Yes, I know the Patriots just won perhaps the most
satisfying championship in Boston sports history, but all of this Greatest Ever
talk has me thinking against the grain...and last Sunday’s victory takes some
of the sting out of each of these...
1.)February 3, 2008. Super Bowl XLII. New York Giants 17
Patriots 14
18
– I
2.)February 5, 2012. Super Bowl XLVI. New York Giants 21
Patriots 17
I used to bitterly refer to this as The Wes Welker Game, but
it’s really The-Manning-To-Manningham Game.
3.)January 21, 2007. AFC Championship. Indianapolis Colts
38 Patriots 34
Up 21-6 at halftime, the Pats were outscored 32-13 in the
second half, sending the Colts on to Super Bowl XLI, where they would defeat
Rex Grossman (!) and the Chicago Bears 29-17, for Peyton Manning’s only
championship. The Patriots had lost to the Colts in Week 9 of the regular
season, 27-20 at Gillette Stadium, providing Indy with homefield advantage in
the RCA Dome when both teams finished 12-4. The temperature in Foxboro the
night of the AFC Championship Game: 20s with winds of 15-20 mph...not what
you’d call Manning weather...
4.)January 20, 2013. AFC Championship. Baltimore Ravens
28 Patriots 13
We were all so excited when the Ravens beat #1 seed Denver
in the Divisional round giving the Pats homefield advantage in the AFC
Championship Game. Again, the Pats would be ahead at halftime (13-7), and
again, they’d get stomped (21-0) in the second half. I’m pretty sure I hate the
Ravens as much as their fans hate the Patriots.
5.)January 19, 2014. AFC Championship Game. Denver
Broncos 26 Patriots 16
This game was never close. It was 20-3 before the Pats
finally scored a touchdown with just over 9 minutes left in the 4th
quarter. Maybe if they’d had Gronk, Mayo, Wilfork, Aaron Hernandez and Aqib
Talib...or if the game had been at home, where temperatures were in the 30s
with 15 mph winds...maybe...
6.)January 16, 2011. AFC Divisional Playoff. New York
Jets 28 Patriots 21
This one hurts mostly
because it was the most meaningful head-to-head match up with the Jets during
the Rex Ryan Era. It also hurts because the Patriots were the #1 seed, going
14-2 during the season, and because the game wasn’t as close as the final score
would indicate.
7.)January 10, 2010. AFC Divisional Playoff. Baltimore
Ravens 33 Patriots 14
The Patriots won the coin
toss, and that’s it. Electing to defer, they kicked off to the Ravens, then
watched (literally) as Ray Rice ran 83 yards on first down for the game’s first
score. Baltimore would build a 24-0 lead before the Patriots scored their first
points. Did I mention how much I hate the Ravens?
8.)January 14, 2006. AFC Divisional Playoff. Denver
Broncos 27 Patriots 13
The Champ Bailey Game. The two-time defending champs were
looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super
Bowls. The dream died in Denver at the hands of a Broncos team lead by Jake
Plummer.
9.)September 7, 2008. Week One. Patriots 17 Kansas City
Chiefs 10
The Bernard Pollard Game. No, they didn’t lose the game, but
they did lose Tom Brady after a first quarter knee injury sent him to the IR
for the rest of the season. Some say 2008 was Bill Belichick’s finest season as
a head coach. The team went 11-5 behind second-string QB Matt Cassel. The
problem was they needed 12 wins to make the playoffs...
10.)October 31, 2004. Week Eight. Pittsburgh Steelers 34
Patriots 20
