This Year’s Super Bowl Match-Up All But Set
[Written by Patrick Bean]
Local fans of the United States’ version of ‘football’ and it’s treasured Super Bowl finale would have watched over the weekend as the national Football League’s [NFL] finalists for the American Football Conference [AFC] and National Football Conference [NFC], from where the Super Bowl contestants will emerge, were decided.
The matches played revealed that there will be no repeat performance by last year’s champions Philadelphia Eagles, after they went down 20-14 to the Drew Brees led New Orleans Saints at the packed and raucous Super-dome in Louisiana. Philadelphia got off to a raging start in the game, benefiting from an early interception of Brees and surging to a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter.
The Saints were patient and worked their way back, getting two touchdown passes from Brees, two interceptions by Marcus Lattimore, and 12 catches by wide receiver Michael Thomas for a record 171 receiving yards and a touchdown. The Saints enter the NFC championship as the top seeds with home-field advantage against Los Angeles Rams, who produced a grindingly successful running attack against Dallas Cowboys during their fixture, won 30-22 by Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s early game witnessed the Tom Brady/Bill Bellicheck led Patriots put an end to Los Angeles Chargers’ season with a runaway 41-28 victory at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, which has become accustomed to winning championships throughout the past decade.
The Patriots result set up an intriguing quarterback match-up of the old versus the new, with Kansas City Chiefs phenom, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, due to match wits with the old master that is Brady. Mahomes on Saturday spurred the Chiefs to a 31-13 advantage over Indianapolis Colts.
The winners of each game will go on to Atlanta to contest the Super Bowl inside Atlanta’s brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3.
