New England quarterback Tom Brady walks off the field after the Patriots lost to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game Sunday night.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / John Freidah

The Patriots’ reign as NFL champions is over. But that doesn’t mean the dynasty is dead. Not yet. Not by a longshot.

They came up short in their bid to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls. But there’s no reason to think that, a year from now, a healthier Patriots team can’t win a fourth championship in six seasons.

That’s what I wrote last year, after the Patriots lost in the playoffs in Denver, 27-13 — what then was their first playoff loss in 11 games with Bill Belichick as coach and Tom Brady as quarterback.

I’m not as optimistic now as I was then.

As the Patriots clean out their lockers and head home, rather than packing to go to Miami for Super Bowl XLI, I have the nagging feeling that Brady has been to his last Super Bowl.

A player only gets so many chances, and Brady and the Pats will never have a better one than they had Sunday night in the RCA Dome, when they jumped out to a 21-3 lead over Indianapolis and had Colts QB Peyton Manning looking frustrated and befuddled, as he so often does against the New England defense.

It’s still hard to believe the Patriots lost that game.

What New England fan would have thought the Pats would give up more points in the second half — 32 — than they’d given up in any game all season? What New England fan ever would have dreamed that the Pats — a team that time and again has come through in the clutch, that time after time has found ways to win against supposedly more-talented teams, this time would blow the biggest lead in the history of conference championship games, not only in the AFC, but the NFC, as well?

When they were winning three Super Bowls in five years, making a powerful early claim to the title of first Team of the Decade in the 21st century, the Patriots were the team that always came from behind. They were the team that, when a defensive stand needed to be made, stopped their opponents in their tracks. They were the team that, when they needed to score, put points on the board. They were the team that, with the pressure on, made plays, not mistakes.

Not Sunday night.

In retrospect, the game turned late in the second quarter, on the Patriots’ possession after Asante Samuel’s 39-yard interception return for a touchdown had given them a commanding 21-3 lead. The Colts went nowhere following the ensuing kickoff and were forced to punt out of their end zone. The Patriots took over at the Indianapolis 48 and were in prime position to apply a killing blow. Instead, they wound up taking a couple of penalties and having to punt from the Indy 49 on fourth-and-27.

The Colts, given a stay of execution, scored on their next four possessions, and five of their next six.

Still, the Patriots had the lead, and the ball, with 3:22 remaining. They also had good field position, starting at their own 40. How many times, in a similar situation, had Brady engineered a drive that clinched the game?

Not this time.

The Pats incurred a foolish penalty for too many men in the huddle before they even ran a play, and consequently failed to make a first down. They had to punt the ball back to the Colts, who promptly drove 80 yards to the touchdown that sent them to the Super Bowl for the first time since the franchise moved to Indianapolis.

For the Patriots, that kind of defeat can be, not merely demoralizing, but devastating.

Especially for a team with the problems New England has.

Not that there are any at quarterback. Not as long as Brady remains healthy. But how long can he continue to beat the odds? He has remained remarkably injury-free throughout his charmed career, never missing a start since taking over when Drew Bledsoe was hurt in the second game of the 2001 season.

Although he wasn’t at his best in these playoffs, he’s still one of the very best quarterbacks in the league. The offensive line is OK, and the defensive line has those three first-round draft picks — Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, and Vince Wilfork — who all play to that level.

After that, though …

What Brady has done with what only charitably can be called a mediocre group of wide receivers — and one clearly lacking a dangerous deep threat — is remarkable. The receiving corps obviously has to be upgraded to take full advantage of Brady’s talents. The running back tandem of veteran Corey Dillon and rookie Lawrence Maroney complemented each other this season, but Dillon will be 33 in October — ancient for an NFL back.

Age also is a serious problem at linebacker, where the popular Tedy Brushci will be 34 in June, Mike Vrabel turns 32 in August, and Rosevelt Colvin will 30 in September. In the secondary, the Patriots will have to slap a “franchise” label on Samuel if they hope to keep him from leaving in free agency, and Rodney Harrison, after coming back from knee surgery, missed the playoffs because of injury and turned 35 last month.

Nor is Brady any longer a young phenom. He’ll be 30 in August. That should put him in the prime of his career and, with any luck, he ought to have at least five, perhaps even six or seven, good years left.

I just have the sinking feeling, after Sunday night, that he’s been to his last Super Bowl. That, while he’ll still be very good, he may not be quite good enough — like Dan Marino, who never got back to the Super Bowl after his second season, everything turning downward for Dan and the Dolphins after they were upset in the Orange Bowl by New England in the 1985 AFC Championship Game.

Brady and the Patriots never will have a better chance to get back to the Super Bowl than they had Sunday night against the Colts, when they led by 18 points in the first half, and still led by a field goal, with the ball in their hands near midfield, with three minutes left to play.

But, in a rare reversal of form, they couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, letting it slip through their fingers.

You only get so many chances. And Brady may have had his last one.

jdonalds@projo.com