Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Junior. A name that stirs many different emotions in people. Some react with unabashed apathy. Some react with sheer contempt. Some react with abject fear. Some react with utmost respect. And then there’s those who start getting giddy like it’s Christmas morning.
Since being drafted 199th overall in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady rose from backup quarterback to emergency starter to rising Pro-Bowler to hotshot MVP to the one with all the rings. After all this time, an aura of dominance just follows Brady along with the team that both drafted him and he spent his first 20 seasons with, the New England Patriots. Now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, he has led his team to a Super Bowl appearance for Super Bowl LV, the team’s first since their win for the 2002 season with Super Bowl XXXVII. Even more crazy is that this marks Brady’s 10th appearance in the championship, an individual record, and that he has a chance to extend his record championships from six to seven.
Throughout his time, he’s had his doubters. Few expected him to ever see the field after Drew Bledsoe signed a record contract preceding the 2001 season, yet a hit by Mo Lewis threw Brady into the spotlight. Once Bledsoe was healthy again, Head Coach Bill Belichick shocked many when he announced he was sticking with Brady. Then Brady found himself in Super Bowl XXXVI. Few could have expected this, let alone winning it all in Cinderella fashion. Yet that DID happen. Little could anyone have thought that there’d be many times after, and through it all, many accusations of cheating have followed. Spygate, Deflategate, you’ve probably heard it to no end. Even so, there was a 10 year gap in between his third and fourth championships, and there were two absolute heartbreaking losses, which led many to doubt how much legitimacy there was to the initial dynasty.
What Brady routinely does is quietly go about his work and always express his dedication to his team and desire to do better after a loss. Another is his resiliency and knack for comebacks, which is a common theme for many of his playoff wins en route to a championship. That being said, let’s take a dive into these wins and rank them from worst to best while also taking time to discuss what they meant for Brady, his teammates, his coaches, and the fans.
One last thing before the ranking: if you’re still hating on Brady, I suggest you read this post by Alec Shane of Pats Pulpit, the New England Patriots SB Nation affiliate. If he ends up winning Super Bowl LV and you’re still not convinced, I don’t know what to say.
18) 2016 AFC Championship vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Final Score: 36-17)
What a snoozer.
Pittsburgh got virtually outmatched in every way possible. Sure, Le’Veon Bell’s injury from the previous week led to him leaving the game in the second quarter, but even then the Steelers weren’t going to even sniff the Championship based on their play vs the Patriots’ play.
Brady himself completed 32 of 42 pass attempts and threw for 384 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The flea-flicker he performed with Dion Lewis to Chris Hogan increased his playoff touchdown record to 19, though. Teammate Julian Edelman also set the record for most playoff receptions by a Patriot, succeeding Deion Branch (who I will talk about later).
Other than that, not much to talk about.
17) 2014 AFC Championship vs. Indianapolis Colts (Final Score: 45-7)
Another snoozer of a game.
This one is notable for what happened during the game but more of the allegations that surrounded it and what happened after.
As for the game itself, the power run game that allowed the Patriots trounce the Colts earlier in the season (where Jonas Gray ran for a whopping 201 yards) would prevail once again. Additionally, an unorthodox formation allowed tackle Nate Solder to score a receiving touchdown. Other than that, not much to write home about.
The big thing out of this? Deflategate. Colts safety D’Qwell Jackson managed an interception on Brady in the first half, and gave the football to the Colts equipment manager for safekeeping of his new souvenir. Jackson himself didn’t realize the controversy this “move” would spawn, stating he only found out once he was returning home in Indianapolis. Anyhow, reports came out on some of the footballs used during the game being under the required pressure (hence the “deflate” piece), along with allegations that Brady himself was involved with this operation. The ensuing investigation, which concluded with the publishing of the Wells Report, consummated in Brady being handed a four-game suspension to start the 2015 season, as well as the forfeiture of two draft selections in the 2016 NFL Draft. A judge would later vacate the suspension, only for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reinstate it for the 2016 season. Brady would also lose a request for a rehearing, which led to him accepting the suspension.
The implications of this game formed a major piece of the latter-half of the Brady-Belichick era. Yet why would this game rank so low? Again, the game itself had little substance, plus Brady had already trounced the Colts led by Andrew Luck multiple times before. Why I mention Deflategate is because of its implications on games later in this list…
16) 2016 Divisional Round vs. Houston Texans (Final Score: 34-16)
When can I talk about more interesting games?
I guess there’s a little more to talk about with this one. Dion Lewis was the game’s MVP, catching a touchdown pass, scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return, and then rushing for another touchdown. Lewis himself was in the midst of a comeback off a brutal ACL tear in 2015, causing him to miss the first nine games of the 2016 season. Good way to start that!
As for Brady, he managed to match his interception total for the regular season in this game with two. In fact, the Patriots overall didn’t look too sharp overall during the first half despite holding a lead. The Texans defense in particular was frustrating on the Patriots offense, and the Patriots were lucky enough to pot in 34 points.
Even more crazy was for the Texans to even score 16, as Brock Osweiler finished his bad season with three picks: one to Logan Ryan, one to Devin McCourty, and another to Duron Harmon. Ironically, all are Rutgers University alumni, and Belichick quipped “Big day for Rutgers” in the locker room following the victory.
15) 2004 Divisional Round vs Indianapolis Colts (Final Score: 20-3)
Oh, we’re talking about the Colts again?
This was when the Brady-Manning battles were just beginning to bloom. Earlier to open the season, Brady and Manning battled in a thriller that where the Patriots barely eeked out a win on a missed field goal by Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt. What happened after? Both teams replicated their previous seasons’ records (14-2 for the Pats vs 12-4 for the Colts) and both managed to finish atop their division. However, Peyton Manning had an outstanding season to notch his second MVP award, coupled with a 121.1 passing rating and 49 touchdown passes, both then-records. Additionally, his 9.9% touchdown percentage remains an NFL record. The Colts also led the league in scoring with 522 points.
You’d think by this meeting, Manning and the Colts would have figured a way to get past their demons, as they remained winless against the Patriots. Well, for this game, it was same old, same old: defenses would dominate much of the game, although it would be the Colts’ to give out first. Brady led his team to a touchdown drive for the third and fourth quarters, the latter drive eating over seven minutes of game clock. On Manning’s final drive, he managed to get to the Patriots-20, only to get picked by safety Rodney Harrison. Welp.
Some more things about this game to add insult to injury: Belichick received a call about how the Colts called the Steelers about wanting 1,500 tickets for the Championship game the following week. Naturally, the coach tells his players and the players didn’t take it too well. Linebacker Tedy Bruschi, a leader on the defense, took it as, “You think you’re gonna walk over us… it’s not going to happen.” During the game, Bruschi literally ripped the football out of running back Dominic Rhodes’s hands as the Colts attempted to respond to a 6-0 Patriots lead in the first half. Bruschi later stated that ripping the ball from Rhodes was symbolic of taking the hopes and dreams of other teams, especially the Colts. To add even more insult to injury, he repeatedly yelled on the sideline, “THEY AIN’T GOT IT!!!”, with “it” being what it took to be champions. The strip proved to Bruschi that the Colts “ain’t got it.” Brutal.
14) 2004 AFC Championship vs Pittsburgh Steelers (Final Score: 41-27)
Earlier in the season, the Patriots managed to set an NFL record 21 consecutive wins, dating back to Week 5 of the 2003 season. However, on Halloween (which was Week 8), the Steelers ended hopes of extending it by hauntingly demolishing a banged-up team that got further banged up. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 21-3 in favor of the Steel City. Steelers linebacker Joey Porter was seen yelling repeatedly, “THEY CAN’T GET ON OUR LEVEL!!!” Fitting considering he managed to strip-sack Brady following the Steelers’ first touchdown drive on the first play. In fact, on that ominous drive by Pittsburgh, New England’s already depleted secondary suffered its largest when #1 cornerback Ty Law suffered a season-ending foot injury in front of his hometown. As he left the field on his own power, Law remarked, “Not leaving the field in front of my family on a cart!“. At the end of the day, the Patriots lost 34-20 without a working secondary and a still-hobbled offense.
Now that they were set to meet again, it was time for payback, and the Patriots capitalized on turnovers and converting them into 24 of their 41 points. On rookie Ben Roethlisberger’s first pass attempt, free safety Eugene Wilson intercepted it which led to a field goal (points off turnovers count: 3). After marching to the Patriots 39-yard line, linebacker Rosevelt Colvin forced a fumble on Jerome Bettis, and Mike Vrabel recovered the loose ball. On the next play, Brady connected with Deion Branch on a 60-yard bomb (points off turnovers count: 10). Later on, after the Patriots went up 24-3 on an 87-yard pick six by none other than Rodney Harrison (points off turnovers count: 17). Later on in the fourth quarter, with the score already 34-20, Wilson intercepted Roethlisberger again which led to a 5:06 drive that capped off with a 23-yard touchdown run on a reverse by Deion Branch (points off turnovers count: 24).
While Harrison’s interception return wasn’t the game-winning play (it was instead a rush by Corey Dillon in the third quarter), it was effectively a death-knell in the Steelers’ hopes after they went 15-1 for the season with then-rookie Ben Roethlisberger. The usually racuous crowd at Heinz Field went silent as Harrison slowed his jog to a walk as he crossed into the Pittsburgh end zone. Brutal.
13) Super Bowl LIII vs Los Angeles Rams (Final Score: 13-3)
I know what you’re thinking. Only four scoring plays and this ranks higher than some other games that featured more? Yes.
This was a classic defensive struggle. Old-school football. Punt after punt after punt. Brady himself didn’t have a remarkable game, completing just 21 of 35 pass attempts for 262 yards along with no touchdowns and a pick. However, his longtime security blanket, Julian Edelman, managed 141 yards off 10 receptions from 12 targets, earning Super Bowl MVP. Additionally, Brady also connected with Rob Gronkowski on a 29-yard bomb near the sideline to set up the first play for either team in the red zone. Rookie running back Sony Michel would cash in on said play on a 2-yard run, which proved to be the decisive game-winning play.
The Patriots defense, on the other hand, put together a performance for the ages, holding the high-powered Rams offense to just three points, and there were three plays in particular that summarized how suffocating they were. After starting strong safety Patrick Chung went down with a broken arm, the Rams offense seemed to be putting together a drive, and on 1st-and-10 from the Patriots 29-yard line, Rams quarterback Jared Goff threw a bomb toward a seemingly wide-open Brandin Cooks (Cooks himself was a former Patriot who played for New England in 2017). However, Jason McCourty, in his first season as a Patriot (thereby joining identical twin Devin whom I mentioned earlier), managed to sprint his way into the end zone to barely break up the pass. Two plays later on 3rd-and-7, linebacker Dont’a Hightower sacked Goff for a nine-yard loss, forcing a punt. After the Patriots went up 10-3, Goff led his team down to the Patriots 27, but threw a pick to Stephon Gilmore.
The game still wasn’t technically over, as there was still over four minutes on the clock. The Rams once again got into Patriots territory, but with little time, had to attempt a field goal, which, on success, would lead to an onside-kick attempt. However, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed from 48-yards out (keep this distance in mind for later), cementing Brady’s sixth championship. With the win, the Patriots also tied the Steelers for most championships with six.
12) 2018 Divisional Round vs Los Angeles Chargers (Final Score: 41-28)
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t too giddy about this one going into it. In fact, many Patriots fans and pundits were worried. The Patriots peformance compared to their previous season was down. They went 11-5 in the regular season. They even opened the season 1-2. Their losses were often frustrating, usually the defense not performing up to par and/or vice versa for the offense. Brady himself followed his MVP season with a rather subpar year: his numbers seemed fine, but his demeanor on the field seemed “off”. On the other hand, the Chargers had a great year, helmed by their fantastic pass rush as well as their stalwart veteran quarterback Philip Rivers. Nearly all matchups favored the Chargers, with many pundits deeming this game to be the loss that would bring out the beginning of the end the Brady-Belichick tandem.
What’s crazy is that even after the Patriots scored on the opening drive with a touchdown, the Chargers managed to storm down the field with a touchdown drive of their own, and the fashion they did so seemed eerily similar to how many other teams that trounced the Patriots in the regular season did: the defense couldn’t capitalize on favorable field position while the opposing offense would carve out long plays and drives. Game tied 7-7.
But that would be the closest the Chargers would even sniff victory. The Patriots would dominate the rest of the game in absurdly convincing fashion, relying on their running game to score (Michel, whom I mentioned earlier, potted three rushing touchdowns). Even after the Chargers scored 14 in the fourth quarter, by then it was too late. This would also be the final Patriots home game, and they’d finish undefeated at Gillette Stadium. Not bad!
In a post-game interview with Tracy Wolfson, on being asked about playing in his eighth straight AFC Championship Game, Brady mentioned, “Ya know, everyone thinks we suck… can’t win any games, so… it’ll be fun.” Edelman would later state in the 2018 Patriots edition of America’s Game that he felt Brady was genuinely pissed off at all the media talk that people thought they sucked. All the nay-say just fueled the team that year.
11) Super Bowl XXXIX vs Philadelphia Eagles (Final Score: 24-21)
The game that made the Patriots a dynasty. It was all over the news. Fun time to be a kid who was also a budding Patriots fan.
Both offenses and defenses performed admirably. The Eagles would draw first blood in the second to go 7-0, and then Brady responded by fumbling on a play-action pass in the Eagles red zone. However, the Eagles had no response, and it was up to Brady again to try and cash in. With 1:10 left in the half, it was 2nd-and-goal on the Eagles 4. Color commentators Cris Collinsworth (who later moved to NBC) and Troy Aikman remarked that in the end zone, the Patriots preferred play-action passes to their tight ends. Indeed, the offense attempted a play to get tight end Christian Fauria the pass, but Fauria slipped as he crossed into the end zone, and the play was suddenly broken. However, Brady patiently looked for options, and saw wideout David Givens near the sideline who managed to clear his route, and threw a dart to him over Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard. In celebration, Eagles flapped his arms in mockery of Eagles wideout Terrell Owens before flexing his arms with a mighty yell (iconic). Tie game. By the way, check out Belichick’s breakdown of the play in the 2004 Patriots edition of America’s Game (link here), because it’s one of the many examples of Belichick dissecting a football play and he does it so fascinatingly.
Later on, Brady would throw another touchdown pass, this time to linebacker Mike Vrabel who had lined up as a tight end. Vrabel himself performed the same feat a year ago (which I’ll get to later) to go with his 10 career receptions, all for touchdowns. The Eagles would tie the game again before Dillon rushed for another touchdown, followed with Adam Vinatieri (a name that will come up a lot more later) extending the lead to 24-14 on the following drive after the Eagles punted.
Eventually, with 5:40 left in the game, the Eagles began a notorious drive where it seemed like they were being casual with the clock. Many were thrown off by the pace, including linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who after calling the play for the defense, would turn around to find the Eagles still in their own huddle. Reports even came out saying Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was suffering from dry-heaves which he would later deny. Regardless, McNabb was able to cash in and pull within three points with 1:48 remaining. After the Patriots ran the ball to chew up clock time, the Eagles were forced to start from their own 4 with just 46 seconds left. On the first play, the pass rush got to McNabb as he had to hastily throw towards wideout Brian Westbrook near the line of scrimmage. Rather than let it fall incomplete, Westbrook caught it, which let the clock continue. On the next play, McNabb’s pass deflected off the fingers of intended target tight end L. J. Smith into the hands of guess who- Rodney Harrison. Nine seconds left to allow Brady to take a final kneel. Game over. Dynasty.
Brady’s performance? An okay 23 of 33 for 236 yards with two touchdowns. The MVP honors went to Deion Branch, who caught 11 passes on 12 targets for 133 yards, which interestingly enough, was lower in output compared to his performance in the Super Bowl a year prior (I’ll get to that later). Overall, a nice way to cap a dominating season to cement the Patriots as an NFL dynasty.
10) 2003 Divisional Round vs Tennessee Titans (Final Score: 17-14)
This was one of the coldest games ever played. No, I’m serious. It was 4 degrees Fahrenheit (the 2004 AFC Championship was just slightly warmer at around 11 degrees). Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis commented that he couldn’t feel his toes until the following morning.
Regardless, on the Patriots opening drive (the Titans had to punt to open the game), Brady threw a 41-yard bomb to rookie Bethel Johnson, whom many cite as Belichick’s fastest ever player (Patriots pundit Tom E. Curran said he has never seen anyone faster than Johnson). However, the Titans were able to keep it close in the arctic chill, as the score was 14-14 near the end of the fourth quarter. With 4:02 left, Vinatieri was called upon to extend the lead with a 46-yard attempt. Despite missing a 44-yard attempt earlier, he cashed in on this one (a theme for him as, again, I’ll get to later), and it was now up to the defense to hold regular season co-MVP Steve McNair (he shared the honor with Peyton Manning) from scoring. They did so, but only barely: the Titans managed to get to the Patriots 33, but penalties drove them back 20. Despite an 11-yard completion to get back in New England territory, the Titans turned it over on downs after wideout Drew Bennett dropped a potential first-down catch.
Why this game over the last one and others? I have this to say: how did they even play this game in when it was that damn cold out?!
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