One More Time: 2018 AFC Championship
The New England Patriots win again... but it wasn't easy.
The Patriots won their third straight AFC Championship, which will put them in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years and for the ninth time with QB Tom Brady under center and head coach Bill Belichick at the helm. In their 37-31 overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium, the Pats have once again lifted the bar of legendary greatness yet another rung higher. And with a team widely considered their weakest since their first Lombardi Trophy triumph in 2001. In their way is the Los Angeles Rams, the relocated franchise they first faced as the young upstart underdogs of 18 years ago. The then-St. Louis Rams were the projected next great NFL dynasty in making their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. Nearly twenty years later, the roles are unequivocally reversed. Will this be Brady's swan song on the game's greatest stage? Only time will tell, but for today, congratulations are in order for the Patriots, one whose incredible run may only be appreciated through the passage of time.
While the Patriots represent the present, there is a great likelihood that the Kansas City Chiefs will represent the future. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes brought his team back from a 14 point deficit and battled one of the greatest teams and legacies of all time to a draw in regulation. What would be the ultimate undoing of the 2018 Chiefs would be their defense, which finished their season on the field, unable to get the ball back into the hands their young maestro. And improving the defense should be the long and short list for head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach. Their offense is already at critical mass. The D needs to be better if this club is to continue to be a perennial contender. Exalt in your successes, but do not grow complacent.
