NFL: New England Patriots 18-0, win AFC, Chargers Hang Tough

The New England Patriots were not playing for 18-0 in the AFC Championship game against the San Diego Chargers.    The New England Patriots were playing for 19-0, and the right to be called the greatest team in NFL History, a perfect season hanging in the balance.

The San Diego Chargers gave the AFC hell these playoffs, coming oh so close to pulling off huge, back-to-back upsets of the two powerhouses of the AFC, New England and the Indianapolis Colts.     I have a hard time remembering a team coming out of the wildcard scene in the NFL Playoffs, and giving such a scare to the playoff elite.     The New England Patriots, the Greatriots as some have called them, move on, bruised but again still perfect in their win at home over the Chargers.

The Chargers kept it whisker-close, 14-12 after the clock had run out on the third quarter.      Home-field advantage never hurts, but the New England Patriots victory was again, as it has been all season long for these Patriots, based on being the best team in the NFL, maybe the best the league has ever seen.    

The issue of perfection will be settled in two weeks in the Super Bowl.      When the Patriots, up 14-12 in the early stages of the fourth quarter, needed separation from what has become the second-best team in the AFC (NFL?), they as per usual, got it.      The Chargers displayed the heart of a champion, and their time could be coming, sprung off the platform of these impressive playoff performances.   Not now though.    It has been their season since Labor Day.

So Bill Belichick is running the NFL’s version of IBM, business of the day dispatching their nearest competitor, off to the next challenge, the Super Bowl.       

A question to comment on if you wish:    Are the Patriots the greatest NFL team you have ever seen?