After spending the last two weeks recovering from knee and back injuries, Gronkowski caught seven passes for 83 yards, including touchdowns from 8 and 16 yards out.
Advertisement
For starters, Reid had the Chiefs on the Patriots’ 1-yard line with 2:45 remaining but declined to use any of his timeouts, letting another minute and a half run off the clock before his team scored.
During pre-game warm-ups before every New England Patriots game at Gillette Stadium, when Tom Brady jogs onto the field, the in-stadium deejay stops whatever song was playing and keys up Brady’s music, Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement”.
During their Super Bowl run a year ago, the New England Patriots all but abandoned the ground game twice, versus Seattle and versus Baltimore, instead relying exclusively on four-and-five receiver sets.
The Patriots held the lead for the entire contest and subsequently moved into a fifth-straight championship game, and will now play the victor of the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos next Sunday for a spot in Superbowl 50. Brady, playing in his record 30th postseason game, was 8-for-11 for 80 yards and the touchdown pass on the drive.
Alex Smith threw for 246 yards in the loss for the Chiefs, who saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end. They could only manage field goals against the Patriots first two touchdowns. Both of his passing touchdowns went to tight end Rob Gronkowski. “The Chiefs played hard”.
“It was good, it was good”, said wide receiver Danny Amendola about getting those two back. It puts New England one victory away from a return trip to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs scored a late touchdown to cut the lead to 27-70 with a little more than a minute to play.
“I think he’s worked his tail off”, Brady said. “So, I mean you got to have a short memory, whether it’s good or bad and that’s what we kind of did”. The New England Patriots got back to their quick passing game that spread the Kansas City defense and ultimately controlled the game. “We’re going to need to be sharper”.
Second year Chiefs running back CHARCANDRICK WEST (17 carries for 61 yards and a 1 score) gave his team some hope, when he took a Smith handoff to his right where he found some open space to score a crucial touchdown.
The Patriots, who had a first-round bye, looked to be back at full strength and nothing like the team that lost four of six games heading into the play-offs as they pulled ahead early and never looked back. He finished with a game-high 10 receptions and topped 100 yards.
Patriots defensive lineman Chandler Jones forced Knile Davis’ fumble on the Chiefs’ first possession of the second half, then Brady added another touchdown pass to Gronkowski to make it 21-6. He is also tied for second among all National Football League quarterbacks in postseason rushing scores. However, he told reporters he feels good enough where he expects to be out there next week against their next opponent in the AFC Championship game and that’s good news for his teammates, who were glad to have him back.
Former Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, now with the Chiefs, played Saturday despite an ankle injury that kept him out of practice last week. He improved to 4-1 in the playoffs when he runs for a TD. Brady was also 2-of-4 looking his way on third down with two first downs, and his presence overall seemed to really spread things out and made everyone more productive.
Advertisement
Tom Brady and the New England offense were hot from the very start – going for a touchdown on their first drive and opening up a 21-6 lead after their initial drive of the second half.
