A wet warm day, a cold wet night. No snow in Denver though ... maybe that was the Pats' downfall. Strange game. It is like all the luck and smooth play of the past ten post season games feel apart all at once. How else to describe twenty four (out of 27) points off turnovers (a questionable pass interference and somewhat less questionable non-fumble in the End Zone call helping ... the Raiders somewhere are smiling)? After (like the Redskins early ... Seattle's MVP knocked out) their defense held Denver repeatedly (including a Third and Inches at the Pats' Four), things started to fall about right after the Two Minute Warning. Meanwhile, they could not score (even missed a field goal!), doing worse than the Redskins (who had a chance to tie late ... Seattle is no lock next week).
The score was 3-0 (Pats ... Denver dominated the First Half, except where it counted) at the Two Minute Warning. I switched the game off a bit to finish watching my Russian DVD (Chess Fever this time), since there was less than ten minutes left. After all, this would still probably allow me to see the end of the Half. Well, I did ... it was about 1:33 when I turned it back on ... but Denver had the ball, and a 7-3 lead (fumble, pass interference in the End Zone, score, fumble on the return). I did see them make a 50 yd field goal, making it 10-3. The last time the Pats was behind at his point was in the snow game. But, no snow in Denver ... just thin air. Lots of rain (over three straight weeks of it) in Seattle though.
More follies in the Second Half. The Pats was about to go up 13-10 when Brady (for only the second time in the post season ... the last time in the Carolina Super Bowl) was intercepted in the End Zone, and it was ran back 100 yards .. to the 1. The poor guy was out of gas and probably could not believe a Pats offense player ran all the way from the other side of the field to knock the ball away just before he made it. And, it could have been a fumble out of the End Zone, which would have made it Pats ball at the 20. But, the call on the field stood. TD right after.
And, then, muffed (?) punt. But, wait. The Pats scored in :33 seconds to make it a 11pt game (that missed field goal mattered!) again! But, no, a long pass and another couple first downs basically iced it. The Pats even had an extra timeout (after another interception, I guess it was felt pointless to get the ball back with under a minute left, down 27-13) in the end. They have a lot of time now ... except for those with Pro Bowl spots.