The blame has largely landed on Dee Ford, a linebacker on Auburn University's 2010 National Champions, who was named to this season's Pro Bowl. As Tom Brady was driving for a game-tying touchdown in the final minutes, he threw an interception to Charvarius Ward, seemingly finishing the game off. But Ford was called for offside, the Pats had another chance, Brady got the tying touchdown, and the Pats won the game in overtime.
Is it really Ford's fault? Here's the case for, pardon the choice of words, the defense:
Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Dee Ford for the Kansas City Chiefs Losing the 2018 AFC Championship Game
5. The Officials. For years, people have viewed them as being pro-Patriots, not pro-rules. Once again, they had a point.
In the 4th quarter, Julian Edelman of the Patriots fumbled a punt. The original call was that the ball touched him. The officials went to the instant replay machine. The rule is that a call must be obviously wrong in order to overturn it. Every angle on the replay was inconclusive, so the call should have stood. Instead, after further review, it was -- either stupidly or corruptly -- decided that the ball never touched Edelman, and the Patriots kept the ball.
This ended up not mattering, because the Chiefs soon intercepted Brady, on a pass intended for Edelman. But, later, blown calls did matter: Chris Jones was called for roughing the passer. Apparently, when the passer is Tom Brady, "roughing the passer" means being in the same ZIP Code.
On that same drive, Chris Hogan was ruled to have caught a 3rd down pass. Chiefs coach Andy Reid challenged. The replay clearly showed that the ball hit the ground. But the catch was upheld. Six plays later, Sony Michel scored to send the game to overtime.
4. Tom Brady. We don't know if, or how, he cheated this time. What we do know is that he led a Patriot offense that gained 524 total yards, to the Chiefs' 290. Patrick Mahomes showed he's ready for big games, but Brady has been in more big games than any player in NFL history, and has won more. He knows how to win -- fairly or otherwise.
3. Bill Belichick. To borrow the words of Max Kinkel, a disc jockey I used to listen to on WCBS-FM, New York's oldies station, "This guy doesn't need to read the back of the box for the directions, this guy is the directions."
2. The Rest of the Defense. When you allow 31 points in regulation at home in the AFC Championship Game, you don't get to claim you deserve to be in the Super Bowl. And you certainly don't get to blame one guy.
The Chiefs led the NFL in sacks in the 2018 regular season. How many times did they sack Brady in this game? None. The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, in 3 Super Bowls between them, showed the way to beat the Patriots: Get in Brady's face and knock him on his candy ass. The Chiefs didn't do that.
Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was fired after the game. But that's like the crew of the Titanic surviving the sinking, and firing the navigator. The Captain should go, too:
1. Andy Reid. In 20 seasons as an NFL head coach, the king of bad clock management is now 12-16 in postseason games, including 1-5 in Conference Championships. Asking Andy Reid to outcoach Bill Belichick in an AFC Championship Game is like asking George W. Bush to sing "The Major-General's Song."
So why is he still an NFL head coach? Does Chiefs owner Clark Hunt want to waste Mahomes' career?
VERDICT: Not Guilty.