Brady–Belichick era
In 2008, Belichick coached the Patriots to an 11–5 record despite losing franchise quarterback Tom Brady in Week 1 versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
A series of division tiebreakers left the 11–5 Miami Dolphins as AFC East champions, making the 2008 Patriots the second team in NFL history to go 11–5 and miss the playoffs.
Such dominance in the salary cap era, which limits teams in how much they can pay players and therefore forces parity, is credited to Belichick's football prowess.
[12] Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss was traded to New England in 2007 after lackluster play for the Oakland Raiders, but went on to catch 23 touchdowns in 2007, setting an NFL record.
Brady went on to help the Patriots form a dynasty that lasted from 2001 until 2019, and currently holds every NFL postseason passing record except yards per attempt and completion percentage.
[15] Due to questions about his starting ability in college and uninspiring physical measurables, Brady fell in the 2000 draft until he was selected in the 6th round by the New England Patriots.
With no time outs, the Patriots drove downfield to set up a 48-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri to win the game in the closing seconds.
[19] In the 2000 NFL draft, first year head coach Bill Belichick was looking for ways to improve a New England Patriots team that had not been to a Super Bowl since 1996.
Late in the game, down 10–3, quarterback Drew Bledsoe rolled out of the pocket and tried to scramble down the sideline, until he was hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.
The playoffs saw New England beat the Oakland Raiders in the Tuck Rule Game that closed Foxboro Stadium, then the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road; they ended the season with an upset of the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20–17.
Ahead of the 2003 season, Bill Belichick surprisingly released strong safety Lawyer Milloy in the offseason due to contract issues.
After beating the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers in the wildcard and divisional rounds, they squandered a 21–3 halftime lead against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game and lost 38–34.
After coming back from two 14 point deficits to beat the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round, the Patriots routed the Indianapolis Colts 45–7 in the AFC Championship Game, earning their sixth Super Bowl appearance since 2001.
In Super Bowl XLIX, after throwing two interceptions and leaving his team down by 10 points in the 4th quarter, Brady led the Patriots on two touchdown drives against the Seattle Seahawks.
On the ensuing Seahawks drive, quarterback Russell Wilson threw a deep pass to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse that was initially deflected by cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Then with 26 seconds left in the game, Wilson's pass for Ricardo Lockette was intercepted by undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler on the goal line.
A series of injuries, including Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon LaFell, Dion Lewis, and at one point, the entire offensive line, led to the Patriots to lose four of their next six games.
After beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round, Brady faced the vaunted Denver Broncos defense in the AFC Championship Game.
After defeating the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs, they faced backup quarterback Nick Foles and the high-powered Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
After handily defeating the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 41–28 in the Divisional round, the Patriots faced Mahomes and the vaunted Chiefs offense in the AFC Championship Game.
On the first drive of OT the Patriots quickly moved downfield through critical third down completions to Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, setting up a touchdown run by Rex Burkhead.
In Super Bowl LIII, the Patriots' stiff defense held the high-scoring Los Angeles Rams offense to three points all game, sacking quarterback Jared Goff four times, intercepting him once, and allowing only a 57.6 passer rating.
They came back late in the fourth quarter, with Brady lobbing a 29-yard pass to Gronkowski, capped by a two-yard touchdown run by rookie Sony Michel.
Tampa Bay narrowly won the game 19–17 off a missed field goal in the final seconds from Patriots kicker Nick Folk.
In addition, he became the sixth quarterback to have a victory against every incumbent NFL franchise after Fran Tarkenton and Joe Montana, as the league only had 28 teams during the latter two's respective tenures.
[39] Though fans criticized Belichick for his lack of warmth displayed towards his former quarterback, it was later reported that the two privately spoke at length in the Buccaneers locker room following the game.
[50] Despite such low pay, Brady played at an elite level and set several NFL records for a 40-year-old quarterback, culminating in an MVP award and a record-breaking 505 passing yards in a losing effort in Super Bowl LII.
[48] Spygate was an incident during the 2007 NFL season, when the Patriots were disciplined by the league for videotaping New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals from an unauthorized location.
[52] Deflategate was a controversy involving the allegation that Brady ordered the deliberate deflating of footballs used in the Patriots' victory against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014-15 AFC Championship Game.
The controversy resulted in Brady being suspended for four games, the Patriots being fined $1 million and losing two draft picks, and saw the NFL later change the procedure for monitoring football pressure.
