Missed chances haunt Patriots
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INDIANAPOLIS — Tom Brady’s two long incompletions in the final minutes, and several missed chances throughout the game cost the New England Patriots a chance at another Super Bowl victory.
It also resulted in their second loss to the New York Giants in the big game in four years, 21-17 on Sunday.
“We just came up a little bit short,” Brady said. “There were some missed opportunities out there. It was a very hard-fought game. We fought ‘til the end. I’m very proud of that.”
With just over four minutes left, Brady threw up the left side to a wide-open Wes Welker. But Brady’s most reliable receiver — and the NFL leader with 122 catches— couldn’t hang on.
Minutes later, the Giants then marched for the go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds remaining.
Brady had one last chance. He threw a desperation pass half the length of the field into the end zone.
Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez went up in a mass of defenders, but the ball fell to the ground as time ran out.
“I thought we played very competitive, had our moments where we moved the ball and stopped them,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We were in the lead for a good part of the game. We just came up a couple of plays short.”
Pats fans disappointed
BOSTON — It was like 2008 all over again for disappointed Patriots fans who watched as their team lost Sunday to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years.
“We’re really sad right now,” said Molly Mackenzie of Boston, who was watching the game at a bar near Fenway Park with two friends. “It was a good game, really close.”
Hundreds of police officers in riot gear gathered in the streets, focusing on the areas near college campuses and sports bars, where previous celebrations had turned wild. Many were brought in from other departments to help out. But after the Giants won 21-17, fans quietly filed back to cars and public transit stations, past the officers lining the streets.
At Game On, a bar near Fenway, the atmosphere was tense until people started chanting, “Let’s Go Pats, Let’s Go Pats,” with about five minutes and 30 seconds left to go and the Patriots up by 2. Then the Giants scored a touchdown, knocking the wind out of their sails. The bar stayed full until the final seconds, when Tom Brady’s desperation pass into the end zone fell just beyond Rob Gronkowski’s grasp.
“It was very disappointing,” said Karen Snyder of Boston, who was celebrating her birthday Sunday. “Defensively, we should have done better. We weren’t ready for when the Giants changed up their offense.”
Earlier in the night, the crowd got quiet when the Patriots trailed in the first half, then erupted into dancing, fist-pumping and shouting when they took the lead with a touchdown right before halftime.
“You know Brady,” said Frank Monti, a fan from New York City. “He’s good for fourth-quarter wins. I’m not worried.”
At McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood, where six large TVs and a framed oval portrait of Coach Bill Belichick hung over the bar, manager Art Santora said he had met with the police and the liquor commission to talk about safety measures. No one was being allowed to line up outside to get into the packed bar — once it was full that was it.
