Dominate the Super Bowl

Brady did not take the Tennessee Titans seriously—

This is not speculation but a fact.

Under normal circumstances, Brady rarely shows such an attitude; but this season, everything seems to be quietly changing.

Amidst heavy pressure, Brady's mindset inevitably shifted, and he truly did not regard the Tennessee Titans as a threat.

Why?

Firstly, since 2010, the New England Patriots only missed the American League Finals once, which was in the 2017 season when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.

Secondly, the last time the New England Patriots lost to the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium was back in the distant 1993 when the Titans were still the famous traditional powerhouse, the Houston Oilers. In the following 25 years, the Patriots maintained an undefeated home record against the Titans.

Lastly, judging by this season's data, the New England Patriots have the upper hand over the Tennessee Titans in all aspects:

This year, the Tennessee Titans rank tenth in offense and twelfth in defense in the league, hovering around the middle for both stats.

Their passing offense is ranked twenty-first, and their rushing offense is ranked third; in other words, this is a typical running team, with Running Back Henry as the key player; their pass defense is ranked twenty-fourth, and their rush defense is ranked twelfth, indicating a weak secondary pass defense.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots' offense ranks seventh, and their defense ranks first.

Their passing offense ranks seventh, and their rushing offense ranks twelfth, meaning Brady is up against a terrible pass defense; ranked second in pass defense and sixth in rush defense, they are well-prepared for ground attacks.

In other words, what the Tennessee Titans are good at, the New England Patriots can counter effectively; what the New England Patriots excel in, the Tennessee Titans cannot withstand.

That's it.

No wonder within the "league," there was a unanimous belief that the New England Patriots could defeat the Tennessee Titans and march confidently into the next round.

Clearly, Brady thought the same. Belichick and Brady did not consider any other outcome possible and refused to accept any other result—

This was their confidence.

The Tennessee Titans understood this very well, clearly aware of the situation, and the entire team unified from top to bottom, arriving at Gillette Stadium with a resolve to confront them.

In a pre-match interview, reporters asked Running Back Derrick Henry if he had talked to Li Wei for advice. Henry confirmed he had.

"Yes, we exchanged phone calls; the professor shared some experiences and insights. I was as attentive as a top student. I assure you, I wasn't this attentive even during my college classes."

Amidst laughter from the audience, Henry said with a calm expression, "Indeed, I know we are facing an extremely strong and excellent team; but now we know, they are not invincible."

Needless to say, people immediately understood:

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in the first week of December, making it clear that Foxborough in the cold winter was no longer an impregnable fortress.

The game unfolded just like this.

Tennessee Titans head coach Vrabel, after supporting Tannehill as the starting quarterback, once again proved his tactical wisdom.

He faced the tactical master Belichick at Gillette Stadium, benefiting from both time and place; but Vrabel still seized a small opening in "human harmony" to create a tailored strategy for the Titans, showcasing a great display in front of Belichick at Foxborough.

The answer was Derrick Henry.

In January, Gillette Stadium was icy cold with gusty winds, a nightmare for traditional pocket quarterbacks. Vrabel adapted to the conditions, placing the Titans' offensive focus entirely on Henry, raising the flag of ground attack to deliver a classic battle.

In the past two seasons with limited performance opportunities, Henry finally had a breakthrough moment in this wild card game, showcasing his energy and talent comprehensively, and in a disruptive manner, allowing the entire NFL to fully appreciate his ability for the first time.

34 carries, 182 yards, and a rushing touchdown.

The key is, he averaged 5.4 yards per ground advance.

Unstoppable!

Throughout the game, the New England Patriots had no answer to Henry's head-on breakthrough ground runs. This was pure capability-based, with no shortcuts or synergies involved, relying solely on personal ability. In super god mode, Henry delivered a performance that stopped any opponent in its tracks.

The New England Patriots' top-ranked regular-season defensive group was shattered and lost direction, entirely displaced by Henry.

In terms of scoring, Henry only had one rushing touchdown, but his role in the game far surpassed that.

Henry repeatedly helped the team advance at critical moments, controlling the pace, and consuming time. Vrabel built strategies entirely around Henry, not only leveraging his personal ability to relieve pressure from passing offenses but also seizing the initiative in controlling the tempo.

In the fourth quarter, Vrabel used Henry multiple times to consume game time, exploiting rules loopholes to deliberately delay, cunningly slowing down the game pace, using Belichick's strategy against Belichick, forcing the Patriots to continuously race against time.

Henry, a lone superstar—

Throughout the game, the Tennessee Titans advanced 272 yards in total, while Henry accounted for 204 yards through rushing and passing, responsible for 75% of the team's offense.

Of course, merely depending on the Titans' offense would not be enough to defeat the New England Patriots, as the Titans aren't the Kansas City Chiefs; to secure a victory at Gillette Stadium, defending against Brady was also crucial, and Vrabel provided a perfect answer.

Without Tight End Gronkowski and lacking deep threat Wide Receivers, coupled with offensive line struggles due to injuries, Brady's offensive playbook was limited. The Titans used zone defense mixed with pass rush pressure, relentlessly and continuously pressuring Brady.

At crucial moments, the Patriots' running backs were completely silent, with last season's standout running back Michel almost disappearing in this game, stumbling and ineffective, unable to relieve any pressure for Brady. This further led their passing offense into their opponent's pressure vortex.

Then, the final straw came down to Brady himself.

At forty-two, not only did his physical abilities lag behind his tactical awareness, but his field of vision and on-the-spot judgement could no longer match the sharpness of his youth.

Brady has always tried to prove "veterans never die," but finally, age caught up with him. In the final showdown of the game, during his signature golden moment, this time Brady threw an interception and watched as the opponent returned it for a touchdown.

Falling into the abyss.