NFL Notebook: Despite drama, Brady and 2018 Patriots still have a chance to write memorable final chapter of their story

In this week’s edition of the NFL Notebook, we bring you a classic Dante Scarnecchia story, offer up a pair of ex-Patriots who could advance through the coaching ranks sooner rather than later, break down how Tom Brady has fared against Kansas City defensive coordinator Bob Sutton over the years, and get some more thoughts from Logan Mankins on playing for Bill Belichick. But first, despite the fact the 2018 Patriots have been working for the better part of the last six months to get to this spot, their legacy is still in the balance heading into Sunday night.

“Our story is still being written, and fortunately, we have an opportunity to write it.” —Brady, 1/4/19

1. That story, which began in the spring, picked up steam in the summer and fall, is now set for a final chapter. The only question is whether the last line will be written Sunday, or in two weeks in Atlanta.

Honestly, the 2018 Patriots have been as compelling a team as I can remember. There have been moments of genuine brilliance — in hindsight, how they managed to pull it all together on the road against the Bears despite injuries to Rob Gronkowski and Sony Michel was impressive, not to mention as well as the home wins over the Chiefs and Chargers. James White, Stephen Gilmore and Trey Flowers have been a flat-out joy to watch this year. From the start of the summer workouts to their playoff performance, that group has played at a consistently high level while simultaneously lifting their teammates.

But they’ve also been bafflingly inconsistent at times, especially on the road — a potential Achilles’ heel that ultimately robbed them of home-field advantage and set up this weekend’s AFC title game at Arrowhead. Play-calling, execution, and general sloppiness in key moments have all played a role in the fact that this team has underachieved at times this season, particularly away from home. (It’s still remarkable to think if they had just found a way to knock Kenyan Drake out of bounds as he tip-toed down the sideline in Miami, the AFC title game would have been in Foxborough and not at Arrowhead.) Despite all that, they’re on the cusp of their eighth straight AFC title game, a remarkable feat considering Patrick Mahomes was still in high school when that streak started.

But the truth of the matter is that even after six months, in a region where it’s still Super Bowl or bust, the legacy of the 2018 Patriots still remains in question. On Sunday, they have a chance to bolster their championship credentials by crafting a signature playoff win on the road, which would silence their critics (#BetAgainstUs) and put them in line for a sixth Super Bowl title. Despite the drama the franchise has endured over the last year, vindication remains possible … and given the past playoff struggles of the Chiefs at home, at times, it’s looked inevitable.

So how does the story end? Another memorable final chapter, a la 2014 and 2016? Or a near miss, followed by (almost certainly) another offseason of uncertainty? We’ll know more come Sunday night. But if history is any indication, the one thing we know for sure is that it won’t boring.

2. Miguel had a note on this earlier in the week, but it’s remarkable the Patriots have four veterans who have been in every AFC championship game since 2011: Devin McCourty, Stephen Gostkowski, Matthew Slater and Brady. For McCourty and Slater, they both acknowledged this week just how special the achievement really is, with Slater saying the bond that’s been built in Foxborough the last several years is a large reason for their success.

“I tell you, we’ve been extremely blessed to be in the situation that we’ve been in over the last eight years,” Slater said. “There’s so many things that really factor in when you talk about being able to have this kind of success but I think you hit on it. The brotherhood is a big part of it. I think what I’ve found is when you take the time to invest in people and what makes them tick, take the time to try to go out of your way to show them love and show them that you care about them beyond the game of football, it creates something special in the locker room. And I think we have a lot of men in this locker room that understand that.”

“You don’t know if this will happen every year — and it kind of seems crazy because we say it every time we get this opportunity, but it’s a special thing to be able to play in this game,” McCourty said. “Especially because it’s the one game back in April that every team wants to be playing in. Every team in the AFC wants to be in this game and it comes down to us and Kansas City. Bill said it all week, ‘We won’t regret putting a lot into this.’”