The Loss That Still Baffles Me To This Day:

[RedSleevesPinkStripes]

2018 Patriots lost five games to losing teams and went 8-0 against teams that made the playoffs.

But thank god it doesn't always work out how we think it's going to, it's what makes the game interesting even when your team is favored in every match up for 18 years.

Underrated point. It's easy to expect them to win every week, so much so that you end up taking wins for granted. Always good to get your teeth kicked in every once in a while to remind yourself that it is damn hard to win in this league and nothing should be taken for granted.

 

[Joey007]

For regular season losses I can't recall any that came close to the 'WTF did I just watch-edness' of the season opening 31-0 drubbing Buffalo handed the Pats in '03. Tom Brady went 14/28/143 with 4 int's and a rating of 22.5.

Yes. That one is definitely up there.

Although at that time it was the beginning of 2003, so the dynasty wasn’t established yet. We just thought maybe the Bills were actually pretty good, and we were just falling off the map.

 

[Joey007]

It's just a good example of the FACT that in the NFL the talent gap between the best teams and the worst is minimal. Every guy on the field is a GREAT football player. So we shouldn't be surprised when a so called "bad" team beats a good one.

This game was lost because of all the usual reasons. A fumble gives them the ball deep in our own territory. Another fumble takes a sure 7 off the board. We failed to control the run game. A bunch of drops IIRC. Cleveland played very well. THEY made all the key plays, and the Pats played like sh!t. They have one or two of these types of games every year. BB loves them to the extent that they are such great teaching tools.

Also remember that 2010 was supposed to be a down year as the Pats were in the middle of a significant roster rebuild after that very disappointing 2009 season. But that 2010 draft was special and the "rebuild" was short lived. They had a decent 2010 season and made the superbowl the next year with one of the worst defenses in the history of the league.

Man, we are the only team in existence that can consider 14-2 a “decent” season.

 

[Joey007]

ALSO. Here’s another bizarre one people forget about:

 

[jah]

Compare the teams you mentioned above to the Browns though.

Most of those teams were at least average, and were close losses. The Browns are the Browns. And they got absolutely whipped.

I dunno man. It just pisses me off more when my hopes are high only to be crushed at the last moment. "The Browns are the Browns" doesn't actually mean anything though. You could say the same about the 2018 Lions, who destroyed us.

 

[jah]

ALSO. Here’s another bizarre one people forget about:

**** **** **** **** **** **** **** that one deserves a spot on my list for sure. I was too fixated on road games.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

The 12-1 Pats losing to the 2-11 Dolphins in 2004 tops my list, but obviously everything worked out in the end. Still, it would have been funny seeing the Pats go 15-1 and be only a #2 seed.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Joey007]

I dunno man. It just pisses me off more when my hopes are high only to be crushed at the last moment. "The Browns are the Browns" doesn't actually mean anything though. You could say the same about the 2018 Lions, who destroyed us.

I’m not saying it was more painful, just more bizarre. It came out of nowhere, a burn the tape kinda game, like the Tennessee game this year.

 

[Joey007]

**** **** **** **** **** **** **** that one deserves a spot on my list for sure. I was too fixated on road games.

At home vs. a Kevin Kolb led Cardinals team that went 4-12. All of that miraculousness at the end, only for Ghost to miss a kick he almost always makes.

 

[Wheelman]

So many putrid losses last year. Just coyote ugly, hideous, vomit-inducing losses.

...and the STILL win the Super Bowl.

Felt like we were in it in each one of those losses. Tough losses.

 

[jah]

At home vs. a Kevin Kolb led Cardinals team that went 4-12. All of that miraculousness at the end, only for Ghost to miss a kick he almost always makes.

Now I'm remembering the Seattle game that season.

Goddamn that was an absolutely infuriating season, and it ended with Joe Flacco hoisting a ****ing Lombardi. What a weird time.

 

[Wheelman]

ALSO. Here’s another bizarre one people forget about:

**** the replacement refs. They contributed to the back to back losses. Still pissed off with them about both games!

 

[Joey007]

**** the replacement refs. They contributed to the back to back losses. Still pissed off with them about both games!

The sh!tshow Baltimore game. Man... that atmosphere flat out sucked.

 

[jah]

**** the replacement refs. They contributed to the back to back losses. Still pissed off with them about both games!

I previously thought I've just grown up since 2012 and that's why losses don't bend me out of shape anymore, but now it's all coming back to me. That was truly just a ****ty season to be a Patriots/NFL fan. All sorts of anger-inducing events.

 

[jah]

The sh!tshow Baltimore game. Man... that atmosphere flat out sucked.

Remember when the crowd was chanting "********" and then they won on a phantom PI mixed with a questionable field goal being called good? No idea how the crowd could have been so mad at the refs as they were handing the home team the game before their eyes.

 

[Joey007]

Remember when the crowd was chanting "********" and then they won on a phantom PI mixed with a questionable field goal being called good? No idea how the crowd could have been so mad at the refs as they were handing the home team the game before their eyes.

Yes. And that stupid blow horn that kept going off... f*ck.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

That Cleveland loss capped one of the worst football weekends I ever had. (At least regular season)

I'm a Texas Longhorns fan, and the day before, Kansas State was up 31-0 on them before anyone besides the QB and RB had touched the ball for the K-State offense. They ended up winning 39-14.

Oh well, at least the Patriots will whip up on the Browns tomorrow, I said. I didn't make it to halftime. I was done.

 

[Triumph]

I was expecting a Welker thread.

 

[maust]

Yes. That one is definitely up there.

Although at that time it was the beginning of 2003, so the dynasty wasn’t established yet. We just thought maybe the Bills were actually pretty good, and we were just falling off the map.

I remember it pretty well and the WTF part wasn't so much what an absolute curb stomping it was as whhat went unmentioned. We thought we finally had THE QB and Belichick had swindled the Bills out of a 1st rounder for our discarded used up previous QB only to have Bledsoe lead his team to a 31-0 thorough de-panting of the Pats. It was such a thorough beat down it felt like the bottom had suddenly dropped out and we were headed back to the fringes of relevancy. Yes the dynasty not having been born yet seems like an ameliorating factor until you consider the counter point to that was we had no reason to believe at that time that our team was possessed of an almost magical Phoenix like ability to rise from the ashes that we have now come to (preposterously) take for granted.

We really are spoiled AF...lol

 

[InRodWeRust]

I was at that game. Woke up with a sore throat that morning, felt like crap already and then watched that unravel right before my eyes.

The run they went on after that was pretty incredible though, 8-0 and dominating many of the top contenders.

I was at that game too! My wife and I went to it as our anniversary gift to ourselves. Thought it was going to be a nice easy win. What a kick to our crotches that was