Tennessee at New England – The End of the Patriot Dynasty?

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SteemSports Presenter: Johnny Oien (Steemit Account TBA)

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SteemSports Editor: @theprophet0

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If you’d only been listening to the first 30 minutes of coverage and commentary for Titans at Patriots, you might have surmised that this was the beginning of the end for an aging dynasty. The seemingly infallible Tony Romo made multiple comments referring to “Jordan and the ’95 Bulls” in the context that you might be watching the Patriots “to finally see them lose.” Other talking heads vultured at rumors of a communication breakdown between Robert Kraft and his “B”rigadier Generals, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. The stage for upset was being most delightedly set by everyone with a voice.

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If you’d been watching the first quarter of this same game, you’d have struggled to disagree. You might have considered Tony Romo a prophet. New England quarterback play was underwhelming, the offensive line struggled to generate rushing yards, and the defense appeared to have returned to its early-season, beatable form.

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With a little more than 6 minutes to go in the first quarter, Tennessee mounted a devastating, 5 minute, 95 yard touchdown drive… fulfilling the prophecy and signaling the end of the Belichick/Brady dynasty. During these 11 plays, Marcus Mariota was electric… rushing for 22 yards, 11 of which converted a third down and 7… hitting receivers for 59 yards, including a 15 yard strike to Corey Davis in the end zone to go up 7-0 against the “aging ’95 Bulls.”

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46 minutes to go… with a 7 point lead… in Gillette Stadium… against a foe chasing its 7th consecutive AFC Championship Game birth… Today was the day. And then our universe was returned to its rightful dimension. New England had given Tennessee a “one quarter head start.” To start the second quarter, Brady went 2-3 for 50 yards, much of it coming after the catch by a shifty Dion Lewis, capped by a 5 yard shovel pass to James White to tie the game.

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The juggernaut Patriots would go on to hang points like laundry, and the Titans were the clothesline. Punt after punt after punt, Tennessee’s dreams of tumbling a dynasty withered away like dandelions in August. Mariota’s Minions wouldn’t see the scoreboard again until the final, meaningless 2 minutes of the game… Long after key Patriots had moved to the bench to begin preparation for the AFC Championship. Different chapters… Same book.

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The unbelievably tragic message of Super Bowl LI was clear. It takes more than rumor, more than scandal, more than a few quarters of domination to challenge this Patriot team and its wizard coach. You have to put in 60 minutes of pure perfection in order to change the course of this dynasty.

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New England would go on to route Tennessee 35-14, racking up a devastating 438 yards of total offense. Play-makers Lewis, White, Danny Amendola, and Rob Gronkowski would be unstoppable cogs in the ceaseless engine. The defense would provide nearly 45 consecutive minutes of shutdown suffocation… stifling every Titan attempt to keep pace. And despite everyone with a microphone questioning his ability to play at an elite level in his forties, Tom Brady would serve up 35 completions in 53 attempts for 337 yards and a triple cheeseburger of touchdowns. The Patriot Dynasty lives on and accepts all challengers. Onwards to the AFC Championship.

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