Playoff Pats 😤

Plus: 🎤 Brady’s win in the booth

Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with teammates after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime during the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Patriots defeated the Chiefs 37-31. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

By Khari D. Thompson

January 20, 2025

5 minutes to read

Good Morning, Boston.

On this day in 2019 … the Patriots put Patrick Mahomes and the upstart Chiefs in their place, winning their AFC title game shootout, 37-31, en route to Ring No. 6 behind two clutch, crunch-time drives by Tom Brady. Between this and Brady stomping the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years later, let’s quit all this GOAT talk for Mahomes; get to six rings first.

WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY:

Cooper Flagg comes to Chestnut Hill

Jayson Tatum throws down

Mike Vrabel’s mad scientist

LET’S GET INTO IT …

LEADING OFF

The princes of the postseason

Image: Jamie Squires/Getty Images

Remembering the Patriots’ best playoff wins. To put it mildly, New England fans are not happy about the Kansas City Chiefs reaching their seventh straight AFC Championship game and the subsequent chatter about KC overtaking the Pats dynasty in the record books. But instead of worrying about those debates — New England made eight straight AFC titles from 2011-2018, Chase Daniel — let’s recap some of our favorite non-Super Bowl playoff games. (Sorry, “28-3” won’t count here.)

2012 AFC Championship: “Quoth the Ravens” Part 1. Those Pats-Ravens matchups in the 2010s were almost inevitable as the old Tom Brady-Peyton Manning duels with the Super Bowl on the line. With Brady (two INTs) having an off-day against Baltimore, the Patriots’ defense stepped up with a clutch stop deep in their own territory (shoutout Sterling Moore) and forced the Ravens to kick a field goal. To the delight of the Foxborough faithful, kicker Billy Cundiff hooked the 32-yard try wide left. Looks like the lights were too bright.

2002 AFC Championship: Pats down Steelers; Drew Bledsoe saves the day. The former Pats franchise QB took over for an injured Brady and played turnover-free ball while New England’s defense ate Pittsburgh QB Kordell Stewart alive (three INTs, one fumble lost) in the Pats’ AFC title win. Brady gets all the glory, but they don’t get to that Super Bowl without their seemingly forgotten star stepping up.

2015 AFC Divisional Round: “Quoth the Ravens” Part 2. This is a popular pick among fans for “best home playoff game in Gillette Stadium history.” (The No. 1 game on our list was at old Foxboro Stadium.) Highlights:

The Pats twice erased 14-point deficits.
Julian Edelman’s famed TD throw to Danny Amendola.
This absolute masterpiece of a throw by Brady to Brandon LaFell for the winning score. Couldn’t hand it to him any better.
A “lubed-up” Gillette crowd singing along to “Your Love” in the fourth quarter.

2019 AFC Championship: “The Duel.” See above. Hold that L, Pat. Extra W to Tony Romo for predicting every single third-down conversion on Brady’s OT drive to glory.

2002 AFC Divisional Round: “The Tuck Rule Game.” AKA “The Snow Bowl.” “The Game That Launched Two Dynasties.” This one had it all:

The blizzard.
The unbelievable break on the “might’ve been a fumble” by Brady that would’ve sealed the game (and Brady’s overtime bounce-back).
The heroics to tie and win the game from Adam Vinatieri in the snow.

This epic victory launched a two-decade dynasty and embodied what this unprecedented run was all about: some good fortune … mixed with an unmatched desire to win.

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

Image: Nic Antaya/Getty Images

Tom Brady aces his biggest broadcasting moment yet. The GOAT recognized the Lions’ defense had 12 players on the field on a critical 4th-down play and implored them to call a timeout to avoid a penalty. Detroit’s failure to heed Brady’s advice arguably cost them the game against Washington. Don’t look now, but the broadcasting rookie is getting better just in time for the Super Bowl. Some things never change for TB12.

Cooper Flagg puts on a show in Boston. The Maine product and future NBA lottery pick put up 28 points and threw down a few ferocious dunks as his Duke Blue Devils torched Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Saturday. Between Flagg and Brockton native A.J. Dybantsa, New England’s about to run the basketball world.

Celtics show fight, but lose to Atlanta. Literally … Jayson Tatum and the Hawks’ Onyeka Okongwu sparked a scuffle in Boston’s overtime loss on Saturday as Joe Mazzulla — who says he wants the NBA to allow fighting again — clapped enthusiastically in the background. How about we keep that energy on the court, too?

Aliyah Boston makes Angel Reese touch earth. The former Worcester star-turned-WNBA-baller dropped Reese with a pump fake and canned the jumper on the Chicago Sky forward during their Unrivaled 3-on-3 showdown Friday night. Boston and Caitlin Clark might run the “W” when they reunite on the Indiana Fever later this year.

Mike Vrabel brings his own Ernie Adams to Foxborough. The Patriots new head coach is expected to steal John ‘Stretch’ Streicher — his old game management/rules guru in Tennessee — from the Rams to join New England’s staff. Let’s hope he was behind this 1,000-IQ strategic move Vrabel pulled on Belichick during the 2020 playoffs.

A long season of critiquing Tom Brady. But in a high-octane, high-stakes game, Brady was excellent. https://t.co/Tfxn9iDcAt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 19, 2025

LAST CALL

A surprise hire?

Image: David Berding/Getty Images

Could the Patriots hire Thomas Brown as RB coach and run Game Coordinator? — @andrewadesilva (X)

Maybe …

Cynically, the Bears’ interim offensive coordinator/head coach was probably just interviewed to satisfy the Rooney Rule with reports of Josh McDaniels being the favorite for the OC post.

But Brown’s experience calling plays for Bryce Young and Caleb Williams — along with his tenure in Rams coach Sean McVay’s vaunted offensive system — would make him an interesting addition to the staff if Vrabel wants to run an outside-zone run scheme like what he did with Mike LaFleur (another McVay/Kyle Shanahan disciple) in Tennessee.

THEY SAID IT, NOT ME

Put ‘em up

Image: Robert F. Bukaty/AP

I thought you would probably like that, see me get angry and (expletive).
Jayson Tatum on his fight with the Hawks on Saturday night.

I’ve had to adjust, it’s a different year.
Jaylen Brown on his changing role with the Celtics this season.

There comes a time where all good things must come to an end.
Former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki announcing his retirement on Saturday.

No, he wasn’t hurt, no. Nope.
Joe Sacco on benching Brad Marchand in overtime on Saturday against the Senators.

GAME … SET … MEME

The GOAT of trash talk

“not sure coach quinn likes owners coming down to the field before the game is over” pic.twitter.com/UzpwhfKTZE
— brianna pirre (@bsp_13) January 19, 2025

Tom Brady expertly trolls Dan Quinn over Super Bowl comeback. Quinn, who was coaching the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, and Atlanta owner Arthur Blank should’ve listened to ex-Patriots GM Scott Pioli: no lead, not even 28-3, is safe when you’re playing against Brady.

🗞 That’s a wrap. I’m hoping Brady has some choice one-liners for Patrick Mahomes if he has to call the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. You know, just a little something to remind everyone who won both their playoff head-to-head matchups.

📲Keep up with us @BSideSports on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected].

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Playoff Pats 😤