Patriots did what the Packers could not do

FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots did what the Green Bay Packers didn?t Sunday. That?s why they?re going to the Super Bowl while Aaron Rodgers and The Pack are staying home.
The Patriots had four opportunities inside the red zone in Sunday night?s 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts and score two touchdowns and kicked a field goal, good for 17 points.
The Packers had four opportunities inside the red zone Sunday in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks and scored a touchdown and three field goals ? 16 points.
Outside of an interception thrown by Tom Brady (which resulted in Indianapolis? only touchdown in a 45-7 Patriots win), every time the Patriots got into the red zone, they came away with points. Seven of those opportunities resulted in touchdowns.
It?s doubtful the Patriots were too occupied with watching the Packers-Seahawks game Sunday, but it almost seems as if they did. There was little wasted motion in their victory, which almost seemed effortless in its ease. Pick a category and the Patriots won, especially time of possession (Patriots 38 minutes to Indy?s 22). It was just a thorough thumping.
Contrast that to the first game Sunday, in which the Packers badly outplayed the Seahawks yet trailed by only two scores (16-0) at halftime when, in reality, it should have been at least 28-0 if they?d score on all four trips inside the red zone.
Green Bay violated Rule No. 1 of any competitive sports: let a team — especially a good team — hang around long enough, that team will find its legs and end up making trouble for you. The Packers couldn?t put away the Seahawks when they had the opportunity, and the Seattle came back for the 28-22 win in overtime.
This sets up a fascinating matchup two weeks hence. The Seahawks are trying do something that hasn?t been done since 2004 and 2005 by the Patriots — win back-to-back Super Bowls. In fact, the last time the reigning Super Bowl champion even made it back to the game was the Patriots in 2005.
The game might also have some special meaning for Seahawks Pete Carroll, who was fired by Robert Kraft after three seasons in New England. His replacement was Bill Belichick.
The only other time in Super Bowl history where a coach fired by the opposing team got this kind of revenge for it was in 1969, when Weeb Ewbank?s New York Jets beat the Baltimore Colts.
One other time, in 2003, Jon Gruden?s Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders, but Gruden left on his own volition.
Then there?s the whole Tom Brady-Richard Sherman flap of two years ago, when Sherman, the outstanding defensive back for the Seahawks, mouthed off about Brady in the week leading up to their game. After Seattle?s win — on a last-minute touchdown — Sherman kept talking to Brady as they walked off the field, saying, “you mad at me, bro?”
There?s little doubt that these are the two best teams in the NFL. The Patriots may have started slowly (2-2, including a horrendous 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4), but in four straight games in the middle of the season, the Patriots face playoff teams, and won four of those games. So, this is no fluke.
Last week, the Patriots fell behind twice by 14 points to the Baltimore Ravens only to rally back to win. Obviously they felt that going to the well too often wouldn?t work out. As a result, they went out and did what the Green Bay Packers just could not do — they floored the pedal and kept it there.