For the fourth year in a row the New England Patriots will be playing in the AFC Championship and for the third time in the past four year the game will be held at Gillette Stadium.
Familiarity could best describe this year’s AFC Championship game.
The Patriots face a familiar opponent, one they faced just nine weeks ago. The same team, more or less, they played against in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last year, in the Indianapolis Colts.
The Week 11 meeting was a memorable one…if you are a Patriots fan.
After waiting all day, the Pats and the Colts played the game of the Week on Sunday night. A much anticipated battle between the past and the future. It was another opportunity for Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck to dethrone legend Tom Brady and assert himself as “elite”. But it was a game overshadowed by the fastest rising (and falling) star the NFL may have ever seen. Jonas Gray, stole the show running for 201 yards and four touchdowns in the Patriots 42-20 victory.
But a lot has changed in those nine weeks. Back then the Colts entered the game with a 6-4 record, the Patriots stood at 8-2 and here they stand with the same amount of wins on the season at thirteen.
One of the changes, and most notably, has been the Colts’ defense. After a slow start to the season, the Colts got stronger along the defensive front and ended the season ranked 11th in the league in total defense, two spots higher than the much heralded New England Patriots defense led by newcomer Darrelle Revis and breakout star Dont’a Hightower.
Colts head coach Chuck Pagano didn’t stop there. Digging into his past as defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, Pagano has the defense in its best shape all year. Of the twelve teams who have appeared in the post-season, the Colts have dawned the second-best defense averaging up just 271 yards per game and a playoff best 11.5 points per game.
But for all the stellar defense and the fantastic play of Luck and receiver T.Y. Hilton, both have the most yards at their respective positions this post-season, it is hard to forget the past and their 43-22 loss to the Patriots in last year’s playoffs.
Not only was the score similar to their Week 11 match-up, but the Patriots also had a four touchdown rusher in last season’s playoff victory in LeGarrette Blount; who left the team and signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason only to return to New England midway through the year after clashing heads with then-coach Mike Tomlin.
It is not just the recent past that creates intriguing around the matchup, it is also the potential history that could be made, and what better place than Boston to talk about history.
Colts receiver Reggie Wayne is second all-time in post-season receptions with 93 and could move into second place all-time in postseason reception yards. Currently at 1,254 yards, Wayne needs only 62 yards to pass former-Raider Cliff Branch and NFL Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin.
As for the Patriots’ page in the history book, Brady’s 19 postseason wins are the most all-time (and are the most all-time as a player-coach combo as he has been teamed with head coach Bill Belichick for all the victories) and last week it was well documented as he surpassed Brett Favre and childhood hero Joe Montana for most playoff touchdown passes in career, 46, with his game winning pass to newcomer Brandon LaFell.
Just like Wayne, both Brady and coach Bill Belichick have chances to make history. Belichick, could become the head coach with most playoff wins with 20, he is currently tied with Cowboys legend Tom Landry for the record. As for Brady, he needs just 10 yards to surpass Colts legend, and personal rival, Peyton Manning, for most postseason passing yards in a career.
Familiarity. It will be talked about all day on Sunday.
The play of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and his “throwing out of the club” of Colts’ safety Sergio Brown, an ex-Patriot and the gashing of the Patriots defense by tight end and Luck’s former-Stanford teammate Colby Fleener as he filled in for an injured Dwayne Allen, who is now back and healthy. It will all be mentioned.
It comes down to this. A “one week season” as Belichick has referred to this game. The Patriots and the Colts, familiar rivals all the way back to the days when the Colts played in the AFC East.
