This story appears in the Jan. 28, 2019, issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine—and get up to 94% off the cover price. Click here for more.
Here came those underdogs from New England, those plucky footballers nobody believed in, set to star in some NFL version of Rudy as they descended on Kansas City to shoot slingshots at the mighty Chiefs. That was the sell, anyway, even if the narrative the Patriots peddled in the lead-up to the AFC championship game ignored a few basic facts.