Twenty-one years ago, the New England Patriots completed the most dominant streak in the history of the NFL, finishing with 21 wins in a row across two seasons. Since it was such a dominant run, we have decided to take a look back at each one of the games.
This is the fifth in the series, so expect a ton more to come, and make sure to follow along on YouTube for the accompanying videos for each game as well.
Today, let’s take a look at Wins No. 9 and 10.
Win No. 9: Patriots 12, Dolphins 0
2003 Week 14 | Dec. 7, 2003, 4:15 p.m. ET | Gillette Stadium
Setting the scene: New England got crushed by a huge Nor’Easter the weekend of this game, with areas in and around Boston seeing north of 20 inches of snow. The snow had mostly stopped by kickoff, but the roads were a mess, and the seats in the stadium hadn’t yet been shoveled out, so there was snow everywhere in the stadium, which would be an important factor in this game, obviously.
The field conditions were also rough in this game as well, as this was before the Patriots had switched the field to turf, and the Patriots were still playing on grass. The Dolphins came into Gillette winners of their last three, with the last one being a trouncing of the Bill Parcells-led Dallas Cowboys. They were only two games back from the Patriots in the AFC East, and fighting to stay alive in both that race and the race for a playoff berth.
If the Dolphins were to win this game, they would be only a game behind the Patriots for the AFC East, and the Patriots wouldn’t have the first tiebreaker over them either. It was, on the other hand, a “hat and t-shirt game” for the Patriots, meaning that they would clinch the AFC East with a win.
Game breakdown: Probably unsurprisingly, both offenses had a really hard time moving the ball in the first half. The Dolphins would finish with 49 net yards for the half, and would only make it as far as the Patriots’ 49 yard-line. The Pats, meanwhile, were able to gain some good yardage on their first three drives, turning one of them into points, but were almost completely unable to move the ball after that.
The second half is where things started to get interesting. The Dolphins punted on their first two possessions of the half, making it eight straight punts for them. On their ninth drive, however, they started to move the ball, getting it all the way down to the Patriots 10. Rodney Harrison would time his blitz off the edge perfectly, however, and Jay Fiedler would lose the ball. Mike Vrabel recovered it, and the Dolphins wouldn’t get into field goal range again.
The Patriots offense did try to let the Dolphins back into the game when Kevin Faulk fumbled in Patriots territory two drives later, but the defense stepped up and never allowed the Dolphins to get inside of field goal range. The Patriots wouldn't score, but they did flip field position thanks to two passes to Deion Branch, and a nice punt by Brooks Barnard pinned the Dolphins at the 4-yard line.
Brooks Barnard? Who the heck is that? That’s a good question. After a few rough games, the Patriots cut Ken Walter and brought in Barnard to punt for them. He was an undrafted rookie, and this would be the only game in which he would ever appear in the NFL. He ended up with 10 punts with an average of 36.5 yards, and pinned the Dolphins inside the 20 on four of those punts as well.
Anyway, back to the game. With the Dolphins pinned deep in their own end, the Patriots changed the game and put their division rivals away, creating one of the most memorable moments from the first dynasty in the process. Tedy Bruschi undercut a slant from Fiedler and took it 5 yards to the end zone, and the fans started tossing snow balls into the air in celebration. At the time, the song that they played when the Patriots scored a touchdown was “Rock and Roll” by Gary Glitter, and every time “Hey!” came on the speakers, the Foxboro Faithful would throw the snowballs high in the air. The photo of Bruschi on his knees with snow being thrown all around him is one of my favorite Patriots photos, and has got to be one of the most famous in Patriots history.
After the touchdown, it was now a two-score game, and the Patriots and Dolphins traded punts a few times. The Patriots had the ball just outside of field goal range at the two-minute warning, and Tom Brady punted the ball perfectly: it was downed at the 1-yard line. Four plays later, on fourth down, Jarvis Green and Mike Vrabel would combine for a sack in the end zone to force a safety and push the game to 12-0. A few kneel downs later, and the Patriots ended the game and had clinched the AFC East for the second time in three years.
Game Highlights:
Other game notes: The Dolphins gave up the safety on fourth down, but it might’ve been a few other fourth down decisions that cost them the game. Trailing 3-0 with just over 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins faced a 4th-and-3 from the Patriots 38-yard line. Instead of going for it, they decided to punt. The Patriots had just turned the ball over, and the Dolphins had a chance to swing the game in their favor. With both offenses having such a hard time, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation and they didn’t. It could have been the difference in the game.
The drive after the Patriots defensive touchdown, they once again faced a fourth down decision, this time on a 4th-and-1 at their own 36. Yes, that would have been a huge risk, but they were already down two scores, and it seemed crazy to not go for it. That decision might not have had an impact on the outcome of the game, but it is another example of Miami being far too conservative to win a game like this against the Patriots.
Elsewhere in sports: Two games of note this week, both of them happening in the West, one in the AFC and one in the NFC. The first one involved the No. 1 seed in the AFC at the time, the Kansas City Chiefs. They squared off against the Denver Broncos, and had a 21-17 lead heading into halftime. The Broncos, however, would score 28 straight points in the second half, including three touchdowns by Clinton Portis. Portis finished the game with 218 rushing yards and five TDs. The loss would knock the Chiefs out of the top seed, and the Patriots would take it and never look back.
The other game was the Arizona Cardinals against the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners hung 50 on the Cardinals, and Jeff Garcia threw for ffour touchdowns and rushed for another two.
Win No. 10: Patriots 27, Jaguars 13
2003 Week 15 | Dec. 14, 2003, 1:00 pm. ET | Gillette Stadium
Setting the scene: With a snowstorm en route, the Patriots hosted the 4-9 Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite their dismal record, the Jaguars had won two in a row heading into this one. Their defense, coached by head coach Jack Del Rio and defensive coordinator Mike Smith and led by a defensive line with Tony Brackens, Marcus Stroud, and John Henderson, had stiffened in recent weeks. Jacksonville held the Buccaneers to just 10 points and then shut-out the Texans in their consecutive wins. Meanwhile, an offense led by rookie Byron Leftwich with Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith had one of its best games of the season against Houston with 27 points and 390 yards.
The Patriots also welcomed back punter Ken Walter after a one-week hiatus.
Game breakdown: Tom Brady was nails on the opening possession of the game, leading the Patriots on a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive. He had two big conversions, finding Deion Branch for a 16-yard gain on 3rd-and-9 and David Givens for just enough on 4th-and-2. Those set up a completion to a wide-open Daniel Graham down the left sideline for a 27-yard score.
Jacksonville answered quickly. Byron Leftwich found Jimmy Smith for a 67-yard catch and run on their first play from scrimmage, setting up a 24-yard field goal after Kyle Brady couldn’t hang on to a pass in the end zone.
On the next possession, Brady continued to make big plays. He converted on 3rd-and-3 with a 7-yard (!) QB sneak, 3rd-and-14 with an 18-yard throw to Givens, and 3rd-and-20 with a 23-yard connection with Troy Brown. That drive stalled inside the Jacksonville 5, and Adam Vinatieri extended New England’s lead to 10-3 while becoming the second Patriot to ever score 900 points.
The scoring continued on the next possession. Byron Leftwich hit tight end Chris Luzar and former Browns wide receiver Kevin Johnson for big plays in a sequence that got the Jaguars near the goal line. Fred Taylor would drop a screen pass on a walk-in touchdown on third down, and kicker Seth Marler added another field goal for Jacksonville.
After a pair of three and outs finally slowed the scoring, New England would tack on another score before the half. David Givens made a tremendous leaping grab over Rashean Mathis on a 32-yard completion, and Vinatieri tacked on a field goal after Larry Centers dropped a sure touchdown pass from Brady on 3rd-and-12. Jacksonville tried to answer, but Marler missed a 34-yard field goal late in the half.
The offense came to a screeching halt in the third quarter. The teams combined for five scores in nine possessions in the first half but could not score once in seven possessions in the third frame. New England drove into scoring range twice, but a Matt Light unnecessary roughness penalty and Antowain Smith fumble kept them off the board as the snow began to come down.
The Patriots would take control of the game in the fourth quarter, starting with the first play. Tyrone Poole undercut a pass intended for Jimmy Smith and picked it off, and Brady would convert a 3rd-and-6 to Larry Centers to set up a 10-yard Troy Brown touchdown on 3rd-and-8.
Now up 20-6, Tyrone Poole would help extend that lead again a few drives later. Midway through the fourth quarter, he picked Leftwich for a second time and returned it to the 3-yard line. Hilariously, Poole started to celebrate prematurely, holding the ball high as he got tackled from behind just short of the goal line. Three 1-yard runs from Antowain Smith later, and New England was up 27-6.
As the snow turned into a blizzard. Jacksonville added a garbage time touchdown in the final minutes. Kevin Johnson caught a third down heave from Leftwich that no one could see for the score with 3:28 on the clock, and Larry Izzo would recover the onside kick for New England after that to stop any chance of a Jaguars comeback.
Game highlights:
Other game notes: This is really the first blowout win in New England’s win streak, and it was the largest margin of victory so far. Still, the Jaguars hung in there for longer than many expected. While this Jaguars team wasn’t that good, they would have a winning record the following season and then make the playoffs two years later. That season would end in New England in the Wild Card round. I think you can see the roots of that Jaguars team starting to develop here.
Elsewhere in sports: The blizzard that dumped on Gillette in the second half was in full force all game in the Meadowlands that afternoon. The Jets would beat the Steelers 6-0 in whiteout conditions while the Patriots were beating the Jaguars.
Later that afternoon, the Browns and Broncos would trade field goals in the final minute before Jason Elam won it for Denver in overtime. That game would prove pivotal in the AFC wild card race. Meanwhile, John Kasay would kick a 49-yard field goal in the final seconds after Neil Rackers had tied the game a minute earlier to win the NFC South for the Carolina Panthers.