INDIANAPOLIS -
The man staring into a press room full of reporters looked angry, bitter, and undeniably shocked. Of course, his short answers, stern voice, and cut-off sleeve sweatshirt didn't help his cause.
"I thought we could win. I thought we could get that yard."
Two yards was all Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots needed to defeat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. That's a mere six feet, 72 inches, and 1/187.5 of the total yards that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had thrown for throughout the entire game.
"We tried to win the game on that play. We tried to get that first down."
Who could blame Belichick for even deliberating the idea? With his offense on the field, a team that ranks second in overall yards with 416.8 per game, the Patriots had completed five of their ten fourth down conversions on the season.
See: Manning Gets 40th 4th Quarter Comeback Win On Anniversary of First
For Bill Belichick, a defeat of the undefeated Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in front a franchise attendance record of 67,476 people, had come down to a simple coin flip. And like the character Harvey Dent from the Batman movies, the coin had always flipped in his favor.
"I thought we had a good play. If we had made it, we win."
Caught up in the emotion, brashness, and possibly egoistic nature of his own attitude, Coach Belichick may not have fully recognized the entire situation at hand.
The beginning of the New England Patriots demise had started much longer before the now famous fourth down call, which will for sure be the subject of water cooler discussions across the United States on Monday morning, took place.
With 14:18 left in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady dropped three steps back to launch a perfect spiral in the direction of his favorite target. Moss, a player that looked like a Ferrari driving circles around Honda Civics known as the Colts secondaries all game long, finished the night with 169 total yards and caught his second touchdown pass to put the Patriots ahead of the Colts 31-14.
For most teams a 17 point deficit in the fourth quarter means the fans have left the stadium, back-up players might started envisioning dreams of possibly stepping in, and the following days rests has managed to find it's way into the back of players minds. That's for most teams. For the Indianapolis Colts, having #18 on your side means anything can happen.
"Obviously, that is not a team that you want to get down to," said Manning. You certainly know you are going to have to score some points to be able to match their offense."
See: Colts Rally Past Patriots 35-34
"I don't think they could ever say it is in the bag, even at 31-14."
The sheriff of Indianapolis struck fast and struck often. In five plays and only two minutes and four seconds of time off the play clock, the Colts offense stampeded down the gridiron. And on the fifth play, Manning found second year receiver Pierre Garcon, a player that made only three receptions despite being targeted eleven times, for a 29 yard touchdown reception.
"It was just a basic call," said Garcon, who had dropped a ball earlier in the game for a touchdown. "The guy was being overaggressive on it. I just happened to beat him, and Peyton made a good throw. The drop was driving me. I should have caught it."
The Patriots responded back with a field goal, making the score 34-21. Cue Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero."
Just seven plays later, four Manning completions, and a passing interference call, Joseph Addai is sprinting towards a hole on the right tackle from four yards out to bring the Colts within six.
See: Former Colts RB James Mungro Finds Home As Coach At DePauw
"I thought we could win. I thought we could get that yard."
Two yards was all Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots needed to defeat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. That's a mere six feet, 72 inches, and 1/187.5 of the total yards that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had thrown for throughout the entire game.
"We tried to win the game on that play. We tried to get that first down."
Who could blame Belichick for even deliberating the idea? With his offense on the field, a team that ranks second in overall yards with 416.8 per game, the Patriots had completed five of their ten fourth down conversions on the season.
See: Manning Gets 40th 4th Quarter Comeback Win On Anniversary of First
For Bill Belichick, a defeat of the undefeated Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in front a franchise attendance record of 67,476 people, had come down to a simple coin flip. And like the character Harvey Dent from the Batman movies, the coin had always flipped in his favor.
"I thought we had a good play. If we had made it, we win."
Caught up in the emotion, brashness, and possibly egoistic nature of his own attitude, Coach Belichick may not have fully recognized the entire situation at hand.
The beginning of the New England Patriots demise had started much longer before the now famous fourth down call, which will for sure be the subject of water cooler discussions across the United States on Monday morning, took place.
With 14:18 left in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady dropped three steps back to launch a perfect spiral in the direction of his favorite target. Moss, a player that looked like a Ferrari driving circles around Honda Civics known as the Colts secondaries all game long, finished the night with 169 total yards and caught his second touchdown pass to put the Patriots ahead of the Colts 31-14.
For most teams a 17 point deficit in the fourth quarter means the fans have left the stadium, back-up players might started envisioning dreams of possibly stepping in, and the following days rests has managed to find it's way into the back of players minds. That's for most teams. For the Indianapolis Colts, having #18 on your side means anything can happen.
"Obviously, that is not a team that you want to get down to," said Manning. You certainly know you are going to have to score some points to be able to match their offense."
See: Colts Rally Past Patriots 35-34
"I don't think they could ever say it is in the bag, even at 31-14."
The sheriff of Indianapolis struck fast and struck often. In five plays and only two minutes and four seconds of time off the play clock, the Colts offense stampeded down the gridiron. And on the fifth play, Manning found second year receiver Pierre Garcon, a player that made only three receptions despite being targeted eleven times, for a 29 yard touchdown reception.
"It was just a basic call," said Garcon, who had dropped a ball earlier in the game for a touchdown. "The guy was being overaggressive on it. I just happened to beat him, and Peyton made a good throw. The drop was driving me. I should have caught it."
The Patriots responded back with a field goal, making the score 34-21. Cue Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero."
Just seven plays later, four Manning completions, and a passing interference call, Joseph Addai is sprinting towards a hole on the right tackle from four yards out to bring the Colts within six.
See: Former Colts RB James Mungro Finds Home As Coach At DePauw
