Patriots Rout Colts for AFC Title

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are headed to a special place where no coach or player has gone more—the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots dominant duo earned a sixth trip to the Super Bowl with a 45-7 wipeout of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game before a raucous, rain-soaked crowd last night. It was the second most lopsided AFC championship victory in history, after Buffalo's 51-3 win over the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1990 season, and the Patriots will now tie Dallas and Pittsburgh for most appearances in the big game with eight.

Scoring touchdowns on their first four second-half possessions, the Patriots (14-4) will move on to face defending champion Seattle (14-4) for the NFL title on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz. Belichick will face Pete Carroll, whom he replaced as Patriots coach in 2000. The Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers 28-22 in overtime in the NFC title game to become the first defending champion to make the Super Bowl in 10 years. (More Bill Belichick stories.)