New England Patriots Off To 8th Super Bowl In Franchise History
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots easily handled the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium with a 45-7 win in the AFC Championship game. Tom Brady threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns, while LeGarrette Blount rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
They will face the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona. Seattle beat the Green Bay Packers in comeback fashion in the NFC Championship game, 28-22, to return to the Super Bowl for the second straight season.
For the Patriots, it will be their eighth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, and the sixth since Bill Belichick took over as head coach in 2000. That number matches the Steelers and Cowboys for most Super Bowl appearances for one franchise in NFL history.
Under Belichick and with Brady at quarterback, the Patriots are now 20-8. Brady added to his NFL record for postseason wins by a quarterback, while Belichick became the all-time winningest playoff coach in NFL history. (Belichick recorded one playoff win as head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1994. Coincidentally, it came against the Patriots.)
In the early part of the century, the Patriots experienced one of the greatest four-year stretches in NFL history. They won Super Bowls following the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons, going 9-0 in those three postseason. But glory has been difficult to rediscover since then, as the team went 10-8 in the nine postseasons that followed.
Two of those losses came in Super Bowls, and both came at the hands of the New York Giants. New York beat New England 17-14 to spoil the Patriots' bid at perfection in '07, and the Giants won the Super Bowl rematch 21-17 four years later.
Though the head coach has remained the same, the Patriots have just two players on the roster who have won championships: Brady, with three, and Vince Wilfork, who won in his rookie season of 2004.
Super Bowl XLIX will be played Sunday, Feb. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium. Kickoff will take place at 6:30 p.m. ET.