FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The 41st playoff game of Tom Brady’s unrivaled NFL career began in a thick fog that had rolled into Gillette Stadium two hours before kickoff.
The future of the Patriots quarterback was already under a cloak of uncertainty so if nothing else, the conditions on an uncharacteristically mild New England night were effective in setting the mood.
Game 41 did not end with victory 31 for famous No. 12, however, as the Patriots fell 20-13 to an upstart and physically motivated group of Tennessee Titans here in Saturday night’s AFC wildcard playoff game.
All dynasties must come to an end, after all, and now the conclusion of one of the best in professional sports is certainly in sight.
If it was Brady’s last game in a Patriots uniform, this with his long-time partner in prime time New England coach Bill Belichick, it passed quietly.
Instead of ending in a dramatic victory drive that would have only added to his legend, Brady’s potential final touch as a Patriot was a nine-yard interception that the Titans Logan Ryan returned for a touchdown.
A pick six for the six-time Super Bowl champion won’t dull his accomplishments, but it was a hard one to swallow in a Patriots playoff season that ended far earlier than has become normal.
“I think we’re all running out of time and chances with every year that goes by,” Brady said afterwards. “ I don’t think I’m the only one in this room (who can say that.
“Who knows what the future holds. We’ll leave it at that. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t predict it.”
Brady did say he wasn’t ready to retire, but that doesn’t mean he won’t explore opportunities elsewhere.
There were those among the sell-out crowd who seemed stunned by the turn of events, accustomed as they had begun to a more triumphant finish from their hero. But really, the surprise was minimal for a variety of factors, with warning signs gathering for weeks.
Brady acknowledged as much in assessing the Patriots offence as a whole this season.
“It was a tough way to end it tonight,” Brady said. “If we want to win those games, we’re going to have to do a better job.”
Even in the disappointing defeat there was plenty of drama for the Patriots – and even some late hope – including a possession that began on the Patriots’ own 11 with 4:44 remaining and opened with a 22-yard Brady completion and then another of six yards.
On this night, there was no comeback script, however. Instead, a dropped pass by usually reliable Julian Edelman and an incomplete pass on third and four followed. Bill Belichick summoned the punting unit.
The Patriots got the ball back with less than a half minute remaining but it was on their own one-yard line. One play later and it was over.
If it was an inglorious final scene here for the future hall of famer, it certainly wasn’t unexpected. The Patriots had lost three of their final four games in a season in which Brady tried to guide a threadbare offence despite his advancing age of 42 years.
“Give them a lot of credit, they played good and stopped us when they needed to,” Belichick said. “We just weren’t able to get the job done.”
The Titans did just enough to advance — thanks mostly to the bull work of 6-foot-4, 230-pound running back Derrick Henry who rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 34 carries.
In fairness to Henry, Titans coach (and former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel) and quarterback Ryan Tannehill who did an adequate job of managing the game, the night was all about Brady.
Given that he had won six Super Bowls in his 20 years with the Patriots and given age, Brady’s future was impossible to ignore as his team started the post-season on wildcard weekend for the first time since 2009.
While not exactly at a crisis point, the Patriots certainly seem at a crossroads, whether Brady has more years left with the team or not. Uncharacteristically, they struggled down the stretch, the supporting cast on offence had been limited and Brady himself was showing signs of frustration.
In the lead up to Saturday’s kickoff, Brady had vowed that he was taking nothing for granted, an approach he insisted he has taken from the time he replaced then starter Drew Bledsoe in 2001.
“If you think about it, every year that we’re in the playoffs, it’s really the same thing,” Brady said during the week. “The team will not be together if we lose, whether that was 2010, ’11, ’12, all the way to now. Even if you’re going to the Super Bowl it’s the same feeling.”
A noble sentiment from Brady but not one borne in history, unfortunately. The one constant from season to season, from Super Bowl title to Super Bowl title was Brady and Belichick.
The Titans came in with a fairly one-dimensional game plan, albeit a smart one. Henry, who led the NFL in rushing yards during the regular season, bullied his way for 106 yards and 22 more via a catch and run in the first half alone.
The Patriots did their best at ball and clock control, likely in attempt to keep Henry on the sideline for as long as possible. Brady engineered three scoring drives in the opening 30 minutes, but the latter of those that began with a first and goal from the seven ended with a field goal and 2:16 remaining to make the score 13-10.
Even though it was early, those four points left off the board felt bigger than normal against the not so mighty Patriots.
That gave Henry and the Titans an opportunity to make up for the two previous drives that had ended in punts. The big back delivered, first with a 29-yard run to open the drive and later with a 22-yard pass and catch from Tannehill that took the ball to the half-yard line.
Henry plunged home for a one-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 14-13 half-time lead and what would ultimately be the winning score.
“Any time you lose games and not produce the way you want you always wish you could do better,” said Brady, who completed 20 of 37 passes for 209 yards and no touchdowns. “It’s a results business. It’s about winning and losing.”
