Ranking the worst losses in franchise history.

[40yrpatsfan]

The 1985 Chicago Bears were voted the second best team in NFL history according to the acclaimed series "America's Game".

America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meanwhile, the 2010 New England Patriots were expected to beat the New York Jets at home. A team with home field advantage throughout the playoffs with the best record in the NFL at 14-2 and winners of eight straight to finish the regular season.

I don't think either of these belongs in the top 5, because the games themselves proved that we weren't good enough to win and didn't deserve to win. We had a false sense of how good the team was in each case. Whenever the better team wins, to me it's not as hard to take.

It's the games where we definitely belonged on the same field or were better, combined with bad luck or calls or mistakes that cost us the win, that are the hardest to take.

 

[Real American Hero]

This one is going to be up at the top because its fresh but if the team rebounds and wins 2 or 3 more over the next few years and this becomes a catalyst it will quickly fall off the ladder.

1. 18-1. No question. What could have been.
2. 2006 Colts. I was dancing on the ceiling through the first half. Huge choke and a weak SB opponent for the winner.
3. 2005 Broncos. Tom Brady's first playoff loss. Had to happen eventually, but 9-0 was a hell of a feat. And we haven't won the SB since.
4. 2010 Jets. All the talking all week, just feels like there is no karmic justice. Wasted a 14-2 season, but in retrospect it is easy to see where this team had some huge holes and the next two games were no gimmes either.
5. SB XX. I wasn't a Pats fan yet. I was 11, the Bears were an awesome force and the Pats were a team that frankly I didn't even know existed. They were laughingstocks in my eyes until I wound up in Boston for university where they were again laughingstocks - going 2-14 my first year in town. Always one to root for the perrenial underdog I couldn't help but fall in love with the team. But that one game defined the organization for nearly two decades.

 

[italian pat patriot]

1 - Feb 2008 : Super Bowl loss againts NYG
2 - Jan 2007 : loss against IND
3 - Jan 2006 : loss against DEN
4 - 1976 loss against the Raiders
5 - Super Bowl XX loss against Chicago
6 - Jan 1997 : loss at the Super Bowl against GB
7 - Jan 1998 : loss against PIT
8 - 1978 loss against the Oilers
9 - last sunday loss
10 - Jan 1999 : loss against JAX

 

[RobertWeathers]

7 - Jan 1998 : loss against PIT

Yea that game bothered me too for a while.

They were fighting an uphill battle w/ C-Mart out with the abdominal injury but they had that game won if it not weren't for that lucky pass play from Slash to Yanky Pigpen.

They win that game they go 11-5 w/ 1st round bye and get Pitt at home.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Yea that game bothered me too for a while.

They were fighting an uphill battle w/ C-Mart out with the abdominal injury but they had that game won if it not weren't for that lucky pass play from Slash to Yanky Pigpen.

They win that game they go 11-5 w/ 1st round bye and get Pitt at home.

that loss 7-6 was very very tough...i remember it very well (infortunately)...i believed we wopuld have won that day @ Pit

pity...

 

[RobertWeathers]

that loss 7-6 was very very tough...i remember it very well (infortunately)...i believed we wopuld have won that day @ Pit

pity...

I had a brain freeze. The playoff game was when Slash ran down the sideline and Ted Johnson decided to tickle him instead of giving him a Mo Lewis handshake. And then with the Pats driving, Drew gets strip-sacked by Vrable. LOL.

The pass play I was referring to was the reg season game. Only way I remember it was b/c I was there.

Two very frustrating losses to Pitt that year.

 

[upstater1]

The Jets loss has to rank at least third. Anyone saying otherwise is just trying to downplay it.

I disagree wholeheartedly with this.

I judge the losses by the horrid hangover effect.

1. Super Bowl v. Giants (lasted for months)
2. 2006 playoff loss to Colts (last for weeks)
3. 1976 loss to the Raiders (deep psychic imprint which lasts to this day)

Let me tell you about that 1976 loss. For years afterward, Patriots fans would go around saying, "Yes, but we had the best team in 1976."

Through Ron Erhardt and Ron Meyer, we'd say that. The loss hung over the franchise like a nightmare for a decade, and I think the veil only started to lift when the Patriots beat the Dolphins in 1986.

For the Jets loss to be anywhere near as bad, the Patriots would have to string together several 2-14 seasons, and not win a big playoff game until 2021. That's how bad the Raiders' loss was. This one doesn't come anywhere close.

Look at the D, my God, Kyle Love, Tully Banta-Cain and Gerard Warren were not going to get it done this year.

 

[BadMoFo]

I disagree wholeheartedly with this.

I judge the losses by the horrid hangover effect.

1. Super Bowl v. Giants (lasted for months)
2. 2006 playoff loss to Colts (last for weeks)
3. 1976 loss to the Raiders (deep psychic imprint which lasts to this day)

Let me tell you about that 1976 loss. For years afterward, Patriots fans would go around saying, "Yes, but we had the best team in 1976."

Through Ron Erhardt and Ron Meyer, we'd say that. The loss hung over the franchise like a nightmare for a decade, and I think the veil only started to lift when the Patriots beat the Dolphins in 1986.

For the Jets loss to be anywhere near as bad, the Patriots would have to string together several 2-14 seasons, and not win a big playoff game until 2021. That's how bad the Raiders' loss was. This one doesn't come anywhere close.

Look at the D, my God, Kyle Love, Tully Banta-Cain and Gerard Warren were not going to get it done this year.

Yeah, look at that D. The same one that won 14 games, including one a month ago against the Jets. By 42 points.

We downplay the loss now that we lost, but the confidence level around here was off the charts before this last game. And what makes this one different than any game in the 70s or 80s is the modern way in which this game is covered. Not only was it the most-hyped, most-watched divisional playoff game, maybe ever, but as soon as it was over or close to over everyone knew about it, whether by sports TV, Twitter or other forms of social media. Back then, it might hurt, but if you really wanted, you can easily avoid any talk of the game.

In some ways, I think people here just don't want to give the Jts fans the satisfaction of knowing this was a tough loss.

For me it's No. 3, after the Super Bowl and the Colts collapse. The reason I got over it so much easier is because I just don't think about sports as much as I used to.

 

[Aldogg]

I had a brain freeze. The playoff game was when Slash ran down the sideline and Ted Johnson decided to tickle him instead of giving him a Mo Lewis handshake. And then with the Pats driving, Drew gets strip-sacked by Vrable. LOL.

The pass play I was referring to was the reg season game. Only way I remember it was b/c I was there.

Two very frustrating losses to Pitt that year.

I still remember those plays. Honestly, I don't think the Jets game is top 5.

1, the Super Bowl that shall not be mentioned.
2, Ben Dreith
3, SB 31 vs the Packers. The Pats had a chance, and I think if most of the coaching staff wasn't on the way to NY, maybe Favre is ringless right now.
4, AFC Championship vs Colts. The Hobbs PI that wasn't PI, the blowing of the lead. I still blame my best friend, wanting to make reservations to Miami with 5 minutes left in the second.
5, Denver 05.

I don't know why, but this loss stings, but not much. Maybe because I think the guys we have coming back, the assets we have at the draft, and the fact this was supposed to be a rebuilding year, I think barring a lockout, we might be the favorites going into next season based on what moves we make.

 

[upstater1]

Yeah, look at that D. The same one that won 14 games, including one a month ago against the Jets. By 42 points.

We downplay the loss now that we lost, but the confidence level around here was off the charts before this last game. And what makes this one different than any game in the 70s or 80s is the modern way in which this game is covered. Not only was it the most-hyped, most-watched divisional playoff game, maybe ever, but as soon as it was over or close to over everyone knew about it, whether by sports TV, Twitter or other forms of social media. Back then, it might hurt, but if you really wanted, you can easily avoid any talk of the game.

In some ways, I think people here just don't want to give the Jts fans the satisfaction of knowing this was a tough loss.

For me it's No. 3, after the Super Bowl and the Colts collapse. The reason I got over it so much easier is because I just don't think about sports as much as I used to.

Just curious, how long have you been a fan?

I lived and died by the Patriots a lot more back then. I didn't have a family, I went to games, tailgated, was working blue collar jobs and the Patriots were a big part of my life. For a decade, all I heard about was the Raiders loss.

This one is not anywhere near that loss.
The Raiders lost one game the entire year. one. Guess who they lost to? The Patriots.

 

[Tucker]

1. SB42 - no explanation needed
2a. Broncos 2005
2b. Colts 2006 - both screw jobs
3. SB31

While disappointing I dont think this past game makes it into my own worst losses list (i was only 3 when SBXX was played so I cant really put it on there)

 

[patsfan13]

1. '07-08 SB loss to Giants. So much was at stake, and the unbearable events of the last few minutes forever etched in my soul. Throw in the Spygate emotions on top of all that.

2. '76 loss to Raiders. Really the most bitter loss in some ways, because the Pats had never won anything, had come from nowhere to be the best team in football, were playing a truly dirty team, had the late lead, only to have it ripped away by bad officiating.

3. '06-07 loss to Colts. One of those rare games where we both lost it ourselves AND had the refs take it from us. Double-whammy. Definite SB winning season snatched away, would have meant 4 in 6 years. Losing this one made #1 even worse.

4. '78 loss to Oilers. Pats were stacked by then, a phenomenally talented team across the board. Crushing loss, all due to a squabble between owner and coach (Fairbanks was as good as BB). Couldn't blame refs for this one. Team fell apart after that.

5. Probably '05-06 to Denver, with the Assante PI call and the Champ Bailey 102 yard int return where Watson caused a touchback but the refs missed that too.

These recent losses to Baltimore and NY are not close in heartbreak to the games above, because we didn't deserve to win either of these games and were outplayed throughout. Disappointing that we didn't have the team we thought we had, but obvious that we didn't deserve to win. The truly crushing losses are when you have the game or the better team, and forces conspire to take it from you (usually the officials but sometimes just luck).

+1 this list saw the 76 loss it was a killer cause the game was stolen by the refs.

 

[fxkane]

The two worst losses were the Giants loss and the devastating loss to the Raiders (which was a victimization at hands of a single ref)

The loss yesterday is not in the top 5 mainly because nobody predicted we wd ever be 14-2 this season. That was the positive surprise to balance out the negative one (the Jets were built to win this year too) Also, getting shellacked as the Jets did at our hands is never as painful a loss.

 

[Steve102]

Looks like I am not the only one that needed this topic discussed.

 

[Yehoodi]

1A and 1B: Broncos '05 and Colts '06, simply put, i will go to my grave with the opinion that the NFL did not want us to win a SB in those two years, for parity sake, and perhaps wanted another to win a SB . . . sry but I can not enjoy a sport if I think the outcome is either fix or severly influence by outside factors or worse by the very sport itself . . . It happen to the '94 cowboys in my opinion in that NFCCG . . . and to some extent the '76 pats as the raiders had been so close so many times that with the injury steelers waiting in the wings one might think the NFL knew that the winner of the raiders/pats game was likely going to beat the beat up steelers . . . which by the way make the tuck rule game so sweet, kind of like revenge, but in our case it was legit . . . :singing:. but for me those two above mentioned losses were really tough to beat . . . btw i also think the 05 seahawks and 08 cards go hosed too . . .

3) SB42, perhaps i had been harden by the two above mention loses that any loss after that was not as big a deal. Surely, 19-0 has a nice ring to it, but i was so beat by the time the end of January came along and the fact that we squeeked out wins for like the last 6-7 weeks, made me think that we might not win the SB. yes it was VERY frustrating and of coarse finally going ahead and then that last drive by the giants. about 5-7 things all had to go right during the game for the giants to win and they did, not that different that this past monday's game. but in SB42 my frustration came from not performing and the gmen performance as opposed to the refs not being able to keep their hands out of their pants and being flag happy in the two above mentioned games, i take the frustration of a good beatdown before the frustration of being robbed . . .

4) Oakland '76, the one chance that our franchise to make some noise and we came so close but to some degree ran into the NFL establishment (see Seattle '05 and Cards '08).

5) this past game, i hate to loose to the jets but like SB42 were we playing a team that we had beaten in the RS and perhaps they had the edge of revenge on thier minds . . .

6) SB against the packers - i really thought we had a chance and lost to the packers and a few big plays . . . and btw i will NEVER EVER forget Parcells for how he handle the weeks coming into the SB . . . i still remember his face as they were coming out of the tunnel and he had this look like i really dont want to be here . . .

 

[jmt57]

I guess it depends on how you define 'worst loss'. To some the list would simply read as championship (SB) losses, followed by semi-final (AFCCG) losses, quarter-final (division round) losses, etc. To others their list would simply be a descending list of most recent playoff losses.

The championship game losses certainly merit consideration because those are ones fans - especially opposing fans - will remember the longest. To me that's one of those dumb things about fans; that so many seem to think losing a championship game is something to be mocked and laughed at with the label of 'loser' - yet losing in a previous round merits none of that derision. I've never understood that logic but for whatever reasons it is very prevalent with both the sports media as well as sports fans throughout the country.

Personally I think the worst losses are the games the team realistically had high hopes of winning before the game was played, and games where there would be high expectations (or a championship) had they played to their typical standards. So as much as Pats fans were mocked for their loss to the Bears in SB 20, I would rank that lower on the list; only kool-aid chugging homers thought the Pats had a chance in that game. As for the loss to the Ravens last year, realistically that team wasn't going far in the playoffs, and with Welker on IR they just came out flat.

Here's my list:

1. SB 42 loss to the Giants
- Comeback loss in final two minutes; perfect season washed away

2. Ben Dreith game, 1976 playoff loss to Oakland
- NFL fans still talk about the tuck rule, but overlook the fact the refs actually got that call right. Dreith's roughing the passer flag on Sugar Bear Hamilton may go down as the worst call in the history of the NFL. What makes the loss really tough is the fact that this Patriots team would have surely handled the next two opponents, the Steelers and Vikings, with ease to win that Super Bowl.

3. 2006 AFFCG loss to Colts
- Aside from allowing a big comeback to occur to a rival - with another flag that shouldn't have been thrown by the way - this was another situation where you look back and say 'what if' at what would have happened afterwards. There's just no way the Bears (or Saints) would have given the Pats a challenge, and that would have furthered their legacy in the history of the NFL; it would have made four championships in six years.

4. 2010 Division Round loss to Jets
- It's probably way too early to determine where this one ranks, but I'll put it here for now. The reason I rank it this high is not due to the trash talk or losing to a division rival, but because there were no dominant teams in the NFL this year - and the Patriots had already beaten every remaining playoff team. Despite all the question marks and low expectations before the season began, they probably would have had an excellent chance of winning the AFCCG and SB. Accomplish that and it helps to stop some of the 'Patriots haven't won since spygate' talk opposing fans love to throw out there too.

5. 1966 final game loss to Jets
- Pats were 8-3-2 heading into the final weekend of the regular season. All they needed was a win against the Jets, a franchise that had yet to have a winning record in its seven years of existence, and the Patriots would win the AFL East. From there they would have a rematch with the Chiefs, whom they had tied a couple weeks earlier, for the AFL championship. And oh yeah, the winner of that game would get to play in the very first game of something that would soon become known as the Super Bowl.

But the Patriots turned the ball over three times, Matt Snell and Emerson Boozer both ran for over 100 yards a piece, and despite a 4th quarter rally the Jets won by 10 - allowing the Bills to back into the playoffs as AFL East champs. Patriots went into the worst tailspin in their history after that game - it was ten years before they had another winning season - which was followed by worst loss #2, above.

6. 1978 Playoff loss to the Oilers
- 1978 was going to be a second chance for that '76 team. Though not quite as good as two years earlier, this was still a very good team. But HC Chuck Fairbanks announced he would be leaving the Pats after the season was over to become head coach at Colorado and all hell broke loose. The Sullivans over reacted, told him to get lost, and said their OC would be the head coach when they were on offense and the DC would be the head coach when they were on defense. Eventually they relented, Fairbanks coached the game, but the Pats just came out flat. What should have been a joyous occasion - the first home playoff game in patriots history - was a difficult game to watch from beginning to end under ugly gray skies, a 31-14 loss.

7. Super Bowl 20 loss to Bears
- Not that the Pats lost - that was expected - it was the manner in how badly they lost, culminating with Refrigerator Perry getting a touchdown run.

8. 1996 Super Bowl loss to Packers
- Easy to look back and say 'what if'. Why keep kicking to Desmond Howard? What if Parcells had spent more time game planning and less time working on his new contract with the Jets?

9. 2005 Division Round loss to Broncos
- I put it in here simply because it ended the dream of a third straight championship. But the reality was the Pats defense was only average that season. New England only had the fifth best record - not in the NFL, but in just the AFC! The fact is they were good but not great that season; they weren't going far even with a win over Denver.

10. 1963 AFL Championship loss to Chargers
- Fortunately very few are old enough to remember Keith Lincoln and Paul Lowe both running for 50+ yard touchdowns - in the first quarter - on the way to 610 total yards and a 51-10 blowout.

 

[OldPatsfans]

Just a note from another Pats fan from early 80's. I notice that many have the loss Sunday in the top 5, except for a couple older guys like me. I just want to add a perspective why I didn't feel that bad about the loss.

I'm from old school of football in which I can enjoy defensive battle 10-9 as much as shoot out 56-45. Actually, I'm a bit leaning toward the defensive side. It came from the heart-broken loss to the Bears, 46-10. I was really hoping the 85 Pats magic would give them a shot at the suffocating Bears. Alas, I learned by heart the adage "offense sells tickets and defense wins championship" since that game.

So, as much as I enjoyed watching Montana-Walsh 49'ers WC offense back in the 80's, I enjoyed even more LT and Parcells/BB Giants' defense. I recalled the game in which Jim Burt hit Montana so hard he had a concussion, and Burt later visited him in the hospital (I was not a Giants' fan, but got company's free ticket to go with colleagues).

Having been through 1-15, 2-14 seasons, I felt that I would die in peace in 2001. My sentiment was a bit like Will McDonough's who wrote something like...having watched this team for 40 years, this was the first time he saw the team finished right.

So, to me, 2003, 2004 were just beyond the dream.

Then came 2007. I was crushed like everyone. But that Niners-Giants game came back from memory. I realized that the Pats had strayed to the glitzy "ticket selling" side rather stayed true to their scrappy defense identity. The 2007 Pats D was good, but still, the Giants D was fiercer.

For 2010, I didn't expect much as this is a rebuilding year. I was never "rah rah" about the highest scoring offense that reminded me Minnesota, 2007 Pats, or the greatest show on turf 2001. I thought the Jets game would be tight, Pats would win, but no way 45-3 redux. After the Pats pulled to 14-11, I told myself, if the suspected D let the Jets score, forget it.

So, I really feel that the Jets have a superior defense and deserved to win. That's why I wasn't so disappointed. I really wondered if BB has changed philosophy along with the League, which keeps on tweaking the rules in favor of offense (selling tickets) whenever defense gains the upper hand. They have to keep the game average score at some entertaining level.

I look forward the day when Pats D is dominant fearsome again; and TB can play with abandon, knowing that his D would bail him out if he throws a pick or two.

Congrats to the Jets D. They deserve the victory.

PS. This is not my first post. I used to post here several years ago, but forgot username,

 

[Ring 6]

1 SB in 2007
2 SB in 1996
3 SB in 1985
4 AFCC 2006
5 Denver in 2005, end of 3peat chance
6 Oakland in 1976

Jets 2010 cant be higher than 7, and its in a group with Bmore 09, Houston 1978, Denver 1986, Cleveland 1994 as well as a few others.

 

[Ring 6]

Just a note from another Pats fan from early 80's. I notice that many have the loss Sunday in the top 5, except for a couple older guys like me. I just want to add a perspective why I didn't feel that bad about the loss.

I'm from old school of football in which I can enjoy defensive battle 10-9 as much as shoot out 56-45. Actually, I'm a bit leaning toward the defensive side. It came from the heart-broken loss to the Bears, 46-10. I was really hoping the 85 Pats magic would give them a shot at the suffocating Bears. Alas, I learned by heart the adage "offense sells tickets and defense wins championship" since that game.

So, as much as I enjoyed watching Montana-Walsh 49'ers WC offense back in the 80's, I enjoyed even more LT and Parcells/BB Giants' defense. I recalled the game in which Jim Burt hit Montana so hard he had a concussion, and Burt later visited him in the hospital (I was not a Giants' fan, but got company's free ticket to go with colleagues).

Having been through 1-15, 2-14 seasons, I felt that I would die in peace in 2001. My sentiment was a bit like Will McDonough's who wrote something like...having watched this team for 40 years, this was the first time he saw the team finished right.

So, to me, 2003, 2004 were just beyond the dream.

Then came 2007. I was crushed like everyone. But that Niners-Giants game came back from memory. I realized that the Pats had strayed to the glitzy "ticket selling" side rather stayed true to their scrappy defense identity. The 2007 Pats D was good, but still, the Giants D was fiercer.

For 2010, I didn't expect much as this is a rebuilding year. I was never "rah rah" about the highest scoring offense that reminded me Minnesota, 2007 Pats, or the greatest show on turf 2001. I thought the Jets game would be tight, Pats would win, but no way 45-3 redux. After the Pats pulled to 14-11, I told myself, if the suspected D let the Jets score, forget it.

So, I really feel that the Jets have a superior defense and deserved to win. That's why I wasn't so disappointed. I really wondered if BB has changed philosophy along with the League, which keeps on tweaking the rules in favor of offense (selling tickets) whenever defense gains the upper hand. They have to keep the game average score at some entertaining level.

I look forward the day when Pats D is dominant fearsome again; and TB can play with abandon, knowing that his D would bail him out if he throws a pick or two.

Congrats to the Jets D. They deserve the victory.

PS. This is not my first post. I used to post here several years ago, but forgot username,

Terrific post.
I would expand it to add that when you do one thing so well that you are almost unstoppable, that ultimately you are easier to beat when things break right for the opponent.
In both 2007 and this year, the team was so successful doing what they did, that they HAD TO BE married to it. There are so many posts this week Monday Morning QBing that we should have done all these different things, and this call was bad or that formation was stupid, but how do you fault a team for expecting that what worked INCREASINGLY all season wrong should be abandoned? The only way to argue that is hindsight, and basically the argument that what they did was stupid and that is proven by it not working.
If the Patriots came out and played an entirely different style than they won with all year, and lost, the same people would be criticizing them for not having the balls to stick with what worked and being intimidated.
I've learned that when the Patriots lose, especially a huge game like this, the reason posters give is just their favorite (some say it was effort, or desrie, others blame play calling and coaching, others the players, zeroing in on the favorite target or the most visisble one, others say they sucked all along, etc, etc) but no matter how or why the team lost, the 'analysis' would have been the same.

 

[pheenix11]

1. SB 42: I'm still in recovery
2. 2006 AFCCG: losing to Manning is a kick in the balls
3. 2010 Playoffs: this really sucked
4. SB 31: @#^$@ Desmond Howard
5. 2005 Broncos game: I really thought we were gonna 3peat