BSJ Daily Briefing 01.22.18: The Patriots did it again

Good morning! And I'm guessing it's a very good one around New England.

A few random thoughts while I contemplate Boston and Philly fans in one arctic city together for a week ... what could go wrong?

• Seriously, have you ever been to Minneapolis? It's certainly not as Midwest-y as Indiana or Wisconsin, but those poor people have no idea what's about to descend on their fair Twin Cities next week. These two fanbases are not afraid to mix it up, and now they're going to a place where you won't want to venture outside. Yeah, this should go well.


• For the second-straight year, I had no thought that the Patriots were actually going to lose when trailing in the fourth quarter. I've seen this movie too many times. Even when Rob Gronkowski went out, I thought it was going to be that much tougher, but the Patriots find a way. They always do.


• You know, there will come a time when the Patriots don't win all the time. I don't know when that's going to happen, or if I'll be alive when it does, but it will happen.


• The run of sustained excellence by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady is just completely mindboggling.


• My column is done and will be posting shortly. Just waiting for a read. I wanted to dig into the film to figure out why the defense turned around in the second half. Took me all night with charting the pass plays, but that's what we do here. No half measures. It will be worth the wait.


• Are we done talking about Tom's thumb? Ok, good. Loved Belichick's line: "I mean, look, Tom did a great job and he’s a tough guy. We all know that, alright? But, we’re not talking about open-heart surgery here." lolololol


• Belichick made a funny.


• He also did this.

HAPPY BELICHICK pic.twitter.com/iLK1sFqYTF

— '03 Kliff Kingsbury (@fearthe_beard11) January 21, 2018

• I don't even know who you are anymore, Bill.


• So the Celtics have lost three games in a row. Brad Stevens is so good he even schedules the Celtics' slump during a time when no one will notice. That guy's wicked smaht.


• That was not a dirty hit by Barry Church. Tried to lead with the shoulder, got part of the big fella's helmet. Happens. It's football.


• A penny for Mike Tomlin's thoughts during that game last night.


• Thanks for sticking by us. Much more to come, as soon as I get some sleep.

The NFL’s David vs. the NFL’s Goliath, for the right to play in the Super Bowl.

Our tease for @Jaguars-@Patriots featuring @JohnMalkovich will get you AMPED for the AFC Championship Game on CBS. pic.twitter.com/DYClwgcTAW

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 21, 2018