Road to Super Bowl XLII: New England Patriots

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME.
It was a cold day in Foxborough - 23 degrees - but no where as cold as it would be later on in Green Bay, Wisconsin where it would be -2 at gametime. In what was expected to be an offensive slugfest, it was the defense that advanced the Patriots - holding the Chargers to 4-field goals and 12-points in spite of 3 Tom Brady interceptions, by intercepting San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers twice.

The Patriots otherwise did what they do - no player playing as Wide Receiver or Running Back this year fumbled - and San Diego, one of the league's best defenses at forcing turnovers failed to make fumbles happen.

The Patriots advance to their 6^th Super Bowl and 4^th in seven years, where they are 3-2 all-time; they are 6-1 all time in AFC Championship games.

PATRIOTS SEASON.
Even before the start of the season, the Pats were struck by controversy when Rodney Harrison was suspended 4 games for used of Human Growth Hormone (HGH). 8-minutes into the first game of the season with the Jets, a cameraman with a Patriots credential was detained by the NFL and his film confiscated, beginning the scandal known as "Camera-gate," among others. At the end of the day, Coach Belichick had been fined $500,000, the team $250,000 and lost a draft pick. And they had defeated the Jets 38-14, beginning a run in which they had scored 38 points in 3 straight games.

They defeated the Chargers 38-14 the following week and the Bills 38-7 the week after that. Overall, they scored 30 or more points in 12 of their 16 regular season games - in consecutive games, they scored 48, 49 52 over the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Redskins. In Week 11, they racked up 56-points on the Bills.

After that, however, the offensive juggernaut seemed to be kept more in check, which exposed the defense more than it had been earlier in the season: They defeated the Eagles and Ravens by 3-points each - the Ravens having forced the Pats to convert a 4^th down in the 4^th quarter down by 4. The following week, the Pats once again found the accelerator pedal against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 34-13 win. Week 17 - the last week of the regular season - saw perhaps one of the Pats toughest challenges against the Giants; down by 12, the Pats found a way to pull out a victory 38-35 to complete their undefeated, untied regular season.

In so doing set records for team scoring, touchdowns scored, wins in a regular season; Tom Brady broke the NFL passing touchdown record; Randy Moss broke the NFL record for receiving touchdowns in a season.

Their 16-0 regular season gave them a first round playoff bye while the Chargers and Titans, Steelers and Jaguars battled. The Chargers earned the right to play Indianapolis in what would be the final game at the RCA Dome; the Jaguars earned the right to play the Patriots in the Divisional Round.

The Patriots defeated the Jaguars 31-20 in a game that didn't feel as lopsided as the score would indicate; while the Chargers staged the upset in Indianapolis for the right to meet the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. In the win, Quarterback Philip Rivers (knee), Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson (knee), and Tight End Antonio Gates (toe) were injured, endangering their prospects for the Championship game.

PATRIOTS SUPER BOWL HISTORY.

In 1985, the Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XX to play the 15-1 Chicago Bears - one of the greatest teams of all time having challenged for an undefeated season, losing only once. The Bears won Super Bowl XX 46-10 in what was at the time the most lopsided Super Bowl in history.

In 1996, the Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XXXVI to play the 13-3 Green Bay Packers, losing the game 35-21. The game was sealed when Desmond Howard returned a Patriots third quarter kickoff 99-yards for a touchdown; from there on out, the Patriots never crossed mid field.

On an improbable run, the Patriots returned to the Super Bowl in 2001 in Super Bowl XXXVI to face the heavily favored 14-2 St. Louis Rams. The Rams scored the first 3-points of the game, but in the second quarter Ty Law returned a Kurt Warner pass for a touchdown and with 31-seconds left in the second, Tom Brady hit David Patten for a touchdown. In what looked like it may be a runaway for the Pats, was tied up at 17 with 1:30 left in the game - setting the stage for Adam Vinatieri's last second kick.

In 2003 and 2004, the Pats returned to the Super Bowl for back to back appearances, winning both - Super Bowl XXXVIII was decided 32-29 in favor of the Pats on another last second Adam Vinatieri kick; Super Bowl XXXIX decided when Rodney Harrison intercepted a Donovan McNabb pass with less than a half minute to play.