The Ten Worst Patriots Losses Of The Brady/Belichick Era

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 4^th 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

The Steelers crushed the defending champs to put an end to the Pats’ NFL record 21-game winning streak. The Patriots would have their revenge in the AFC Championship game, throttling the 15-1 Steelers 41-27, on their way to repeating as Super Bowl champions.