The 2001 New England Patriots: A Season To Remember

Most of my favorite teams played in the late 1990s and early 2000s. There were the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, who set the NFL points record before bowing out in the NFC Championship game. The 1999 Rams, who rode Kurt Warner’s arm and Marshall Faulk’s legs to a Super Bowl title, also were a joy to behold. Both teams won with explosive offenses and were not afraid to put the ball in the air.

However, the one team that will always hold a special place in my heart is the 2001 New England Patriots. Those who thought the Cardinals’ appearance in the Super Bowl was bizarre clearly do not remember the 2001 Patriots.

The Patriots had been a good but unmemorable team for most of the late 1990s. They had a disappointing season in 2000 that allowed them to draft two long-term starters early on in the 2001 NFL Draft, Richard Seymour and Matt Light.

The season started poorly with a 23-17 road loss to the Bengals and a 10-3 home loss to the Jets, where not only did the offense look anemic, but the face of the franchise, Drew Bledsoe, was knocked out of the game and sent to the hospital. Second-year backup and former sixth-round pick, Tom Brady, came in and was forgettable. The year looked like another throwaway.

The Patriots bounced back with a 44-13 drubbing of the Colts in their next game, where the defense put in a starring performance and Brady was efficient. Any hope for the team was soon crushed when they lost 30-10 the next week to the Dolphins.

Diva wide receiver Terry Glenn showed up to play the next week and the Patriots stormed back late from a 10-point deficit to force overtime and then win against the Chargers. It featured the hallmarks of many Patriots games that year: a last-minute drive led by Brady, and a game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri.

Game Six saw the Patriots even its record at 3-3, with one of the greatest variety performances in NFL history. Wide receiver David Patten scored on a reverse, a 91-yard reception, and threw a touchdown pass to Troy Brown, all before halftime. The Colts never recovered.

To that point, the Patriots’ season had been fun, but there were no indication that this was a playoff team, let alone a Super Bowl winner. The next four weeks featured a loss to the Broncos, back-to-back wins against the Falcons and Bills, then a loss to the league’s best team: the St. Louis Rams. At 5-5, the Patriots seemed like an average team.

It was at that point where the season started to take off. Bledsoe recovered from his injury, but Brady was now the team’s quarterback. The Patriots beat the Saints, came back from behind against the Jets, and rolled over the Browns to have an 8-5 record heading into Week 14.

That game saw the Patriots go into Buffalo and win 12-9 in overtime, and the game featured one of the strangest plays in NFL history. David Patten caught a pass and was knocked unconscious. The ball bounced off his feet and the Bills recovered the fumble.

However, at the moment the ball touched Patten’s feet, his head was out of bounds, thus ruling the play dead. Vinatieri then kicked the game winning field goal and the Patriots rolled through.

Two more victories later, the Patriots were 11-5 and the No. 2 seed in the AFC. In the final game ever played at Foxboro Stadium, the Patriots welcomed Rich Gannon and the Oakland Raiders. In a blizzard, the Raiders took a 13-3 lead before the Patriots came back.

Vinatieri hit a 45-yard field goal in the last minute of the game, before hitting a 23-yarder in overtime to send the Patriots to the AFC Championship game. The field goal at the end of regulation was the culmination of the infamous “Tuck Rule” drive, where Tom Brady fumbled while tucking the ball in, but due to an obscure NFL rule, it was called an incomplete pass.

The AFC Championship game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh featured its own drama.

Brady was knocked out in the second quarter, and replaced with Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe threw a touchdown pass to David Patten and finished the game at quarterback. The Patriots scored twice on special teams, once on a punt return, and once on a blocked field goal return to win 24-17.

The Super Bowl pitted the Patriots against the Rams, the so-called “Greatest Show on Turf.” Needless to say, the Patriots were not the favorite. However, the opportunistic defense that had been their hallmark all year struck again, and Ty Law ran an interception back for a touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-3 lead.

After recovering a fumble, the Patriots drove down the field and Patten caught a Brady touchdown pass in the last minute of the first half to put the Patriots ahead 14-3.

The Rams came back and with 1:30 left in the game, it was all tied at 17. John Madden, calling the game for FOX, suggested the Patriots should run out the clock and wait for overtime. Tom Brady had other plans though. Brady led the Patriots down to the 30-yard line, where Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to win the Patriots their first-ever Super Bowl.

It was a season unlike any other.