Last week the sports world was buzzing around the miracle at Mile High as Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos devoured the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime. This week the headlines tell quite another story.
See Tebow and the Broncos didn't just lose in the NFL Divisional game against the New England Patriots, they got stomped. The final score in Foxborough of 45-10 does not do the game justice. In addition to breaking a stack of NFL records, for most of the game, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had more touchdown passes than Tebow had completions. Yes, really.
Tom Brady went 26 of 34 on the night for an NFL Playoffs career-best 363 yards, six touchdowns, one interception and a quarterback rating of 137.6. Five of those scores came in the first half, another NFL record, as was the total of six, tying a previous mark.
In no surprise, Brady's favorite target was none other than tight end Rob Gronkowski who caught 10 catches for 145 yards and three scores. Deion Branch, Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez snagged the other three touchdown catches, helping Brady move into third place all time for playoff touchdown passes behind only Brett Favre and Joe Montana.
On the other side of the field, Tebow completed just 9 of 26 passes for 136 yards and a quarterback rating of 52.7. The single touchdown from the Broncos didn't come directly from Tebow, rather Willis McGahee on a five-yard run.
But for Brady, this game was not about showing up Tim Tebow and it wasn't about breaking another stack of NFL records. For the quarterback, this game was about redemption and he got exactly that. This victory marked the first time in four playoffs games and the first since the 2007 campaign that the Patriots had won in the postseason.
"It's all about winning," Brady told the media in his post-game press conference. "You're right, you lose a few playoff games and it's a very bitter way to end the season and it sits on your mind for quite a long time. For us to come out and play the way we did, have a very solid performance in the most important game of the year is very gratifying. I think that we have eight days until the biggest game of the year. From this point on, everyone will be focused on what we need to do to be better next week and hopefully come out and play for another championship."
Though this is a great start, the Patriots will need one more win before they can play for that championship. New England hosts the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 22, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. EST.
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