Patriots Outlast Chiefs In Overtime, Win Third Straight AFC Championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CBSNewYork/AP) — The New England Patriots are headed to their third straight Super Bowl, once more thanks to Tom Brady's brilliance.
The five-time NFL champion guided the Patriots 75 yards after winning the overtime coin toss, and backup Rex Burkhead's 2-yard TD lifted New England past Kansas City 37-31 for the AFC championship Sunday night.
The drive against an exhausted defense was reminiscent of when the Patriots beat Atlanta in the only Super Bowl to go to OT two years ago.
"Overtime, on the road against a great team," Brady said. "They had no quit. Neither did we. We played our best football at the end. I don't know, man, I'm tired. That was a hell of a game."
New England (13-5) benefited from two critical replay reviews and made its ninth Super Bowl with Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as coach.
"This is crazy," said Brady, who was 30 of 46 for 348 yards. "What a game."
Brady, at 41 already the oldest quarterback to have played in a Super Bowl, drove New England 65 yards in 1:24 to Burkhead's go-ahead 4-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in regulation. That was enough, though, for his far younger counterpart, the 23-year-old All-Pro Mahomes, to take the Chiefs 48 yards to Harrison Butker's 39-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to force overtime.
"I thought if we got the chance," Mahomes said, "we'd score."
Mahomes finished 16 of 31 for 295 yards and three touchdowns.
"If it's a rout, you chalk it up to experience. But this one right here, where you're in it to win it, that's a tough deal. We gave ourselves every opportunity to do it, and they got us in overtime," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said.
New England became the third franchise to reach three Super Bowls in a row. And Belichick now has 30 postseason victories, more than Bill Walsh and Don Shula combined.
Awaiting them in Atlanta are the Los Angeles Rams, who won 26-23 in overtime in New Orleans for the NFC championship. The Rams last made the Super Bowl in 2002 while based in St. Louis, losing to the Patriots.
It's the first time both conference title games went to OT. The last time both visitors won conference championship matches was 2012.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)