2007 New England Patriots: 18-1

2007 New England Patriots: 18-1

2007 New England Patriots: 18-1

The NFL season is a physically and mentally draining grind. Winning ten of the sixteen games during the regular season is an achievement. Making the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal. Before the 2007 season, the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, the 1985 Chicago Bears, 1998 Minnesota Vikings and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers shared the record for most regular season wins with 15. Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins would finish the season undefeated with a 14-0 regular season record followed by three wins in the playoffs including a win in Super Bowl VII. The 2007 New England Patriots did not begin the season looking to make history. Soon after the season began, they found themselves in a position to redeem themselves from controversy and in their quest for redemption they made history.

The Patriots were penalized in the beginning of the 2007 season for their role in illegally recording their opponents’ defensive signals in their Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets. The Patriots beat the Jets 38-14, but the league fined head coach Bill Belichick $500K and the team $250K while also stripping them of their first round draft pick in the 2008 NFL draft. The Patriots were portrayed as cheaters, but this controversy and their punishment only added fuel to the team’s fire.

Following their opening week win against the Jets, the Patriots annihilated teams and scored as many points as they could. They defeated the Washington Redskins in Week 8 52-7. The Buffalo Bills fell 56-10 in Week 11. The Patriots scored 589 points and averaged 36.8 points per game. Their average margin of victory was 19.7 points.

The Patriots offense was led by quarterback Tom Brady. Brady completed 69% of his passes for 4806 yards and set the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a season with 50. Wes Welker led the team with 112 receptions. He collected 1175 receiving yards with 8 touchdowns. Brady’s other target was former Rookie of the Year, Randy Moss.

After an electrifying start to his career with the Minnesota Vikings, Moss had a forgettable stop with the Oakland Raiders before landing in New England for the 2007 season. Brady had never played with a wide receiver of Moss’ talent before, but that didn’t hinder the pair at all. Moss was second in the NFL in receiving yards with 1493. He also beat Jerry Rice’s 20 year old record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season with 23.

The Patriots’ offense shined bright and overshadowed their defense, but they too had a terrific year. Veterans like Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau kept the defense firm and steady. Mike Vrabel led the team with 12.5 sacks which earned him an invitation to the Pro Bowl. Asante Samuel and Vince Wilfork’s excellent play also earned them a place at the Pro Bowl as the Patriots finished fourth in the league in fewest points allowed.

With a defense of veterans and all-stars, and an offense that scored at will, the Patriots were on the brink of history for their Week 17 matchup against the New York Giants. The Giants gave the Patriots all that they could handle, but they were still defeated 38-35. The Patriots had set the record for the most wins in a regular season. The only thing left to do was to win the Super Bowl.

The Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Diego Chargers on their way to a Super Bowl XLII matchup against their Week 17 combatant, the New York Giants. The Super Bowl matchup would not be the same as their first meeting. The Patriots would not score 38 points on the Giants defense as they unleashed their pass rushers on Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offensive line. Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora hounded Brady and made sure he was constantly under duress. The Giants sacked Brady five times and held the potent Patriots attack to 14 points with less than three minutes remaining in the game. The Patriots still led 14-10 , but the Giants were marching downfield. With the Giants facing a 3rd down with 5 yards to go, Eli Manning eluded a sack to throw a 35-yard pass to David Tyree who made an improbable catch squeezing the ball between his hand and his helmet for the completion. The Giants drive was alive and a few plays later Manning completed a pass in the end zone to Plaxico Burress to give the Giants the lead with 35 seconds remaining.

The Patriots failed to mount a comeback with so little time remaining and lost the game as well as their bid for an undefeated season. The 2007 season didn’t end the way the Patriots intended, but they erased the doubts from Spygate and made history with their 16-0 regular season record.