When the ball left his hand, it was as if the magic went with it.
Tom Brady is no longer undefeated in the playoffs. New England is no longer a contender for a third straight Super Bowl championship, what could have been their fourth in five years.
It was third-and-goal at the 5-yard line with 1:03 left in the third quarter Saturday when Brady dropped back to pass, sensed a safety blitz, slid to his right and thought he could get the ball to wide receiver Troy Brown for a touchdown that would have given the Patriots a 13-10 lead and the upper hand going into the fourth quarter.
It didn’t happen. Instead, the ball wound up in the hands of Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. He returned it 100 yards to the New England 1, where the Broncos effectively put the game away, moving to a 17-6 lead that they eventually rode to a 27-13 victory.
It was just the fourth interception by Brady in the playoffs, leading to his first loss in 11 playoff games.
There were four other Patriots turnovers in the game, the first four of which led to Broncos scores, but none that did as much damage as that one.
“I was trying to run away from the guy, and I thought I could get it to Troy,” Brady said. “I threw it, and Champ kind of wheeled and cut in front of it. Champ just made a great play. That’s why he’s one of the best in the league. You have to be careful when you throw the ball over to his side.
“If I’d have just thrown it away we could at least had a field goal, so it was basically a 10-point swing. That’s kind of the way the whole game went.”
For New England, the game started to go bad late in the second quarter when the Patriots twice fumbled the ball away, giving the Broncos 10 quick points and a 10-3 lead at halftime. First running back Kevin Faulk left it for the Broncos at the Pats’ 40, then rookie returner Ellis Hobbs fumbled the ensuing kickoff return at the 39.
“It’s hard to win when you give the ball away,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
Brown fumbled a punt return in the fourth quarter and Brady gave up another interception on a desperaton deep ball late in the game, but for him and the rest of the Patriots it always came back to that game-turning first interception.
“It’s just unfortunate that it was some of our best players making some of the big mistakes,” Brady said.
“It was disappointing when you look up at the scoreboard and realize how many points we left out there and you can’t make up for it. Everyone’s disappointed. I think we all realize what a special opportunity we had and that it’s not there in front of us anymore. Denver made a lot of great plays tonight, but we helped them out a lot.”
So disappointed was the Patriots quarterback that he said he might not even be able to watch the rest of the playoffs.
“It’s been tough,” he said. “The last few weeks I’ve been running on vapors. It’s going to be a long flight home. It’s going to be a long offseason.”
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
Broken Brady
A look at Tom Brady’s playoff winning streak, which ended at 10 games after Saturday’s 27-13 loss.
2001 SEASON
| Date | Opponent | Score |
| Jan. 19 | Oakland | 16-13 |
| Jan. 27 | Pittsburgh | 24-17 |
| Feb. 3 | St. Louis | 20-17 |
2003 SEASON
| Date | Opponent | Score |
| Jan. 10 | Tennessee | 17-14 |
| Jan. 18 | Indianapolis | 24-14 |
| Feb. 1 | Carolina | 32-29 |
2004 SEASON
| Date | Opponent | Score |
| Jan. 16 | Indianapolis | 20-3 |
| Jan. 23 | Pittsburgh | 41-27 |
| Feb. 6 | Philadelphia | 24-21 |
2005 SEASON
| Date | Opponent | Score |
| Jan. 7 | Jacksonville | 28-3 |
