Patriots rout the Chargers, advance to eighth straight AFC title game

The New England Patriots dispatched the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, booking a date with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

On a chilly Sunday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 41-year-old Tom Brady and the New England Patriots proved once again that rumors of their dynasty’s demise were once again premature and greatly exaggerated.

In what is becoming an annual ritual of sorts, TV talking heads, sports media websites, oddsmakers, and all manner of football prognosticators write off the Patriots and boldly declare that this is the year, this is the team, and this is the moment when everything Brady and Bill Belichick have built over the past two decades comes crumbling down into a pile of smoking ashes.

Yet here we are – once again – with the Patriots advancing to the AFC Championship Game, and for a record eighth consecutive time. All the naysayers, the doubters, and the skeptics can hate it all they want… Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots don’t care one bit. They don’t need to be liked, and they don’t need your approval.

All they need to do is win.

And win they did on Sunday, blasting the Chargers by a final score of 41-28. That 13-point margin is deceptive, because Los Angeles scored half their points in the fourth quarter after Jim Nantz and Tony Romo had already begun openly analyzing next Sunday’s championship matchup between the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs.

From the very beginning of this game, it was clear that Belichick had a different strategy in place for his opponent. Perhaps sensing the potency of the Charger offense and knowing his own defense could scarce afford to play from behind, Belichick won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball, rather than defer.

The decision proved genius, as the Patriots marched down the field methodically, bleeding the clock and earning seven points for their efforts. The Chargers answered with an easy touchdown of their own after Stephon Gilmore uncharacteristically found himself out of position.

But from that point forward, it was all New England.

Sony Michel finished with 24 carries for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was the kind of dominant, bruising performance the Patriots needed to control the clock and advance. This year’s team is built for success around the run – and run they did, all over the Chargers all day.

Surprisingly though, New England played a very balanced game on offense. Despite Michel’s landmark production, Tom Brady – the same Tom Brady some pundits presumed might be a liability on this team – went off for 343 yards, a touchdown, and no picks. He finished with a crisp 106.5 quarterback rating, and so far looks just as lethal in the postseason as he always has.

Next up comes Kansas City. The Chiefs don’t have half the defense Los Angeles has, though they did look sharp on Saturday in containing Andrew Luck and the Colts. Moreover, K.C. has the AFC’s best offense – if not the best offense in all the NFL.

If Brady and the Patriots want to advance to their fourth Super Bowl in the last five years, they’ll need to play some their best football to do so. That said, if they play liked they did today, they have a great chance to do so.