21-17, we fell a few points short.
It’s a close one but I think that this loss hurt a little more than the first time around. No matter what you tried to tell yourself before the game, losing the way the Patriots did is still difficult to take in.
There were so many chances for them to win. Heck, we managed to have a miserable first half but still be up by one point going into halftime. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (who had a pretty non-existent season) made one of the longest catches of the game with 21 yards. It seemed like things finally starting to fall into place, even with a first half that started with a rookie mistake, Patriots fans were hopeful that this is where the real Patriots would come out.
The Patriots looked to have found their rhythm. Tom Brady constructed an impressive 96 yard drive that ended in a four yard touchdown catch by running back Danny Woodhead.
In the first drive of the second half, Aaron Hernandez made a 12 yard catch into the end zone and made it rain on the big stage. Things were looking up.
Following the touchdown, everything seemed to go downhill. From an inability to recover fumbles to team’s most reliable receivers struggling to make catches. The entire team just seemed off. The defense, surprisingly, wasn’t the biggest disappointment of the game though.
It turned out the be the receivers who struggled the most.
Deion Branch, the one-time Super Bowl MVP, was no stranger to the pressures of this game. But he dropped a crucial pass.
Wes Welker, Tom Brady’s favorite receiver who had 122 catches this season, dropped a catch that he’s “…Made a thousand times.” This catch, more than the others could have sealed the victory for the Patriots.
It would be easy to place blame on number 83 but honestly, I think it’s both on him and on Brady’s pass (the pass looked to be behind Welker and a tad high).
I don’t think the blaming game will help the hardcore Patriots fan in me.
My good friend Joe Gill asked me about why I thought this loss hurt more than the first defeat,
Because I think the reasons they had to play well, to finish this season as champions were so much deeper than in 2007. Back then, it was about the perfect season. This time …
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