NE was tied with Pit at halftime despite Moss having a bad case of the dropsies in the end zone. The game didn't get out of control until Slater muffed the KO and Pit recovered, I blame that on the coaches giving him his first KO in those conditions, old mudders like Faulk or Morris should have gotten the call in Hobbs absence - too much pressure on a SoCal rookie. With a lead Pit could get crazy off the edge, they did, the rest was history.
The three teams I listed were all playoff teams NE lost to, but if you looked at the games:
-- SD, Moss was beaten by Jammer, once in the end zone and once on a deep sideline route that could have put NE in the end zone. People were crying about Cassel's deep ball, but he put the ball in Moss' hands - Jammer's a decent CB, but Moss should have owned him. Get those early scores and the game changes. Recall BB's press conference after he'd watched the tape? BB said the team was competitive, a couple plays go the other way and they're in the game.
-- Indy, two chances to win, one dropped TD pass and one penalty to kill a drive.
-- Pit was noted above.
Any one of those games could have come out differently if not for some key mistakes. NE ate Miami's lunch the second time around, that was another playoff team. Look what they did to Arizona. The Cassel-led Pats were playing well at the end of the season despite the loss of key starters, they would have been dangerous in the post-season and Pit was no juggernaut to fear.