After having lost their two starting wide receivers in the previous offseason, the Patriots added Donté Stallworth in free agency and traded for Wes Welker from the Miami Dolphins and Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders in the spring.

[27] In the first week of free agency, the Patriots traded their second- and seventh-round picks in the 2007 NFL draft to the Miami Dolphins for wide receiver Wes Welker.

On offense, the Patriots added running back Sammy Morris,[31] tight end Kyle Brady,[32] as well as wide receivers Donté Stallworth and Kelley Washington.

[49] They also traded Patrick Cobbs to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ross Tucker to the Cleveland Browns prior to the 2006 season for late-round conditional draft picks, but neither players made their respective rosters, so the Patriots received no compensation.

Receiving the kickoff to begin the second half, the Chargers embarked on a 16-play, 72-yard drive, reaching Patriots territory on a 22-yard third down reception by tight end Antonio Gates.

Down 34–13, the Bengals continued to move the ball with a 17-yard Houshmandzadeh catch on the next play, but Palmer's next pass attempt was intercepted by Randall Gay at the Patriots’ 47-yard line.

The Cowboys then moved the ball 84 yards, keeping pace with the Patriots when Tony Romo threw to Terrell Owens for a 12-yard touchdown grab of his own, giving the game a 21–17 score at halftime.

Following a Patriots punt, the Dolphins began a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended on a 1-yard Patrick Cobbs touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, cutting their deficit to 28 points.

With less than 2 minutes remaining in the first half, the Patriots drove 73 yards, and on a fake spike play from the Redskins’ 6-yard line, increased their lead to 24–0 on a touchdown catch by Moss from Brady.

After a Gostkowski touchback on the next kickoff, the Colts again drove inside the Patriots’ 10-yard line on 34 receiving yards by Addai on three catches as well as a 40-yard defensive pass interference call against Hobbs.

After catches of 12 and 9 yards from Moss and Kevin Faulk, respectively, the Patriots reached the Colts’ 14-yard line but settled for a 34-yard Gostkowski field goal after Laurence Maroney ran for a 2-yard loss on 3rd and 1.

[73] After a Reggie Wayne 24-yard reception brought the Colts to their own 48-yard line, Green strip-sacked Manning three plays later; Colvin's recovery of that fumble gave the Patriots the ball, and set up a situation where a first down would allow them to win the game.

On the second play of the Bills’ next drive, Sanders forced a fumble by running back Dwayne Wright after a 5-yard reception, which Hobbs recovered and returned 35 yards for the Patriots’ eighth and final touchdown of the game.

[75] at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts Due to Buffalo's loss to Jacksonville earlier in the day, the Patriots entered the game against the 5–5 Eagles as AFC East champions for the fifth consecutive season.

Brady's throw to Watson in the end zone fell incomplete, but the Patriots again received a fresh set of downs Jamaine Winborne was called for defensive holding.

Boller threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught by wide receiver Mark Clayton at the Patriots’ 3-yard line, but he was tackled shy of the end zone as time expired.

[82] On their ensuing possession, the Jets gained 49 yards on an option play to running back Leon Washington, but then failed a fourth down conversion from the Patriots’ 17-yard line.

Following a Giants punt, the Patriots mounted a drive that resulted in Gostkowski's third field goal of the night, from 37 yards, after a 3rd down end zone pass to Moss ricocheted off of linebacker Gerris Wilkinson's helmet.

It was clear the game was one of the most anticipated of the season, and could therefore serve as an important promotion for the NFL Network, which had tried unsuccessfully over the previous year to expand its viewership by becoming included as an “extended basic service” on the major American cable TV providers such as Comcast and Time Warner.

[92] Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had pressured the league and cable companies to settle their dispute so “no die-hard Pats fans will be shut out from watching their team take aim at football history.

Jacksonville responded with a drive to the New England 21-yard line, but receiver Dennis Northcutt dropped a pass on third down, forcing them to settle for a Josh Scobee 39-yard field goal, cutting the score to 21–17.

Kaeding kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter to cut the score to 7–6, but after a punt, Asante Samuel intercepted a pass from Philip Rivers and returned it 10 yards to the Chargers 24-yard line.

San Diego then moved the ball to the 4-yard line, but on 3rd and 1, linebacker Junior Seau tackled Michael Turner for a 2-yard loss and the Chargers had to settle for Kaeding's fourth field goal.

On the Giants first drive of the second quarter, on 3rd-and-7, receiver Amani Toomer caught in a deep pass from Manning along the left sideline while dragging his feet in-bounds for a 38-yard gain, moving the ball to the Patriots’ 19.

However, after the play had been run, Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick challenged that New York had too many players on the field and replay confirmed that was the case as Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn was unable to get to the sidelines as the ball was being snapped.

Following three runs by Bradshaw and a 17-yard reception by Smith on third down, Manning finished the 7-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to David Tyree, giving New York a 10–7 lead with 11:10 left in the game.

Following two incomplete passes, New York cornerback Corey Webster slipped while backing into coverage, leaving Moss wide open in the end zone where Brady found him for a touchdown to give New England a 14–10 lead with 2:42 left in the game.

Manning spun out of the grasp of lineman Jarvis Green, righted himself, and threw a 32-yard completion to Tyree, who made a leaping catch while covered by Rodney Harrison and maintained possession by pinning the ball against his helmet with one hand as he fell to the ground.

Hobbs bit on a fake slant inside (a “slant-and-go” or “SluGo” route) and Manning lofted a pass to the end zone where Burress caught the ball for a touchdown to complete the 12-play, 83-yard drive and give Giants a 17–14 lead with 35 seconds left.

Manning took a knee, allowing the clock to expire, and consequently won Super Bowl XLII for the Giants, while also ending the Patriots’ prospects of a 19–0 season as their overall record dropped to 18–1.