This great piece of content is the second of my “Top 10” series, the first being the Top 10 Upsets of All-Time.
As you may know, the Patriots have had 10 teams reach the Super Bowl, so I thought why not rank them?
Here we go:
10) 1985
All anyone remembers about this team is that they got absolutely annihilated by the Bears (who sported the greatest defense ever) in Super Bowl XX, but the ‘85 Pats were a fine team. They were at the top of the league on offense and defense, and don’t forget that the great Andre Tippett was on that defense--one of the best Patriots players ever.
9) 2017
The 2017 Patriots should have won the Super Bowl. We all know that. If Malcolm Butler had played, they probably would have, but sadly Bill Belichick made the worst decision in the history of Bill Belichick decisions. We all know the defense was utter garbage without Dont’a Hightower (and still not very good with him). At the end of the day, Tom Brady brought an extremely flawed team to another Super Bowl, but the Pats couldn’t finish the job.
8) 1996
The ‘96 Patriots were pretty good. Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, and Terry Glenn made for a great big three on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots actually led in the Super Bowl for a little while and kept it relatively close throughout. If it weren’t for Desmond Howard’s 99-yard kickoff return, they may have won. Overall, a pretty good team.
7) 2011
I’ll be the first to point out that the 2011 Patriots had an atrocious defense. It was really criminal; I must say. If it weren’t for Sterling Moore’s heroics in the AFC Championship Game (knocking the ball out of Lee Evans’s hands at the last moment), this team wouldn’t have made the Super Bowl. Despite the awful defense (which had Julian Edelman playing snaps), the ‘11 Patriots had an incredible offense. Brady had Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, and of course the great Chad Ochocinco at his disposal. These are some of the best weapons he’s ever had, and if it weren’t for Gronk’s ankle injury, Brady may have pulled off the win despite the sub-par defense. This was a team with a horrid defense but a great offense, which has been a theme for the Patriots in recent years.
6) 2016
The 2016 Patriots had a fine defense led by star linebacker Dont’a Hightower (who made a critical play that helped complete the Patriots comeback against the Falcons) and corners Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan. As usual, the offense was fantastic; even once the team lost Rob Gronkowski, business continued to boom. While the 2016 Pats certainly weren’t an all-time great team, they definitely deserved the ring they received in the end.
5) 2001
The ‘01 Patriots were far from star-studded on the offensive side of the ball, but Tom Brady made the most of what he had. In the end, his top weapons--Troy Brown, Antowain Smith, and David Patten--were enough to get the job done. The defense was pretty damn good with studs like Lawyer Malloy, Mike Vrabel, and the greatest CB in Patriots history: Ty Law. These season-long underdogs rolled over the Steelers in the AFC title game in Pittsburgh after the Steelers had already booked reservations at a hotel in New Orleans (where the Super Bowl was being held), and Patriots players ended up shouting “cancel the reservations!” to the crowd at Heinz Field. Plus, they still won that game despite the fact that Tom Brady got hurt and Drew Bledsoe had to play most of the snaps. People forget that there was a bit of a QB controversy before the Super Bowl because Bledsoe played so well against the Steelers. Then the Patriots chose to enter the stadium as a team instead of individually, and they kicked the snot out of the “Greatest Show on Turf” in one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history. I don’t know how anyone (except for SAD Rams/Steelers fans) could not love the ‘01 Pats.
4) 2003
The ‘03 Patriots were absolutely fantastic. They retained the core of the ‘01 team and added Patriots legend Rodney Harrison. Also, as Tom Brady played his third year as a starter, the offense was much improved from ‘01. This squad was definitely one of the great Patriots teams of all-time. They defeated the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl 32-29 in one of the most underrated title bouts ever. Super Bowl XXXVIII was truly one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played (easily top 5), and for those of you who are too young to remember the game (as I am), I would highly recommend watching it online. Both teams looked like the ‘85 Bears on defense in the first quarter; then it became a shootout in the 2nd quarter, and the 2nd half was a mix of everything--it’s some of the best football I’ve ever seen.
3) 2004
This was the team that could actually beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. The ‘04 Patriots easily could have been #1 on this list, as they were one of the best teams to ever win a Super Bowl. They had a very balanced team with a good offense and a talented defense (maybe the alleged defensive wizard Bill Belichick should go back to that way of doing things instead of giving us complete garbage on the defensive side of the ball). Deion Branch was fantastic in the Super Bowl, newly acquired running back Corey Dillon was awesome and made the Pro Bowl, and Kevin Faulk continued his magical ways catching the ball out of the backfield. The defense was incredible--with the same core as they had in ‘03, these Patriots continued to dominate. Linebacker (and friend of Third and Long) Tedy Bruschi was unbelievable, and defensive end Richard Seymour made the Pro Bowl. Remember too that this defense included Harrison, Vrabel, and McGinest. Unreal. This team was so good that they even brought in linebacker Mike Vrabel to play a snap of offense in the Super Bowl, which he had also done against Carolina the previous year. Both times he caught a touchdown. I absolutely love the ‘04 Patriots.
2) 2014
The 2014 Patriots were stacked. On the offensive side of the ball, Tom Brady had Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, and Dion Lewis leading smaller but solid pieces like Shane Vereen and Brandon Lafell. The offense was deep. On defense, the Pats had a young core of Chandler Jones, Dont’a Hightower, Logan Ryan, and Jamie Collins with veteran studs like Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Vince Wilfork, and Brandon Browner. I wouldn’t have a problem if you ranked these guys #1. The ‘14 Pats are one of the greatest teams ever to grace a football field and they’re the best Patriots team to win a Super Bowl.
1) 2007
The ‘07 Patriots were the greatest team in Patriots history and maybe the greatest NFL team of all-time. I understand that they lost the Super Bowl. Believe me--I remember, but they were just minutes from going 19-0. All the Dolphins fans out there who bloviate about their undefeated ‘72 team need to get it through their thick heads that they had to play two less games and were only 17-0. The Patriots made it to 18-0, but I digress. A team made up of Tom Brady, Kevin Faulk, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and a fantastic veteran defense is worthy of divine worship. The only reason they didn’t finish the job is that fate stepped in. Asante Samuel dropped a game winning interception, and the Patriots failed to tackle Eli Manning several times before he chucked it up to David Tyree who somehow stuck the ball to his helmet. I won’t accuse David Tyree of making the catch because he had some sort of illegal sticky substance, maybe pine tar, on his helmet. I just won’t do that, but...
(Photos via Patriots.com)
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