New England’s 60-Minute Men

Three very good teams matched the Patriots for a half. The Giants led the Pats 21-16 at halftime, the Jags were tied 14-14, and the Chargers trailed just 14-9. The second half has been a different story, the Pats winning by scores of 22-14, 17-6 and 7-3 respectively. And in the fourth quarter three high-powered offenses combined for just 10 points—the sole touchdown being a too-little, too-late Giants score with a minute to go in the game.

Belichick certainly errs on the side of "never explain, never apologize," and that style has contributed to his diminished popularity with press and fans. But there were enough clues provided by the Patriots' players that should have enabled us to view the early-season approach as something far more considered and legitimate than a Sherman-like scorched-earth march aimed at embarrassing opposing coaches and sticking it to the entire league. From the first days of training camp Belichick and the Pats' players have talked about building a team that could go the distance in a game so that they could go the distance in the season. Those players have become true 60-minute men and, as a result, have owned the fourth quarter this season.

Of course, they have owned a lot of first, second and third quarters, too. And there are a host of reasons to believe that Super Bowl XLII will be no exception. The Pats are, after all, an 18-0 team that has already won nine games against playoff teams—including defeats of the Cowboys, Colts and Giants, all on the road. Moreover, the Brady-led Patriots have already won three Super Bowls since 2002 with far less offensive talent than will take the field this Sunday. The Pats have already demonstrated that there are many different ways to win a Super Bowl. They beat the Rams by muscling their receivers and with steely nerves down the stretch. They beat the Panthers with almost 500 yards of total offense. And they beat the Eagles by harassing quarterback Donovan McNabb into four turnovers—three interceptions and a fumble—while sacking him four times.

What those victories have in common, besides a winning margin of just three points, is that each time the Patriots came up big down the stretch. Whatever Belichick has planned for the Giants, it must help a great deal knowing that his Pats once again own the fourth quarter.

© 2008