This is the season of redemption. The Patriots have been evening all the scores against opponents that have wronged them over the past several years. In fact, the Patriots have seven wins in eight games against teams that have beat them in playoff games in the past decade. The one loss, you may ask: a game against The New York Giants. The football gods appear to be on the side of Brady and Belichick, and the only way this season’s story should end is with Tom Brady hoisting the trophy.
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2005-2006
The Game
Jake Plummer and the Denver Broncos hosted New England in the divisional round of the playoffs. It was Adam Vinatieri’s last season of bad car commercials in New England before he turned full Brutus the next season. Denver forced five turnovers, including two Brady picks. Denver ended up winning the game by 14. Jake “the Snake” Plummer knocked the Pats out in his last season, and then retired at age 32 just to rub it in.
How They Wronged New England
Before this game, Pats fans believed Tom Brady could not lose. The Patriots had won an NFL record 10 games in a row in the playoffs, including 3 Superbowls. We had all learned to trust in Tom Brady no matter how far down and out the Pats looked. After all those wins, the illusion was shattered. Brady was beatable.
The Redemption
In two games this season the Patriots outscored the Broncos 86-33. The legend of Tim Tebow was destoryed for the first time during the regular season after a thorough drubbing exposing Tebow’s flaws. Then, when it looked like there would be a resurrection in the playoffs, the Patriots made sure the press was shorted live. They also mercifully killed any chance of Tebow Time: the Movie ever being released.
2006-2007
The Game
The Patriots advanced to their fourth AFC Championship game in six years. The Colts then lit the Pats up. Peyton Manning led the colts to 455 yards on offense. Vinatieri took his Brutus role to the next level by making 3 field goals, more than supplying the margin of victory for the Colts. While winning by 3, Belichick decided to go with a conservative offense in the fourth quarter. This gave Peyton Manning the chance to drive for the win and laying the foundation for a Colts Superbowl win.
How They Wronged New England
Manning had always been compared to Brady, but the contest wasn’t close because Brady had three championships to Manning’s zero. Manning was always the goat for never being able to lead his team to victory, faulting under the pressure whenever his team needed him most. This is the game that changed it all. The supposed rivalry had not been much of a rivalry from the Patriots point of view, but all that changed after this game. The Colts were now the team to beat in the AFC, even in the playoffs. Also, there was no playoff Manning face, which just wrongs everyone.
The Redemption
Even without Manning, the Patriots were given redemption this season. They played the Colts when they were at their worst. By halftime, the game was over. But Belichick wasn’t satisfied? with simply blowing out the Colts, so he let Dan Orlovsky lead the Colts back into the game while Brian Hoyer, Brady’s backup, didn’t even attempt a pass. However, Belichick put an end to the madness just in time to show the Colts that there wouldn’t be any more 4th quarter victories. And there was plenty of side-line Manning face.
2009-2010
The Game
In the first round of the playoffs, the Pats drew the Baltimore Ravens. Hopes were high in New England after having endured a Brady-less season only to see him perform as the Comeback Player of the Year in 2009. It took about a kickoff and an 83 yard Ray Rice touchdown run to kill any dreams New Englanders had. There would be no return to glory this year. It was a blowout, and the air was sucked out of the stadium. After one quarter the score was 24-0 and the game was all but over.
How They Wronged New England
I don’t know about other Pats fans, but this game has haunted me. I have seen it on televisions everywhere I go, including in foreign countries. Pats fans were particularly wronged when the game ended so quickly. We had reserved our Sundays for watching the resurgence of Tom Brady after the two longest years in recent memory as a Pats fan. It took 15 seconds of game time before fans had to look to the next year.
The Redemption
The Pats got their payback this past Sunday, and they weren’t even the arbiter of it. The Ravens stayed with the Patriots all game, making the uninformed bystander question if Joe Flacco was better than Tom Brady (ridiculous, I know!). Then, with the game on the line, Lee Evans caught the game winning touchdown; except he didn’t because he dropped it at the last second. And then by the hand of the football gods, or the lack of time to set up the field goal, the football sailed wide left, delivering sweet revenge into the hands of the Patriots.
2010-2011
The Game
The Patriots had a first round bye, and they were given the opportunity to play the New York Jets in round two. The Pats has won against the Jets 45-3 in December of 2010, inspiring the ire of Rex Ryan. While planning for the Steelers in the next round, Patriots fans were surprised to see three touchdowns from Mark “Sanchize” Sanchez and a stifled Patriots offense. The game ended with a failed onside kick, and the Patriots were forced into the long winter empty handed again.
How They Wronged New England
The 2010 Patriots felt like a team of destiny. The emergence of the Danny Woodhead-BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Rob Gronkowski-Aaron Hernandez combinations seemed like Bill Belichick returning to full mastermind. He was back to creating stars out of undrafted or unlikely players. It was over in the first playoff game again. And it let the Jets get one step closer to the Superbowl.
The Redemption
This season the Pats didn’t just beat the Jets. They beat them twice, effectively keeping them out of the playoffs. In both games Rex Ryan talked a big game; and in both games the Patriots made them look like the outspoken, overconfident team that they are. It was a payback oh-so-sweet for Pats fans.
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2007-2008
This leads us to the big Superbowl rematch coming up in two Sundays. The Patriots have exercised all but one demon from the Brady-Belicheck era. The 2008 Superbowl is the big hole in the history of the Patriots: the one that got away. This was the team that would have sent Brady into the hall of fame with Dan Marino, John Elway, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning carrying him in on a throne. Every Patriots fan will remember this painful loss for a long time. I’m just going to stop there before I start rocking in the fetal position again. (Side-note: This game did give me my favorite play ever. See my writer profile for more.)
The Redemption
This Superbowl is the victory Pats fans need. I don’t know a single Patriots fan that didn’t want to play the Giants this game. Every non-Patriots fan assumes that the Patriots didn’t want to play the Giants; they don’t understand that we need the final chapter to that 2008 season. The helmet catch will get played over and over, but we don’t need to see it because it is burned in our memories: Asante Samuel jumping a route and leaving the receiver, Eli almost getting sacked, Rodney Harrison being a step too late, the ball sticking to the helmet. History can be rectified with a Patriots win. It is going to be a long two weeks, but in the end it will be worth it. The Patriots Redemption Tour 2011-12 will roll on in style. The demons will be exercised, and the Patriots will win Superbowl XLIV.
It’s destiny.
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