New England Patriots run wild to beat Indianapolis Colts 45-7 and reach Super Bowl
Tuesday 20 January 2015 10:06, UK
The New England Patriots will play the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl after crushing the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 in the AFC Championship game.
Tom Brady threw three touchdowns and LeGarrette Blount impressed on the ground with three more scores as the Patriots secured their berth in Arizona on February 1, ending a three-year wait for a place in the NFL's signature game.
The writing was on the wall early for the Colts, with Josh Cribbs fumbling a punt return that eventually ended with Blount scoring the first touchdown from a yard out.
A second score followed, after Adam Vinatieri had missed a field goal for the Colts, before the end of the first quarter when Brady opened his account from a yard, finding little-used H-back James Develin for only his second career touchdown.
The Colts responded with their first score, after a Brady interception stopped New England's momentum, when rookie running back Zurlon Tipton dived over from a yard to make it 14-7.
Stephen Gostkowski hit a field-goal seconds before half-time, which saw the Patriots 17-7 in front, but it was the third quarter that proved most damaging to the Colts and ended any hopes they had of reaching their first Super Bowl since 2010.
Their first drive of the second half, dominated by Blount's powerful running, ended in an unlikely touchdown for tackle Nate Solder, who had reported as an eligible receiver and caught Brady's pass before rumbling 14 yards into the endzone.
After a quick three-and-out by the Colts, Brady led the Patriots on another ruthless drive, which saw Rob Gronkowski haul in a five-yard touchdown pass from Brady.
And worse would follow less than a minute later when Luck was picked off by Darrelle Revis and one play later Blount saw off a series of would-be tacklers to score from 13 yards out.
The Colts offense continued to stall in the fourth quarter and Brady was able to pick off their defense at will, mainly on short-range passes, with Julian Edelman the main recipient.
But it was Blount, who scored four touchdowns against the Colts in the play-offs last season, who added his third score from a couple of yards out to make it 45-7.
Brady had a brief scare when he went down after a hard hit but he remained in the game until just before the two-minute warning before leaving to a standing ovation from a home crowd soaked to the skin thanks to the heavy rain in Foxboro.
The Patriots will now face the defending champion Seahawks in Arizona in a fortnight's time after they somehow rallied from 19-7 down to beat the Green Bay Packers 28-22 in overtime in the NFC Championship game.
