Walk Down Memory Lane: the 2010s New England Patriots
Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
From 2001 to nearly 20 years later, the New England Patriots established themselves as arguably the greatest dynasty not only in NFL history but in all of sports. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick cemented themselves as the greatest quarterback and head coach ever (hard for people to argue against), and more legends on the field helped add to the Patriots’ success. Six Super Bowl championships and nine trips to the big game from 2001 to 2019 separated them from the rest of the league in terms of decoration and accomplishment. While New England’s fortunes have seemingly flipped post-Tom Brady (so far), their resurgence in the 2010s (in terms of winning championships again) is still something to be celebrated by fans. As the team gets ready for the NFL draft with the third overall pick in the start of the Jerod Mayo-head coaching era, let’s take a walk down memory lane of last decade’s dominance.
2010-2013: Season Trumps With TItle Humps
Don’t let this section’s title fool you, the New England Patriots were still one of the NFL’s best teams to kick off the 2010s. In 2010, Tom Brady won his second NFL MVP after posting an impressive 36 touchdowns and four interceptions in the regular season. New England’s league-best 14-2 record that year made them the clear Super Bowl favorites heading into the playoffs. However, they were one-and-done after losing a home Divisional Round matchup 28-21 to the Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez-led New York Jets in one of the biggest shockers in NFL postseason history. 2011 saw them go further after a 13-3 regular season, but they would fall just short in Super Bowl XLVI to Eli Manning and the New York Giants, losing 21-17 and bringing Brady and Belichick’s Super Bowl record down to 3-2 after starting 3-0 in the 2000s. The Patriots would go 12-4 in 2012 and 2013, but fell short of the ultimate prize again, losing back-to-back AFC Championship games.
The early years of the 2010s saw stars form, players that would prove to be key pieces for the Patriots’ success later in the decade. The legend of Rob Gronkowski, arguably the greatest tight end of all time, was born and his absence may have played a factor in the two AFC title game losses. Julian Edelman went from a college quarterback at Kent State to one of Brady’s favorite weapons after losing Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos in the 2013 offseason. On defense, Patriots legends Devin McCourty and Dont’a Hightower led a unit that would see more stars come through like Chandler Jones and Trey Flowers (arriving via the draft), and Rob Ninkovich (arriving via free agency at the start of the decade).
2014-2017: CHAMPIONSHIP-Winning Reputation reestablished
Remaining amongst the top contenders in the league entering the 2014-15 season, the Patriots still had high expectations for the year. Things got off to a very bumpy start, including one of the ugliest regular-season performances of the Brady-Belichick era. The infamous 41-14 anhilation at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football raised a lot of questions from the media. Many thought Tom Brady’s days as an elite quarterback were officially coming to an end, and the Patriots were being written off by many people outside of the New England region. Skepticism around the team was built, and many believed that the Patriots’ days of championship culture was over. A week later the Patriots displayed their ability to instantly bounce back with a 43-17 blowout of the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football back in Foxborough. Doubters were quickly silenced as wins throughout the season piled up, and New England ended up reaching the Super Bowl for the sixth time since 2001. In one of the most memorable bouts in Super Bowl history, here they would face the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, a special unit possessing the Legion of Boom (composed of cornerback Richard Sherman and safeties Earl Thomas III and Kam Chancellor), a young and hot Russell Wilson, and defensive monsters like Bobby Wagner and Michael Bennett. Not to mention, Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch was dominating as a running back, looking flat-out unstoppable throughout the season - arguably the best back in the league that year. The game was back-and-forth, with New England even overcoming a 24-14 deficit for the late 28-24 lead. The rest is history as New England’s miracle interception from undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler at the one-yard line helped seal the victory after Seattle was literally inches away from back-to-back championships. This was the Patriots’ first Super Bowl title in a decade, and in terms of championships they were put right back on the map.
Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports
In 2015, despite losing key names from the 2014 championship squad like Vince Wilfork, Darrelle Revis, Shane Vereen, and Brandon Browner, all signs pointed to the Patriots repeating as they started 10-0 and looked unstoppable. This season was really a lot of misfortune injury wise, though the Patriots overcame a ton of regular-season injuries, like Brady’s top three weapons on offense (Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, and Danny Amendola) whom would eventually return. The real struggles were with the offensive line, and that would come back to bite them in the 2015-16 AFC Championship game on the road against the Denver Broncos, a team that struck fear in their opponents through their incredible defense in Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning’s final NFL season. New England was clicking in the clutch at the end of the game, and the game came down to a failed-two-point conversion from the Patriots.
The 2016-17 season was certainly the perfect bounce back that saw an unfamiliar start at the beginning. The Patriots added tight end Martellus Bennett to form a dual threat at the position with Gronk (who would unfortunately go down for the year later in the season), and two wideouts good enough to be productive on offense alongside the existing weapons, like Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell. The unfamiliar start was losing Tom Brady at quarterback for the first four games due to the controversial deflate-gate suspension handed by the NFL (issued for the 2015-16 season but enforced in 2016-17 after back-and-forth appeals). Many expected a slow start for the Patriots with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett under center, however the team was able to keep winning, finishing 3-1 prior to Brady’s return. Brady had one of the best seasons of his career and New England dominated opponents all around, losing only one more game for the rest of the season and finishing 14-2. They proved to still be the best team in the NFL and ended the season with their legendary 25-point comeback victory in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons - arguably the greatest Super Bowl ever played. In this game, Patriots fans saw the impact of unlikely heroes like James White.
Photo Credit: Darron Cummings/AP
While a preseason ACL tear sidelined Julian Edelman for the 2017-18 season, the Patriots still remained at the top tier of teams. Adding superstars like cornerback Stephon Gilmore on defense, and wide receiver Brandin Cooks on offense kept the train going. Things did appear to be slightly bumpy at a few points throughout the season, particularly on defense, but a 13-3 finish and yet another number-one seed set New England in position to reach yet another Super Bowl. Tom Brady became the NFL’s oldest-ever MVP (winning the award for the third time at age 40), and threw for a postseason-record 505 yards in Super Bowl LII. Unfortunately for the Pats, they fell just short of capturing back-to-back championships, falling 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles (also one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played).
2018- Early 2020: All GREAT Things Come To AN End
Like the early 2010s section of this piece, do not let this headline completely fool you. While this was the end of not only the decade but the Patriots’ long dynastic run, the 2018-19 season was a special story. The offseason leading up featured a lot of uncertainty including Rob Gronkowski pondering retirement, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels nearly leaving the orginization to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts (before ultimately backing out). The season had its fair share of blows, with the Patriots making team history in the losing column. Week 2 and Week 3’s losses (31-20 to the Jacksonville Jaguars and 26-10 to the Detroit Lions) were the first back-to-back double digit losses for New England since the 2002 season. On top of that, New England’s 11-5 finish to the regular season was their first time losing more than four games since the 2009 season. Unlike many seasons prior, the Patriots did not look completely unstoppable and weaknesses on both offense and defense were evident. Like other seasons, things turned around at the right time with two impressive playoff victories en route to their third consecutive Super Bowl (a 41-28 divisonal victory over the 12-4 Los Angeles Chargers, and a thriller 37-31 overtime victory on the road against an MVP Patrick Mahomes and the number-one seed Kansas City Chiefs). Pregame arguments were made in both games that the Patriots may lose, and they were especially not favored in the AFC Championship game Kansas City. In a game that was centered around defensive dominance, the Patriots won their record-tying sixth Lombardi trophy in a 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. Stars like Devin McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, and Jason McCourty shined all game long, not letting the powerhouse Rams offense produce at any point. Julian Edelman’s legacy took a lift with his first Super Bowl MVP and third championship, after starting as someone whose career was not meant to amount to much. This was also the final Super Bowl victory of New England’s long and legendary run of dominance.
Photo Credit: Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe
The final season of the decade in 2019-20 was perhaps the ugliest one for the Patriots. Entering the season, despite losing Rob Gronkowski to his first retirement, things pointed in the right direction. The Patriots landed star receiver Antonio Brown and also got Josh Gordon back. However, Brown’s stint in New England only lasted one game, and due to an off-the-field scandal, he was released after Week 2. Gordon would also depart from the team due to ongoing controversies of his own shortly after. Still, the Patriots started the season 9-0, but things seemed to go downhill from there. The offensive holes grew seemingly bigger from the year prior, and the production from Brady and co. completely stale. While the Patriots’ defense shined throughout the season (including Stephon Gilmore winning Defensive Player of the Year), their 12-4 record was not enough to secure a first-round bye, and for the first time since 2009 season, they found themselves in the Wild Card round. The 20-13 first-round loss at home to the Tennessee Titans ended their season, and effectively the dynastic run. Tom Brady’s pick-six to former teammate Logan Ryan to end the game was perhaps a symbolic closure of one of sports’ most storied franchise runs.
2020-Present: Life After The Dynasty
Photo Credit: Marca.com, New England Patriots
Something that fans would never have imagined, Tom Brady ended up departing from the New England Patriots as they were seemingly ready to move on. There was no recipe for success on offense, and across the board the team was not the powerhouse they were for many years. Brady ended up joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9 in 2019-20) for three seasons before retiring, alongside Gronk (who would unretire in the 2020 offseason) and end up winning his seventh Super Bowl in just his first year with the team. As for the Patriots, the roster kept weakening over the years and the team has only made the playoffs once since 2019, losing in embarrassing fashion in the 2021-22 Wild Card round to the Buffalo Bills, the new AFC East kings. Bill Belichick coached his final year for the team this past season in 2023, and while a top-three draft pick and a new head coach is unfamiliar territory, it is hopefully a fresh start for Patriots fans after constant losing in the 2020s so far.
