THE BITTER END

By

Sports

January 21, 2019 - 9:13 AM

New England Patriots running back Sony Michel runs past Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller in the fourth quarter for a touchdown during the AFC Championship game on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/TNS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The dominant storyline all week had been how the AFC championship game represented a passing of the torch, from Tom Brady to Patrick Mahomes and the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Must have lit a fire under the Pats.

The team that has been there, done that — and done it again and again — survived a back-and-forth fourth quarter to beat the Chiefs 37-31 in overtime Sunday night. Brady hit trusty targets Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski to convert a trio of third-and-10s against one of the NFL’s worst defenses, and Rex Burkhead plunged in from 2 yards out to send the Patriots to their third straight Super Bowl.

Mahomes and the league’s highest-scoring offense never got a shot with the ball in overtime.

The Patriots will face the Los Angeles Rams, who survived their own overtime thriller earlier in the day against the New Orleans Saints, for the Lombardi Trophy in Atlanta.

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