On a chilly Sunday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 41-year-old Tom Brady and the New England Patriots proved once again that rumors of their dynasty’s demise were once again premature and greatly exaggerated.
In what is becoming an annual ritual of sorts, TV talking heads, sports media websites, oddsmakers, and all manner of football prognosticators write off the Patriots and boldly declare that this is the year, this is the team, and this is the moment when everything Brady and Bill Belichick have built over the past two decades comes crumbling down into a pile of smoking ashes.
Yet here we are – once again – with the Patriots advancing to the AFC Championship Game, and for a record eighth consecutive time.