When evaluating our teams, are we only looking at the roster for just the Super Bowl or for the whole season? The 2004 team won the SB despite losing both our starting corners in the first four weeks of the season. If I can count the whole season roster, that team is better than the 2007 team. Better running game, better defense, receivers who never dropped the ball and while not as talented as their 2007 counterparts, they were more clutch in my opinion. The big difference was 2004 Corey Dillon. He was a beast that year.
1) 2004: 17-2 record. Held record setting Colts offense to 3 points in divisional rd. Scored 40+ points on Steelers #1 rated defense in AFCCG. But most impressively, they are the only Patriots team to win the Super Bowl while being the defending Super Bowl Champions. Back-to-back 17-2 seasons is the best two year run in NFL history. Never forget how clutch Deion Branch, David Givens, Troy Brown, and David Patten were. I don't think they had a single drop all season. And don't forget completing the 21 game winning streak which might be an NFL record that is never matched.......well, hmmm, unless somebody else gets to play the same schedule we just had this past season.
2) 2007: 18 wins and one Giant loss. Statistically the most dominant team in NFL history but one that seemed to peak a bit too early.
3) 2016: 17-2 record. The comeback. 28-3. This team was dominant. They weathered Brady's 4 game suspension and still won 17 games. They showed that dominance in scoring 28 consecutive points in the Super Bowl to overcome a 25 point deficit.
4) 2014: 15-4 record. I thought about putting this team ahead of the 2016 team, it was close. This was the only Patriots SB Championship team that beat the defending SB Champs in the big game. Seattle was on the verge of going back-to-back after throttling Peyton Manning's Broncos the previous year 43-8. This is the team that embarrassed the Colts 45-7 in the AFCCG. They finished the regular season winning 10 of 11 games following the smackdown they had in KC before dropping a meaningless game to Buffalo the least week of the regular season.
5) 2003: 17-2 record. The first half of our back-to-back Championship teams. 2003 was the best defensive team we ever had. Ted Washington at NT was an unstoppable force and an immovable object all in one. Big Ted is in my opinion the single greatest NT to ever play the game. The guy was huge but he could also move pretty well. The only thing holding this team back was how bad the running game was. If memory is correct, they finished 31st in rushing and rushing yards per attempt. One of my favorite Brady stats is that no QB has ever won a SB with a worse running game than Brady had in 2003.
6) 2017: 15-4 record. This team fell to an inferior Eagles squad in the SB. The defense just didn't show up. Still they were part of three straight Super Bowl appearances and four in five seasons. Should have won that game.
7) 2018: 14-5 record. The last SB run of the second dynasty. They failed to win 12+ regular season games for the first time since 2009 but then went on one of the most surprising and impressive playoff runs where they ran the ball down the Chargers throats and then shocked the Chiefs in the AFCCG before suffocating the Rams 13-3 in the Super Bowl.
8) 2011: 15-4 record. The "other" loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. This was the Gronkowski/Welker season. In his second year, Gronk set career highs in receptions (90), yards (1,327), and TD's (17) but got injured in the AFCCG against Baltimore. He tried to play through his injury in the SB but was basically just a decoy. This was also Welker's best season. He caught 122 balls for a career high 1,569 yards and 9 TD's but although unfair, most of us will remember the one he didn't catch in the Super Bowl. I believe this was the team where the defense was like 31st in the league. At the time, I think they were the worse rated defense to ever play in a Super Bowl which was another one of my favorite Brady stats. Although it would have been better if they could have actually won the game. Hmmm.....I think I have this team rated too low. I'm thinking maybe they should be in the 6 spot. If Gronk was healthy in that Super Bowl, we would have won by two TD's.
9) 2001: 14-5 record. The team that started it all. They weren't supposed to be there but they executed arguably the greatest defensive performance in Super Bowl history. The SB MVP voters blew the vote in this one. If ever there was a game to give the MVP to a collective unit instead of one player, there was it. They played like a team and closed down the Greatest Show on Turf.
10) 1996: 13-6 record. One could argue that this was actually the beginning of our dynasty run. Many of the core players of the first dynasty were drafted in 1995 and 1996 in what were two of our greatest drafts. Curtis Martin running the ball. Ben Coates, Terry Glenn, and Shawn Jefferson catching it. Ty Law, Lawyer Millow, Ted Johnson, Willie McGinest, Chris Slade, and Tedy Bruschi on defense. They lost the SB 35-21 to a great Packers team but I felt it was closer than that. Our defense had a bunch of blown coverage busts where we gave up 80 yard TD passes but other than those, they were competing well and forcing a lot of 3 and outs. The score was 27-21 in the 3rd quarter after Curtus Martin ran the ball down the Packers throat and it appeared the momentum was with us. We were going to win that game. Then Desmond Howard happened. He took the ensuing kickoff to the house. Another monster big play for Green Bay. Then Reggie White happened. Reggie decided he didn't want Bruschi to have the SB sack record (he did momentarily!) decided he would be cuddle buddies with Bledsoe for the rest of the game. When Bledsoe gets hit, he loses and thats what happened. Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda.....
11) 1985: 14-6 record. This team holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Patriots team I fell in love with as a child. The defense had been incredible at forcing turnovers all season and that continued in the postseason in road upsets over the Jets, Raiders, and Dolphins. The AFC East was a lot of fun that season as the Patriots (11-5), Jets (11-5), and Dolphins (12-4) battled it out. Heading into week 15, all three teams were 10-4 and the Patriots held the tie-breaker b/c they were 6-1 in the division. But to win the AFC East, they were going to have to win in Miami, where they had lost 16 consecutive games. They went to Miami that week and fell behind 27-13 in the 4th quarter before two quick touchdowns tied the game at 27, including a special teams fumble recovery for a touchdown to tie it. I remember this team forcing a ridiculous number of fumbles and interceptions, but especially fumbles. Like four or five every week. Unfortunately, Marino brought the Dolphins back and they won the game on a game ending FG. The Jets lost to the Bears and that meant the Dolphins were AFC East Champions again which set the stage for us finally "Squishing the fish" at the Orange Bowl in the AFCCG and ending our 17 game losing streak there. If only the season could've just ended there. In my memory it did.
12) 2025: 17-4 record. I don't know how to rate this team. Drake Maye and the offense looked great during the season and then not so good in the playoffs. The defense was outstanding in the playoffs but how much of that had to do with the weather or offensive deficiencies of their playoff opponents? Quite a bit I think. Still, it was a heck of a ride. I just don't understand some of the coaching decisions. If Campbell was as ineffective as he was b/c he was playing injured, why were we playing him injured??? I felt like Lowe had been playing well before Campbell came back. Would have liked to see more of him in the playoffs. I don't understand the lack of adjustments from McDaniels and the offense in the SB. I feel like that game was winnable but we were completely unprepared and never seemed to make any adjustments. I just don't get it. McDaniels is a great OC who has won more big games than probably any OC in NFL history. Did the mafia kidnap his family and force him to lose the game? That's what it looked like from my perspective. Losing in that manner tends to make the whole season appear fluky. To prove otherwise, the team needs to overcome one of the most difficult schedules in 2026 and play significantly better on offense in the playoffs. The point is....this teams story isn't written yet. If the Patriots build on 2025 successfully, that will inevitably lift this 2025 season higher on this list. But as of now and based on how poor the offense looked throughout the whole postseason, they appear to be our worst SB team.
