Most heartbreaking regular season loss of the Brady/Belichick era

ausbacker said:

That wasn't a loss, that was match fixing and cheating.

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While bad officiating happens to every team and we certainly have seen our share in the past of being the victim and the beneficiary, it's hard for me to pinpoint a game that had this many 'issues' slanting toward one team with such critical ramifications attached.

Look there is not a lot of doubt the OPIs for Gronk are due to a point of emphasis relayed to the refs by the league office. The statistical outlier as well as seeing the replays of 'huh? that's OPI?? Every TE does that!' happen multiple times now, it makes it statistically very unlikely this is the spinning wheel of simple bad luck. This is very likely a point of emphasis on this specific player by those in charge of the Refs.

Holding by the opposing OL is now starting to lean toward a 'hmmm', This is 3 weeks in a row that we were the victim of a holding call in a critical spot of the type of 'holding action' that is so common during the game it has to be singled out for that moment (Used my DVR to spot some dramatic Denver OL holding that was FAR beyond that non holding holding call).

I said it the last two games that selective ref-ing was happening to the Patriots. But this one was just off the charts. Let's hope scumbag Balndino and Goodell saw this and will draw back the 'points of emphasis' due to how obvious. Nothing else we can do or hope for except the Patriots win by enough that Refs can't affect the outcome. It's these scumbags show to do with as they like....

BTW...perfect game for the Broncos, all the western "Pats cheaters!!!!!" nitwits,Goodell, Kensil, Blob Kravitz and Greg "Moronico" Doyel to whip out the pregame 70 degree NFL ball using the "unoffical" gauge...and compare the PSI post game...you know? Perfect situation. National audience...the whole country...they all hate the "cheatriots!!!"...well, WHERE'S the promised checking of the balls? Could have swqorn I read Goodell swear the NFL was going to randomly check the balls all season...what happened? Everybody forget? I got it...everybody's too busy making excuses for the rash oif felony cases since the start of the season to worry about some air pressure in balls that has ALREADY cost 10 million dollars to prove a federal judge CAN CUT YOUR NUTS OFF.

This league is a total scam...a joke. Write your congressmen and DEMAND an investigation into this sham...the shameless fleecing of tens of millions of Americans who buy this product with the so called assurance that all is on the up and up. It's a total joke. A crime. WTF is the real law in this country waiting for?

Joker said:

WHERE'S the promised checking of the balls? Could have swqorn I read Goodell swear the NFL was going to randomly check the balls all season...what happened? Everybody forget?

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They aren't going to let that info leak to the media, because then it wouldn't fit their agenda. They claimed that they'll be privately checking balls randomly at halftime, and reviewing the results in the offseason to see any discrepancies.

Who knows if those "random" attempts will be once, twice, ten, or a hundred times, though? My guess is that they'll do some minor testing in warm weather cities like SD or MIA where the temp/pressure doesn't fluctuate as much, in order to further the idea that the NEP cheated.

Pessimistic Pete said:

The hell are you talking about? This isn't a thread to bash the Pats, it's a thread to express how ****ty I feel after this loss, more so than any Pats regular season loss during the BB era.

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I find it amazing that after an incredible Super Bowl win, you have absolutely nothing to say. 0 posts. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

And the team starts out 10-0 and you have one single post during the entire time. But the second Gronk is hurt and the team loses, boom, here you are.

You're an elaborate Jets troll, I give you that. You feed off misery. But looks like Gronk might be okay after all. That must make you sad.

I don`t post here that often either, do I have to worry about scrutiny from fellow Fans? I have left other Patriots boards because of the "Elite fan syndrome" some seem to suffer from for some reason.

Heartbreaking didn`t quite fit for me, in fact losing the game doesn`t mean much if Gronk is healthy.

Wow, those are some seriously high standards.

It's a game. The only thing that matters is the last game of the season. Everything else is just the audition for it.

It's like saying you're upset that <pick your favorite model> got married so it's the worst day of your
life. lol

Going undefeated would have added to the fun but it's not the goal.


In terms of caring, I'm slightly above indifference. Would have been nice but only as a kicker and who cares if it's Denver? What have they done?

Pessimistic Pete said:

I guess you can use whatever negative word you want, this one had it ALL.

PERFECT season ruined at 10- by hated rival? Check.
Losing the second most important player (Gronk) on the team for season most likely? Check.
Blown 2+ score 4th quarter lead? Check
Game would have been over if not for one simple play? (Muffed punt) Check.
An disgusting performance by the refs to hurt our team? CHECK.
Game behind us for #1 seed now 1 game back with tiebreaker? Check.
A glimmer of hope (extending to OT) only to be viciously put away (long ass TD run)? Check

Just about every bad emotion was felt in this game.

With the saddest part being that things out of our control (an injury + disgusting refs) being the biggest cause of the loss.

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I really don't think the team or fans care about the perfect season, winning the SB especially after the NFL tried to F us over is the most important thing. I think with our injuries if we were 14-0 most here would have been in favor to sit our guys so they are healthy for the playoffs.

Yes, we lost, we were hosed for sure. But, we were out two of our best defensive players in Hightower (who was a beast in the 1st quarter) and Collins (top 5 LB in the league). On offense our OL is banged up, 3 out of the top 4 targets for Brady out (minitron, DA, Lewis) and then we lost Gronk in the 4th. We still should have won and Brady torched the so called best pass rush in the league (and lost yards with the awful Gronk PI and LAfell 50 yard pass negated over an awful call on Von Miller).

I'm proud of the way the players competed and i think despite the loss this was a great game for the team. Way more positives than negatives.

Not really heartbreaking, IMO. It was a close game against a good defense when the Pats were fighting big injuries. And they are still 10-1 and going to the playoffs with a likely bye-week.

I'd take this one over Kansas City 2008 or 2014 anytime.

Brady basically saying all the same stuff I am basically

Brady takes OT loss hard, says he's 'pissed off'

How the **** is this a "trolling" thread? I'm saying I've never been more pissed off during a BB/Brady regular season loss, this is by far the most crushing. Other one's I can get over, but this one had the most gut-wrenching mix of ingredients and circumstances.

Also, I post here more when I'm pissed as I need a place to vent. If you actually go through my entire post history and say I'm a "troll", that's ridiculous.

2009 Colts was probably the worst I can think of.

Not even close


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I'm feeling pretty good today...esp after knowing we will have Gronk, Dola, and hopefully Jules for the stretch run.
Just get a first round bye. I kind of WANT to go back up to Denver and lay 35 on them on a blowout to win the AFCCG. Plus, we have some mile-high demons to exorcise. Brady was 10-0 in the playoffs before the January 2006 loss. He was 12-0 in the snow until yesterday.
That earth is cursed at 5280. I'd love to shut them up for a while!

Pessimistic Pete said:

Brady basically saying all the same stuff I am basically

Brady takes OT loss hard, says he's 'pissed off'

How the **** is this a "trolling" thread? I'm saying I've never been more pissed off during a BB/Brady regular season loss, this is by far the most crushing. Other one's I can get over, but this one had the most gut-wrenching mix of ingredients and circumstances.

Also, I post here more when I'm pissed as I need a place to vent. If you actually go through my entire post history and say I'm a "troll", that's ridiculous.

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That's some projection....he's pissed at the outcome so he's saying it's the worst loss ever and he's mad about an undefeated season... that's quite a stretch...

""It was a very hard loss. I don't think I've ever been so pissed off after a loss. I think everyone felt the same way"
-Tom Brady

He flat out said it.

Again, for a REGULAR season loss, 100% agree.

saspack said:

Not even close


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Only two come to mind.

2006- Pats @ TN. Losing Rodney. I felt that losing Rodney was the difference maker to beating the Colts. I was right.

2013- Gronk v CLE- Death blow.

This game hurts due to the way it was lost and if you truly believed this team was going undefeated.

If this game was during week 17, and the team was 15-0 and to lose this way, I would tend to agree. But this team still needs to win another six games to go undefeated. It sucks, but that undefeated pressure monkey is now gone. Now they can focus on health and the #1 seed and not being perfect.

I'll take an 18-1 Super Bowl victory any day. Flips the albatross directly on it's head and that's fine by me.

Fansince77 said:

I don`t post here that often either, do I have to worry about scrutiny from fellow Fans? I have left other Patriots boards because of the "Elite fan syndrome" some seem to suffer from for some reason.

Heartbreaking didn`t quite fit for me, in fact losing the game doesn`t mean much if Gronk is healthy.

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The 35-0 opening day loss to the Buffalo Bills in 2004 was worse after a dominating season and 2nd Super Bowl victory made bitter by the team cutting Lawyer Milloy earlier that week. That loss was sweetly avenged.

Also, since it looks like Gronk is not seriously injured, it's quite possible that Amendola, Collins and Gronk are active against the Eagles on Sunday. A decisive win not only clinches the AFCE, but puts this one in the rear view mirror.

I'd love for the Patriots at full strength to get the Broncos at home in the playoffs.

Meh, another borderline loss. Gronk is OK, so will this team. At this stage i'm more interested in getting a few healthy bodies back.

The most heartbreaking regular season loss in the Brady/BB era was the 4th and 2 game @ IND without a doubt.

Runner up: 31-0 @ BUF in 2003 and hearing all the trash being talked about our team and our organization. Brutal to watch and experience.

The 4th and 2 loss was worse from my standpoint. Allowing that skid mark Colts team to come back on you kinda stunk. That being said, we have been on the plus side of so many it's hard to *****. Really hard.