Belichick's Greatest Hits No. 8: The Playoff Blowout That Everyone Overlooks
John Cetrino. Shutterstock Images.Not only has no coach ever won as many postseason games as Bill Belichick - or probably ever will - no one ever coached as many dramatic, unforgettable games with razor thin margins that came down to the final minutes. We can comfortably say that's a record that will never be approached, never mind surpassed. And many of them still lie ahead on this countdown.
But paradoxically, we tend to give more credit to someone for squeaking by in a close one than we ever do for blowing away the competition. Unless it's the rare case like a Secretariat, we mostly celebrate the photo finishes. That's why the best Rocky fights were by far the two against Apollo (Requiescat in Pace, Carl Weathers), the ones that went to the final bell. The best parts of the other Rockys were the training montages and the '80s anthems, not the bouts. Or to give another real world example, it's why we can remember every inning of the 2004 ALCS. But the Red Sox World Series sweep is vaguely remembered as something something St. Louis and everyone jumping on Keith Foulke while Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore ran around.
Well this is the time to remember when Belichick summoned all his powers and did the coaching equivalent of pitching a perfect game. The biggest postseason margin of victory in Patriots history (we're going to overlook the 1963 AFL championship when they lost to Sid Gillman's Chargers 51-10), and the 10th biggest by any team in the Super Bowl era.
I'm talking of course about the 2014 AFC championship game against Indianapolis. A 45-7 beatdown, that is largely forgotten by history.
Despite the fact the Patriots throat-punched the Colts, roundhouse kicked them, grabbed the pistol out of their hand, snapped their forearm, shot them with the gun, burned their body and then pissed on their ashes, the game is only remembered for two things. A certain conspiracy that alleged a scheme to manipulate the game balls I won't mention by name because it doesn't deserve the oxygen. And the way the Colts responded to getting emasculated:
Both of which are a utter miscarriages of justice. The Patriots, and their coach, deserve better.
One aspect that only gets mentioned in the context of that scheme I mentioned is that this game was actually close for a while. All of Indy's points came in the 2nd quarter on a 10-play, 93 yard touchdown drive. That made it a 14-7 ballgame. But the 6th highest scoring offense in the league wouldn't as much as attempt a field goal the rest of the way. As a matter of fact, those 93 yards were more than they'd gain over the final 35 minutes of the game in total.
And this win wasn't because of Tom Brady or how squishy soft the Nerf-like footballs might have been. Though he did play well enough, with three touchdowns and an interception. This one belonged to the defense, which reduced Andrew Luck to a stat line of:
12-for-33, 126 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 23.0 passer rating
This from the man who led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes and made his third straight Pro Bowl. Luck's favorite target was TY Hilton, who finished sixth in the league with 1,345 yards, was held to just one reception on six targets for 36 yards by a swarming Patriots secondary playing a 3-cornerback scheme led by Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Kyle Arrington.
Belichick's other chief weapon was LeGarrette Blount, who was both the hammer and anvil that pounded the Colts into whatever shape suited him. His line:
30 carries, 148 yards, 4.9 YPA, 3 TDs
It should be noted that two months earlier, backup running back Jonas Gray shredded these same Colts for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries. Then during the week showed up late. And Belichick benched his tardy ass without batting an eye. And never once felt the need to try and give the rookie a second chance. He just set Blount loose like a Viking Berserker. And the Colts were just as helpless. Interestingly, for all this, it was just the second best playoff game Blount ever had against Indy:
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Just to complete the humiliation of the team who tried to discredit all of Belichick's team's success, the game was put out of reach just five minutes into the 3rd quarter with a Brady touchdown pass. To Nate Solder, of all people:
It was the second, and final, target of the 6-foot-9 tackle's career. And his first and only reception. That made it a 24-7 game. And even though the game was effectively put away and the Patriots were heading to Arizona for the Super Bowl, by no means were they done inflicting pain. There were still three more touchdowns left to score before their rendezvous with history in the weeks to come.
But that would be getting ahead of ourselves, so we'll save it. For now, let's just remember perhaps the best four quarters of Patriots playoff football ever and give it the place of honor on this countdown it deserves.