But the Pats were aware that payback would require more than just adjustments in the lineup. Recalling how the team couldn’t finish off Indy (and how the players were sucking wind in the fourth quarter in the steamy RCA Dome), coach and team talked a lot about being prepared to play a full 60-minute game.
In the first half of this season, when the Patriots were routing opponents in unprecedented fashion, writers kept chiding Bill Belichick for keeping his starters on the field too long and for running up the score. It was more fun to attribute his motives to a desire for revenge in the wake of “Videogate” than to accept that his approach might be consistent with a renewed emphasis on conditioning and focus for the complete 60-minute game. That approach appears to have paid off in the second half of the season, when the Pats came from behind four times in the final quarter—including from being 10 points down in the RCA Dome against the Colts—to salvage victories.
Those who are looking for the chink in the Pats’ armor point to how tough their last three contests have been—the New York Giants in the final game of the regular season and first Jacksonville and then San Diego in the playoffs. There are parallels between all three games, the most striking of which is that in each a relatively inexperienced quarterback—Eli Manning, David Garrard and Philip Rivers—was able to move the ball effectively through the air.
But they were mostly successful early in those games, throwing against defenses that were primarily geared toward shutting down the run and that featured a soft zone in the secondary. Take a look what happened late, when the Pats were in control and those quarterbacks had to throw against a more aggressive pass defense. Manning was 15-21 and three touchdowns for 216 yards, or more than 10 yards a pass attempt through three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Eli was 8-12 for just 46 yards, or less than five yards per attempt, with a fumble and an interception.
It was the same story in the playoffs. Garrard was absolutely brilliant through three quarters, 14-18 (a 78 percent completion rate) for 191 yards. But in the fourth quarter he was just 8-15 and couldn’t get the ball into the end zone. Same for Rivers a week later. With three minutes to go in the third quarter he was 16-24 for 181 yards. But the Chargers’ quarterback was just three for 10 after that, including three straight incomplete passes from the Patriots’ 36-yard-line in what turned out to be San Diego’s last gasp. The Patriots then punctuated the 60-minute message by steamrolling the ball down the field for the final 9:13 of the game, until Tom Brady’s last knee to the ground.
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.
