Patriots: AFC Championship game balls
Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington (25) breaks up a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) in the second half in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Edelman is one of the most important players on the Patriots as he contributes both on offense and on special teams. He came up big for the Patriots again this week, catching nine balls on eleven targets for 98 yards and returning three punts for a total of 71 yards. Edelman is Brady’s go-to guy on key third downs and he seems to always deliver. He did have one very uncharacteristic drop, but other than that he was almost perfect on Sunday,and the Colts could not find a way to cover him. Brady and the Patriots will look to him again in the Super Bowl, and they need to hope that he is completely perfect as Seattle will not be as forgiving when it comes to drops. Edelman also seemed to get banged up and actually went into the locker room, but then returned and continued to deliver, displaying his toughness.
Player of the game: Kyle Arrington
Once again, Belichick and Patricia put Arrington on T.Y. Hilton, and he was even better than he was in the week 11 meeting. Arrington played ever snap of the game and was able to hold Hilton to only one catch for 36 yards on six targets. The only other player to play every snap was Jamie Collins. Arrington seems to matchup up very well with Hilton’s size and quickness, and really played surprisingly well against one of the best receivers in the game.
Entering the game Hilton actually had the highest average receiving yardage per game in the playoffs of any receiver, so that shows how impressive Arrington’s play was. Arrington’s ability to shut down Hilton, opened up a lot of other possibilities for the defense, such as allowing them to play Brandon Browner on Coby Fleener. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arrington play on Doug Baldwin during the Super Bowl, as Baldwin has many similarities to Hilton. I don’t think Arrington will have as big of a role, because the Seahawks will likely be looking to run the ball a lot.