Today in Patriots History
The Miami Wildcat Game
Sept 21, 2008 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Gillette Stadium
Dolphins 38, Patriots 13
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Tony Sparano
QBs: Matt Cassel, Chad Pennington
Odds: Patriots favored by 12½
Pats drop to 2-1; Dolphins improve to 1-2
The Dolphins confused the Patriots and shocked the NFL by utilizing a college style wildcat offense. Ronnie Brown scored three touchdowns in the first half, to propel the Fins to a 21-6 halftime lead. In the third quarter the left handed RB caught the Pats by surprise by running to his left and tossing a 19 yard touchdown to TE Anthony Fasano.
The Patriots responded with a quick drive capped by a touchdown pass from Cassel to Jabar Gaffney, cutting the deficit to 28-13. Brown capped his amazing day six plays later with a 62 yard TD run on 3rd and one. That gave the Dolphins a 25 point lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the game was basically over.
Sept 21, 2014 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 16, Raiders 9
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Dennis Allen
QBs: Tom Brady, Derek Carr
Odds: New England favored by 14
Pats improve to 2-1; Oakland drops to 1-2
The Pats had trouble finishing drives, settling for four Stephen Gostkowski field goals, nearly causing a huge upset. Oakland had a first down on the six yard line with 1:02 to play. On the next play Rob Ninkovich knocked away a pass intended for Denarius Moore. The ball bounced away from Logan Ryan and then Vince Wilfork finally caught it, securing the victory.
Julian Edelman had ten receptions for 84 yards, and Tom Brady (24-37, 234 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int) became the third quarterback to win 150 regular season games.
Highlights:
Full Game:
Sept 21, 2003 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Gillette Stadium
Patriots 23, Jets 16
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Herm Edwards
QBs: Tom Brady, Vinny Testaverde
Odds: Patriots favored by 6
Pats improve to 2-1; Jets drop to 0-3
The big news was more major injuries, which would become a theme for the 2003 season. Ted Washington fractured his leg, one week after Rosevelt Colvin broke his hip and two weeks after Ted Johnson broke his foot.
The Pats scored two touchdowns in a two and a half minute span midway through the second half. Brady scored on a sneak to cap off an 8-play, 73 yard drive near the end of the third quarter. On the first play of the 4th quarter Asante Samuel jumped the rout on a pass intended for Wayne Chrebet, and returned it 55 yards for a pick-six. The Pats rushed for 147 yards while the makeshift defense limited the Jets to 1-13 on third down.
Sept 21, 1997 at 1:00
Week 4, Game 4 at Foxboro Stadium
Patriots 31, Bears 3
Head Coaches: Pete Carroll, Dave Wannstedt
QBs: Drew Bledsoe, Rick Mirer
Odds: Patriots favored by 13
Pats improve to 4-0; Chicago drops to 0-4
The battle between the two top draft picks of the 1993 draft was not close. Bledsoe went 24-37 for 301 yards, with first half touchdown passes to Vincent Brisby and Troy Brown. Mirer was 17-25 but threw for only 154 yards, with two interceptions and five sacks. Curtis Martin took the first play of a fourth quarter drive 70 yards to the house to put the Pats up 24-3. That allowed Scott Zolak to enter the game, and he finished an 8-play drive with a 20 yard TD to Lovett Purnell for the final score.
Overall the Pats held a more than 2:1 advantage over the Bears in first downs (23-9), net passing yards (315-120) and total yards (402-199).
The Patriots proceeded to win the AFC East but cooled off after this game, going .500 the rest of the year to finish 10-6. The Pats would defeat Miami in the playoffs and then lose 7-6 at Pittsburgh in the divisional round, in what was Pete Carroll's best season in New England.
Sept 21, 1987 at 9:00 (MNF)
Week 2, Game 2 at Giants Stadium
Jets 43, Patriots 24
Head Coaches: Raymond Berry, Joe Walton
QBs: Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien
Odds: Patriots favored by 2
Pats drop to 1-1; Jets improve to 2-0
In the third quarter Al Toon scored on a 58 yard pass, and Johnny Hector rushed for two touchdowns to lead the Jets. Tony Eason was sacked five times while passing for only 186 yards on 34 attempts for the Pats. Andre Tippett scored on a 29 yard fumble return, but the Patriot offense could not get anything going until it was too late. The Jets controlled the ball for 37:08 and were able to run 15 more offensive plays; New York outgained New England in total yards 408-193.
A week later NFL games were canceled due to the player strike. That would be followed by three infamous replacement player games. The Pats finished 8-7 - the canceled week was never made up - missing the playoffs, one game behind Indianapolis.
Sept 21, 1986 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Sullivan Stadium
Seahawks 38, Patriots 31
Head Coaches: Raymond Berry, Chuck Knox
QBs: Tony Eason, Dave Krieg
Odds: New England favored by 6
Pats drop to 2-1; Seattle improves to 3-0
Tony Eason set a franchise single game record with 422 yards passing, but Seattle scored 17 points in the final three minutes for a wild comeback win. Stanley Morgan had seven receptions for 161 yards and three touchdowns and Irving Fryar had six catches for 100 yards. The Pats outgained Seattle 506 yards to 303, with a 24-12 edge in first downs - while running 78 offensive plays to Seattle's 52 - and still found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
LA Times Recap:
Dave Krieg’s second touchdown bomb to Ray Butler, a 67-yard play with 1:14 left, capped the Seahawks’ 17-point explosion in the final three minutes and gave them a 38-31 NFL victory Sunday.
The Seahawks scored their final two touchdowns within 58 seconds of each other.
The first was Paul Moyer’s recovery in the end zone of a blocked punt for the touchdown that tied the score, 31-31, with 2:12 left. The second was Butler’s second touchdown catch of the day.
The Seahawks (2-1) tied the score on their second blocked punt of the game.
Morgan, who began the day as the NFL reception leader with 15, caught 7 passes for 161 yards. It gave him, for the first time in his 10-year career, three consecutive games with more than 100 receiving yards.
The Patriots fought back, moving from their own 20 to a first down at the Seattle 39 with 20 seconds to go. Eason completed a pass over the middle to Cedric Jones for a 19-yard gain. Jones lateraled to Craig James, who gained three more yards. But he fumbled and Eugene Robinson recovered with seven seconds left. Seattle ran out the clock.
Sept 21, 1981 at 9:00 (MNF)
Week 3, Game 3 at Schaefer Stadium
Cowboys 35, Patriots 21
Head Coaches: Ron Erhardt, Tom Landry
QBs: Matt Cavanaugh, Danny White
Odds: Dallas favored by 2
Pats drop to 0-3; Cowboys improve to 3-0
This game may be most notable for being
the final Monday Night Football game in Foxboro for 15 years.
When the Dallas Cowboys came to Foxborough in September 1981 on a Monday night, the town’s board of selectmen preemptively attempted to have kickoff moved up to 8 p.m. before ceding to the Patriots’ (and presumably ABC’s) wishes to keep it at 9 p.m. The scene surrounding the Cowboys’ 35-21 win was another brawl-addled mess, including a stabbing and an assault on a police officer.
Foxboro decided that “Monday Night Football” would not return to the town, and for 14 years — a span covering the entirety of Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett’s career — ABC obliged.
Mosi Tatupu's 38 yard run gave the Patriots a 21-17 lead in the third quarter. Dallas would score five times after that (three field goals, a safety and a 1-yard TD pass) the rest of the way while shutting the Pats out for the final score. Cavanaugh went 14-26 for 235 yards, but threw four interceptions (and no touchdowns). The Pats turned the ball over seven times in total, with just one takeaway; if not for Dallas settling for five field goal attempts (with one miss) the final score should have been much worse.
Highlights:
Full Game:
Sept 21, 1980 at 4:00
Week 3, Game 3 at the Kingdome
Patriots 37, Seahawks 31
Head Coaches: Ron Erhardt, Jack Patera
QBs: Steve Grogan, Jim Zorn
Odds: Seattle favored by 2
Pats improve to 2-1; Seahawks drop to 1-2
This game was a microcosm of the 1980 Patriots. That team could score points (they would finish the season ranked second in points scored), but were average at best on defense.
Stanley Morgan scored twice in the second quarter, on passes of 68 and 40 yards from Grogan. John Smith also kicked a pair of early field goals, yet the Pats led by only three at the half. Horace Ivory scored on a 20 yard run to put the Patriots up 27-17 entering the fourth quarter, but Seattle was not finished. Two Jim Zorn touchdown passes (31 to Steve Largent, 21 to Sam McCullum) and the Seahawks led 31-30. Grogan's third touchdown pass on the day, for 16 yards to TE Don Hasselbeck gave the Patriots a 4th quarter 37-31 comeback victory.
This game was the first of what would be a five game winning streak for the Patriots. The team finished 10-6 but missed the playoffs, one game behind Buffalo. The AFC had just four teams with losing records in 1980 (compared to 8 of 14 in the NFC) in that year, and Oakland would go on to easily defeat Philly 27-10 in Super Bowl 15.
Sept 21, 1975 at 1:00
Week 1, Game 1 at Schaefer Stadium
Oilers 7, Patriots 0
Head Coaches: Chuck Fairbanks, Bum Phillips
QBs: Neil Graff, Dan Pastorini
Unfortunately this would not be the last time Fairbanks would lose to Bum and Dan. It was also the first time that Steve Grogan would get on the field. He went 2-6 for 21 yards with an interception, and one rush for ten yards
9/21/75:
Patriots Lose on Fumble, 7-0 | New York Times
By the time the rain began the Oilers had their winning touchdown, scored by Willie Germany in the fifth minute. Germany, the strong safety, recovered a fumble by Mack Herron that bounced into his hands while he was going full tilt, and he raced 48 yards into the New England end zone. “I was running for my life,” he said.
This play was about all that happened. The two teams sloshed around in the water, which collected on the artificial turf, and the defenses were way ahead of the offenses.
Because Jim Plunkett, the Patriots' peerless passer, is out with a shoulder separation, Neil Graff played quarterback for New England. Graff, whose past record showed one pass attempt and one completion in regular season play, did all right in the estimate of his coach. But he could not make the big play, which is the mark of Plunkett.
Graff completed 10 of 18 pass attempts for 95 yards but none was for long yardage. Houston's Dan Pastorini, an established long passer, completed only 6 of 16 for 53 yards.
Rookie linebacker Robert Brazile, playing on the outside, covered everything that came his way, which most often was Leon McQuay, the former Giant who had little success running the sweeps. McQuay was in the game because Mack Herron, the regular halfback, suffered a hip injury early, after he had fumbled the ball that Germany recovered for the afternoon's only significant play.
Sept 21, 1969 at 1:00
Week 2, Game 2 at Alumni Stadium
Chiefs 31, Patriots 0
Head Coaches: Clive Rush, Hank Stram
QBs: Mike Taliaferro, Len Dawson
Pats drop to 0-2; Chiefs go to 2-0
Three years earlier the Patriots and Chiefs were equals, vying to represent the American Football Game in an exhibition game that would later become known as the first Super Bowl. 32 months later this matchup had deteriorated to the equivalent of Ohio State playing Slippery Rock.
KC had more than
FOUR TIMES as many first downs (25-6) and total yards (395-82) -- let that last stat sink in for a moment -- and ran 70 offensive plays compared to 38 for the Pats. Taliaferro passed for 78 yards but was sacked three times for losses totaling 38 yards - giving the Patriot offense a net of 39 yards passing for the game.
The Patriots lost the first seven games of the 1969 season, but managed to finish 4-10. Kansas City went 11-3, then matriculated the ball down the field against Minnesota to win Super Bowl IV.
Friday, Sept 21, 1962
Week 3, Game 3 at Nickerson Field
Patriots 41, Broncos 16
Head Coaches: Mike Holovak, Jack Faulkner
QBs: Babe Parilli,Tom Yewcic; Frank Tripucka, George Shaw
Patriots improve to 2-1; Denver drops to 2-1
Gino Cappelletti scored 17 points on a touchdown catch, five extra points and a field goal to lead the Pats to victory at Boston University. Denver outgained the Patriots but the Boston defense forced five turnovers, with Fred Bruney (33 yards) and Ron Hall (47 yards) both scoring on second half pick-sixes.
Halfback
Claude King had the game of his life. An 18th round draft pick by the Bears in 1960, King played professional football for just two seasons. On this day he ran for a 71 yard touchdown, and had two catches for 40 yards.
