12 months.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “You’ve got to grind throughout a whole year. But there’s another game now. We’ll have to be sharper. We’re going to need it.”
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