What Went Wrong In Patriots' AFC Championship Loss To Broncos
BOSTON (CBS) -- To answer the question posed in the headline: A lot.
The Patriots' bid for their second straight Super Bowl berth fell two points short Sunday, falling to the Denver Broncos 20-18 in the AFC Championship Game. While the defense had a pretty good afternoon in Denver, not much went right for the New England offense. Tom Brady was pressured all day, his receivers couldn't get open, and the future Hall of Famer made a pair of bad passes as the Patriots lost to the Broncos for the second time this season.
"Crash landing to the end of the season, like it usually is in the National Football League," head coach Bill Belichick said after the loss.
Here's what went wrong for the Patriots Sunday afternoon in Denver, from before kickoff to the final plays.
Very Little Protection For Brady
Brady was only sacked four times, but it seemed like he had a Broncos defender in his face or around his legs on every play. Marcus Cannon looked like a turnstile against Von Miller (2.5 sacks), DeMarcus Ware (0.5 sack, seven QB hits) had his way with Sebastian Vollmer on Brady's blindside and Josh Kline had a tough time keeping Derek Wolfe (sack, four QB hits) out of the pocket. Brady was hit on 23 of his 56 drop backs on Sunday, according to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss.
All of that meant Brady, who had cuts all up his arm in the locker room after the loss, had to rush his throws. That was compacted by the fact his receivers struggled to get open against a very good Denver secondary, as Brady finished the game 27-for-56 and had a pair of interceptions on two very bad throws.
Hats off to Wade Phillips and his defense for having a game plan and executing it to near perfection. Help on the offensive line is right near the top of New England's offseason "Must Do" list.
Offense Just Not There
They woke up a bit late in the game, but the Patriots' offense had four three-and-outs on the afternoon.
Missed Extra Point
Stephen Gostkowski had booted 523 straight extra points coming into this one. But he went wide right on the extra point after Steven Jackson scored New England's first touchdown of the game.
It was the worst time for the reliable kicker to make a miscue. Gostkowski took all the blame for the loss, though he doesn't deserve the biggest piece of the blame pie for this one. That goes to the offensive line.
The miss forced the Patriots to go for a two-point conversion after a Brady touchdown to Rob Gronkowski pulled them within two with 12 seconds left. Brady's bid to Julian Edelman was tipped and fell into the hands of the Broncos, ending any hope of a dramatic comeback.
Not Kicking Field Goals On Fourth Down
With his team down 20-12, Bill Belichick opted to go for it on fourth down twice in the final six minutes of the game. It's hard to be too critical for Bill for leaving it up to Tom Brady in those situations, but just one of those field goals could have made the difference when it was all said and done. Not to mention, it's not like the Patriots' offense was finding the end zone with ease.
Why not send Gostkowski out for one or both of those kicks? "Because of the score and the situation of the game," Belichick said after the game.
At that point in time you just never know how many times you'll get the ball back. It's hard to fault the head coach for being aggressive in these situations, but it was another calculated gamble that didn't pay off for the Patriots.
Opening Coin Toss
The Patriots always defer to the second half when they win the toss. On Sunday, they chose to receive.
No, the Patriots did not lose this game because of the coin toss. But it was a very strange start to what turned out to be a very strange day for the Patriots.
Third Down Horrors
The Patriots were just 2-for-13 against the Broncos in their Week 12 loss in Denver. That was without Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.
They had both of those guys back on Sunday, and went 2-for-15 on third down. That's not going to get it done when you're trying to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
