It goes without saying that you're already on the best website to find all the best coverage – video, photos, and stories – from the Patriots latest AFC Championship victory. We at patriots.com can cover the team like no other outlet can. It'll be like this throughout the upcoming fortnight as well, so, make sure we're a favorite tab in your browser, if we're not already.
However, there are some other media outlets that have some noteworthy items we'd like to share as well. Much of it is of the editorial opinion variety, and we'll start with The Boston Globe, which says QB Tom Brady will have the last word in his back-and-forth with the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Revenge is a major factor in New England's latest Super Bowl quest, as CSNNE.com
"The Patriots are the last team the NFL apparatus wanted to see in Houston and now the boogeyman's at their door, proving that living well is the best revenge," the author declares. "Nowhere to run to, Roger. Nowhere to hide. The rules apply to everyone and there's a rule that we all learn sooner or later is very true. What goes around comes around."
A WEEI.com opinion piece states that the Patriots are now just one win away from ending the “best-ever” debate.
"Super Bowl LI won't be about the Patriots and the Falcons… it'll be the Patriots against the other great dynasties that have made their mark on the NFL. An opportunity to secure a legacy for a team and a franchise and a head coach that would leave no doubt. Another ring would let Brady end every stupid sports talk-radio debate where people wonder who is the best quarterback of all time."
Meanwhile, the* Globe* also examines what it believes was the AFC Championship’s turning point: a crucial goal-line stand by New England.
The Patriots' underestimated defense again proved critics wrong, The Providence Journal declares.
"We try not to focus too much on the media, but we hear it, it's everywhere," Duron Harmon said. "We heard that we weren't tested all year. We wanted to come out here, do what we were supposed to do, play good fundamental football, take away their key targets and try to make them beat us in other places."
Defense from the Steelers side is what turned this game in New England’s favor, according to one *Boston Herald *columnist.
"Instead of making locker room speeches of the 'oh poor us' variety in a whining tone, [Steelers head coach Mike] Tomlin might have been wiser to have been reminding defensive coordinator Keith Butler that not covering a receiver at all — or pairing up a linebacker who can no longer run like James Harrison on Julian Edelman — were more than a little unwise," the write chides Pittsburgh.
From the Pittsburgh perspective, it was all about New England's offense, according to the Post-Gazette. The Steelers gave Brady too much time to throw, and he made them pay, one columnist observes.
"They can't beat Tom Brady in New England. And they can't beat him in an AFC championship game. Especially when he can stand in the pocket and wait for his receivers to flash open."
The young, inexperienced Steelers may not have been up to the challenge, either, as their QB, Ben Roethlisberger, suggested afterward.
"There were missed opportunities whether we didn't execute well enough, whether plays weren't made by me or other guys. At times it felt like maybe it was too big for some of the young guys," Big Ben said.
The Herald also focuses on some Patriots veterans who are finally getting a taste of Super Bowl glory following Sunday's big win over Pittsburgh.
We'll be seeing and hearing a lot more from both the Patriots and Falcons over the next two weeks. There's lots of Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl LI preview coverage already available on NFL.com to get you started.
Buckle up, because it's going to be another fun ride on New England's Drive for Five.
