The New England Patriots hammered the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 in the AFC championship game tonight to reach this season's Super Bowl, where they will take on the Seattle Seahawks for the Vince Lombardi trophy.
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Bill Belichick's side started the game on the front foot when they took a two-score lead in the first quarter, only for the Colts to battle back just before the break to leave the match in the balance at 17-7.
However, the Patriots romped to a comfortable victory to seal their place in the Super Bowl as they ran all over the Colts in the second half to reach their eighth Super Bowl.
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Both sides started the game with three and outs, but on the Patriots' punt Josh Cribbs fumbled the ball, allowing the home side to take over deep in Indianapolis' territory. LeGarrette Blount received the handoff on the goal line and powered in for the one-yard score.
The visitors tried to respond as Andrew Luck drove his team methodically down the field, but they were forced into a field-goal attempt, only to see Adam Vinatieri miss his kick from 51 yards.
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Belichick's men took full advantage of the miss from the Colts' kicker as Tom Brady found Shane Vereen on a deep strike before the quarterback fired to James Develin on the goalline, from where he ran through two tackles for the touchdown.
However, the Colts forged a way back into the game when Brady threw an interception to D'Qwell Jackson and Luck moved his team to the goal line, where he handed off to Zurlon Tipton for a one-yard score.
The Patriots were denied a touchdown just before the end of the half as the Colts made a stand on the goalline, forcing a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski to hand the home team a comfortable lead at the break.
In the second half, the Patriots upped the ante as they were able to coast through the Colts line with the running game as Blount ran effectively. They extended their advantage as Brady faked the handoff to the back before lofting a pass to tackle Nate Solder, who ran in for the touchdown.
New England continued their assault on the Colts as Brady spread the ball around to his receivers before firing a pass downfield to Julian Edelman to move his team into the red zone. The quarterback then fired a strike to Rob Gronkowski to put the home side up 31-7.
Luck then committed a costly error in his desperation to get his side back into the game as he was picked off by Darrelle Revis. Belichick's side punished the 25-year-old for his mistake as Blount plowed through defenders for the 13-yard touchdown.
The home side put the nail in the coffin in the Colts' season as Brady orchestrated another scoring drive and once again Blount found the end zone from the goal line to hand his team an insurmountable lead.
New England ran out the clock with backups in place to secure their place in the title game against the Seahawks, where they will battle to earn the crown away from the defending champions in Glendale.
Simon Sinclair
