As expected, the New England Patriots defeated the San Diego Chargers 21-12 in the AFC Championship and earned a trip to the Super Bowl on February 3rd. 

What was a shock to me was no that the Patriots won, but why was LT on the sidelines?  This was not a regular season game with nothing on the line.  This was the AFC Championship game, the second most important game of the year where the winner goes to the Super Bowl.    Apparently, it was LT’s decision to sit it out.  I think he should have at least played periodically through the game.  Antonio Gates had a dislocated toe, Philip Rivers had a torn ACL that will require surgery after the game, yet they both played their hearts out.  LT has a sprained knee that will not require surgery.  LT showed no heart and no desire to gut it out and try to help his team win. 

LT was quoted as saying ”My thinking also was, a 100-percent Michael Turner and Darren Sproles was way better than a 50-percent me.  It just didn’t make sense for me to try to play.”.  This could not be further from the truth.  LT is by far the best player on the planet.  A 50% LT is better than most backs in the game.  I did not expect LT to play every down for the entire game, but I expected him out there periodically even as a decoy.    Very disappointing.