Gillette Stadium Top Ten Games

[brdmaverick]

In honor of Gillette Stadium's being ten years old, the Patriots web site has listed what they feel are the top ten Patriots games at Gillette Stadium. I figured this may stir up some healthy debates.

Top 10 Games in Gillette Stadium's First 10 Years | Photo Gallery | The Hall at Patriots Place

Here's the list......

1.) 1/18/04 : AFC Championship Game vs. Indy : W24-14 (Ty Law three INTs)
2.) 1/22/12 : AFC Championship Game vs. BAL : W23-20 (Cundiff FG miss)
3.) 12/7/03 : vs MIA : W12-0 (Bruschi pick six snow celebration, division clincher)
4.) 10/5/03 : vs TEN : W 34-30 (Ty Law pick six to clinch back and forth game)
5.) 9/9/02: vs PIT : W30-14 (first game at stadium, rematch of AFC champ)
6.) 1/16/05: Divisional Game vs. Indy : W20-3 (Dillon rumbles, defense stifles Peyton)
7.) 12/6/10: vs. NYJ : W45-3 (Pats roll in biggest reg season matchup in pats history)
8.) 9/9/04: vs. Indy: W27-24 (afc champ rematch, vander-jerk shank)
9.) 10/18/09: vs. TEN : W59-0 (pats offense explodes in the snow)
10.) 12/9/07: vs. PIT : W34-17 (moss and co. too much for steelers)


Very respectable list. My biggest gripe is that I consider the 2005 Divisional win against the Colts to be one of the top five Patriots games of all time, and I think it should crack at least the top two of the greatest Gillette games.

Let me remind you......Peyton coming off historic regulard season (49TDs) and a Wild Card destruction of the Denver Broncos. This team also made history by having not one , not two, but three receivers (Harrison, Wayne, and Stokley) all with at least 1,000 yards and ten TDs each. The Pats were without defensive stalwarts Ty Law and Richard Seymour to help counter this attack. Instead, they resorted to a defense that included WR Troy Brown and undrafted rookie Randall Gay covering these elite wide receivers. Recipe for disaster? Not on this day, the Pats executed their game plan perfectly (ball control with clock killin Corey Dillon). Who can forget a 'possessed' Tedy Bruschi ripping the ball from the Colts running back ("THEY WERE LOOKING FOR THIS! THEY AIN'T GOT IT!).

 

[PatsSox363804]

Yeah the 05 Divisional game should definitely be top 3, I'd actually put it #2 behind the Colts AFC title game. I can see why the Ravens game is up there but really it doesn't belong above that Colts game. The Miami game is too high, yeah we had Bruschi's pick 6 then the throwing the snow in the air, memorable, but #3? no way. The SD game after spygate should be top 10 but I understand why they wouldn't want to put that one on there.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Just a guess,but last weeks game will never make the list.....ever

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

45-3 was the most enjoyable. Don't care that we lost to the Jets in the playoffs, I still have a wide smile thinking about that one. It was all the trash talk leading up to it and one of the most humiliating losses I've ever seen.

 

[signbabybrady]

09/09/02 I am going with this one as my favorite game at Gillette. Hard to deny the playoff games or the Bru snow game but this is still tops. Unveiling the first banner in a brand new state of the art facility was absolutely amazing. We whooped the Steelers that day and it was Deions coming out party. Oh and IMO this was the loudest Gillette has ever been and since I haven't missed a game at Gillette my opinion actually counts for something (which isn't always the case).

 

[Zeus]

My opinion - the 1/16/05 divisional win against the Colts stands as the single best played game by a Belichick coached Patriot team and would be #1 on my list of games at Gillette.

I would have included the 1/10/04 17-14 playoff win against the Titans (the Freeze Your Ass Off Bowl) in my top ten.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

amazing how many big games have been played there in only 10 years

 

[sly24]

Good list. I agree with everybody though, the 20-3 win against the colts is top3 for sure.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

last years was amazing..i have been to every AFC champ game at gillette...last years i was the most happy..due to how it happened....amazing

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Actually everyone on that list is fine with me.
But I'll go with.......
2.) 1/22/12 : AFC Championship Game vs. BAL : W23-20 (Cundiff FG miss)

Excellent B'day gift.

 

[brdmaverick]

I know the ten spot is very debatable. Someone mentioned the NE-TEN ice bowl. That would be a good choice, but my pick would be the whooping we put on the Broncos in last year's Divisional Round.

After all, it was a primetime playoff game that was in the midst of the Tebowmania hype.

 

[GostkowSKI]

Bah, had a whole list of honorable mentions broken down by game and accidentally closed out of the window. I'll rapid fire my list of games I liked that didn't make the cut:

2002, Week 17 vs. Miami. Overtime win to keep playoffs hopes alive.

2006, Week 12 vs. Chicago. Big win at the time, highlighted by Brady's juke of Urlacher.

2008, Week 7 vs. Denver. Lots of people had given up on the Pats at that point, and they came out and won 41-7 on Monday night.

2009, Week 1 vs. Buffalo. Awful game for the first 57+ minutes, but a great finish to Brady's first game back.

2010, Week 11 vs. Indy. Started to feel like a Peyton led comeback until Sanders reeled in an INT late to clinch it.

2011, Week 6 vs. Dallas. Even though they trailed most of the 2nd half, just felt like it set up for a Brady comeback and he delivered.

 

[IllegalContact]

12/26/2004 - pats beat the jets.......got there as soon as the gates opened........we were so fricking buzzed that we only got to our seats to see the last play of the half.......we then walked around and tried to find a friend in section 310 all the way up top....couldn't find him, so we decided it would be easier to go back to the car because my season tickets were in section 224........we got back to the car, zig-zagged our way around abandoned tailgates and got home before the game was over, cooked up some steaks and watched the end of the game.

a couple of fatties, a bottle of jager and a bunch of KoB's for breakfast will do it

 

[Bill B.]

The Jets game in Dec. 2007. It was the first game Mangini after the taping incident. It was great fun to blast Mangini and see all the rubber rats come flying to the Jets bench. Also, there is something chilling and exciting about seeing snow fountains after a TD.

Plus it was the only game I went to so it has to be on top of my list.