Top Five Most Gut-Wrenching Patriots Losses Of Tom Brady Era
The dynasty years in New England didn't come without some heartbreaks
Patriots fans were spoiled in the Tom Brady era, to say the least.
The Foxboro Faithful watched the legendary quarterback lead New England to six Super Bowl championships between 2002 and 2019. This unprecedented run of success featured countless joyous moments for Patriots supporters, who will hold onto those memories for the rest of their days.
But the Brady years in New England didn’t come and go without some heartbreakers. Here are five memorable losses that might always stick with Patriots fans:
5. 2010 divisional round
The 2010 season was taking the shape of another saunter to the Super Bowl for the Patriots. A 14-2 record sealed the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed for Bill Belichick’s team, and Brady was a few weeks away from winning his second league MVP Award.
But the Jets didn’t let the Patriots cap off the campaign with another Lombardi Trophy. New England nemesis Rex Ryan brought a motivated New York team to Gillette Stadium, where Gang Green stunned Brady and company in a 28-21 verdict. Patriots fans were forced to watch their fiercest rival literally do backflips in Foxboro as they dealt with only the second home playoff loss of the century.
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4. 2015 AFC Championship Game
After capping off the 2014 season with a Super Bowl XLIX triumph, the Patriots put together a great 2015 campaign and found themselves one win away from reaching football’s biggest stage in back-to-back seasons.
Denver stood in New England’s way of another conference title, and these Broncos weren’t nearly as intimidating with a broken-down Peyton Manning behind center. But as was the case for most of the Brady-Manning battles, it came right down to the very end.
Down by eight with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter in the Mile High City, Brady remarkably led a touchdown drive that concluded with Rob Gronkowski splitting two defenders in the end zone. Brady targeted another one of his favorite targets, Julian Edelman, on the ensuing two-point try, but the pass was deflected and the Broncos won the AFC.
Fortunately for Pats fans, New England bounced back to win the Super Bowl the next season.
3. Super Bowl XLVI
Entering the 2011 season, the Patriots were inching toward a decade without a Super Bowl win. At that time in New England, eight years without a banner might as well have been a lifetime.
Brady and company had some “team of destiny” vibes that season. The iconic signal-caller was surrounded by a fairly rag-tag group on both sides of the ball and the team was playing on behalf of Myra Kraft, the late wife of team owner Robert Kraft who passed away in July 2011. The Patriots caught all the right breaks, including Billy Cundiff’s improbable 32-yard field goal miss that sealed the AFC Championship Game.
But New England wasn’t able to finish the job, even against a Giants team that went a mediocre 9-7 in the regular season. Between Mario Manningham’s ridiculous sideline catch late in the fourth quarter and the end-of-game Hail Mary that almost landed within Gronkowski’s reach, this was a tough one to swallow for Patriots fans.
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2. 2006 AFC Championship Game
There probably are a good amount of New Englanders out there who started knocking back celebratory beverages at halftime of this game. The Patriots owned a commanding 21-6 lead in Indianapolis after two quarters, and in the first phase of New England’s dynasty, no one was better at putting nails in coffins than Brady and Belichick.
But Manning’s Colts wouldn’t be denied. Indy rallied to tie the game late in the third quarter, setting the stage for a back-and-forth affair for the final 18 minutes of game action. The Patriots took a three-point lead with four minutes to go, only to watch the Colts stage a go-ahead touchdown drive with 60 ticks on the clock.
A minute was more than enough time for New England to find the end zone, but a Brady interception sent Indianapolis to the Super Bowl. And to make matters worse for the Patriots, the NFC was represented by the Rex Grossman-led Chicago Bears, who probably would have been no match for New England with a Lombardi on the line.
1. Super Bowl XLII
Words like “gut-wrenching” and “heartbreaking” probably don’t do this loss justice for Patriots fans.
New England looked like it was playing a different sport in its memorable 2007 campaign. The Patriots didn’t lose a single regular-season game and they rattled off all 16 with a preposterous margin of victory average of nearly 20. Brady and Randy Moss looked totally unstoppable, setting single-season passing and receiving touchdown records, respectively.
The postseason started to unfold as expected, with New England securing back-to-back wins to reach football’s grandest stage. All that stood in the way of a perfect season for the Patriots was the Giants, the NFC’s fifth seed.
The game turned into a grind for New England, but it looked like a go-ahead Moss touchdown with 2:42 left was going to be enough for the Patriots. With all of the chips on the table, New York needed a fourth-year quarterback who led the league in interceptions to construct a touchdown drive against an elite and experienced defense.
But somehow, some way, that’s exactly what Eli Manning did. The absurdity reached a new height with a minute and change left when the Giants QB evaded a sack and uncorked a 32-yard pass to unheralded tight end David Tyree, who planted the pigskin on his helmet. A far cleaner-looking play was the game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the corner of the endzone.
The Patriots could play a million more games, but this one will be tough to top in terms of shock factor.
