Today In Patriots History Sept 3, 1995: Curtis Martin, Ty Law NFL debut in Bill vs Bill IV

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Big Bill vs Little Bill
Curtis Martin steals the spotlight​

Today marks the 31st anniversary of the fourth game with Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells as head coaches on opposite sidelines, as well as the NFL debut for Curtis Martin, Ty Law and Ted Johnson. Fast forward five years to the day later, and September 3 is also the 26th anniversary of the first regular season game with the Hoodie as the head coach of the New England Patriots.


September 3, 1995:
Week 1, Game 1 at Foxboro Stadium
Sunday, 1:00 at Foxboro Stadium
Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots
Head Coaches: Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick
Quarterbacks: Drew Bledsoe, Vinny Testaverde
Weather: sunny, 75º; humidity: 64%; wind: NE 11 mph
Television: NBC; **** Enberg, Phil Simms, Paul Maguire
Odds: New England favored by 3[/I]
Attendance: 60,126 (60,292 tickets sold, 166 no-shows)
Time: 2:55
New England Patriots 17, Cleveland Browns 14


Curtis Martin rushed for 102 yards in his first NFL game, and scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 24 seconds left to play. Drew Bledsoe threw for 302 yards and Ben Coates had nine catches for 106 yards, including a nine-yard reception on the final drive that put the ball on the Cleveland 3-yard line.


On a side note, the 1995 Cleveland Browns began the season 3-1 and were considered to be one of the best teams in the NFL, a serious super bowl contender. They were coming off an 11-5 season where they defeated the Patriots in a wild card game, before losing to Pittsburgh in the divisional round. Then Art Modell inexplicably publicly announced that the team would be departing for Baltimore in 1996, throwing the Browns season, their fans and the city of Cleveland into complete chaos. (Why hold a press conference then? Why not wait until the season was over? What was the purpose, or upside?)



Key Stats:
Total Plays: Patriots 75, Browns 48
Time of Possession: Patriots 33:45. Browns 26:15
Total Yardage: Patriots 427, Browns 301
Rushing Yards: Patriots 125, Browns 60
Return Yardage: Browns 129, Patriots 54



Sept 4, 1995:

PRO FOOTBALL; Fun in Foxboro as Patriots Pull One Out (Published 1995)

www.nytimes.com

It was the Patriots who found the final push and the punch. They trailed for nearly all of this game, but in the final 19 seconds won it, by 17-14, in dramatic fashion, in a way that so many Patriot teams throughout their cumbersome history would have lost. That made this opening-day victory especially fun for the 60,126 fans at Foxboro Stadium.​

New England won it on an 84-yard, 15-play touchdown drive that began with 4 minutes 29 seconds left. The Patriots converted on three third-down plays and on one fourth-and-inches situation. They won it by controlling the clock in the fourth quarter, by 8:59 to 6:01.​

New England saved its best for last and kept using the same formula on offense that it had showed for most of the game. It kept throwing underneath (quarterback Drew Bledsoe's longest completion was for only 32 yards) and running tenaciously with the rookie tailback Curtis Martin. Bledsoe was 30 of 47 for 302 yards with no interceptions. Martin rushed 19 times for 102 yards, including the winning 1-yard dive over the goal line with 19 seconds left. On that score, Martin showed great second and third efforts before finally lunging and placing the point of the ball over the line. David Meggett ran over for the 2-point conversion.​

On the winning drive, fullback Sam Gash took advantage of blown coverage and grabbed a 30-yard pass to the Browns' 25. Tight end Ben Coates added a big reception to help cap his big day (9 catches, 106 yards).​

SportsCenter Highlights (2:25)




1995 Week 1 - Cleveland at New England (2:09:21)
Announcers: **** Enberg, Phil Simms, Paul Maguire
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Belichick vs Parcells:
12/19/93: Browns 20, Patriots 17, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium
11/06/94: Patriots 13, Browns 6, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium
01/01/95: Browns 20, Patriots 13, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium (Wild Card Game)
09/03/95: Patriots 17, Browns 14, at Foxboro Stadium
11/16/03: Patriots 12, Cowboys 0, at Gillette Stadium




Pertinent information and box score via jt-sw.com:

New England Patriots 17, Cleveland Browns 14

Pro Football Reference Stats and Play-by-Play:

Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots - September 3rd, 1995 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Cleveland Browns 14 at New England Patriots 17 on September 3rd, 1995 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

Mini-Box Score, Stats and Graphics via ESPN:

Patriots 17-14 Browns (Sep 3, 1995) Game Stats - ESPN

Complete team stats and game leaders for the New England Patriots vs. Cleveland Browns NFL game from September 3, 1995 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

Official Game Summary, with complete play-by-play, team & individual stats, and drive charts:

Viewer - Patriots

Media Archive Suite

patriots.1rmg.com

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[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Belichick's 1st Game as Pats HC​

This opener was a tough draw for the Patriots, who were in need of a year to rebuild. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin had molded a juggernaut in Tampa, with exceptional players who would become Hall of Famers at each level on his Tampa-2 defense: DT Warren Sapp, OLB Derrick Brooks, S John Lynch and CB Ronde Barber.


September 3, 2000:
Week 1, Game 1 in Foxborough
Sunday, 1:02 at Foxboro Stadium
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New England Patriots
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy
Quarterbacks: Drew Bledsoe, Shaun King
Weather: cloudy, 71º; humidity: 93%; wind: variable 5 mph
Television: Fox; Ray Bentley, Ron Pitts
Odds: Tampa Bay favored by 3
Paid Attendance: 60,292
Time: 3:03
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21, New England Patriots 16


The offense had a tough time going up against one of the NFL's all-time best defenses. Derrick Brooks made 15 tackles (two for a loss) with a forced fumble and pass deflection, while Warren Sapp and other Bucs combined to sack Drew Bledsoe six times. The Patriot touchdowns came on a Troy Brown 66-yard punt return midway through the second quarter, and a 39 yard pass from Bledsoe to Terry Glenn with 3:01 remaining in the game.

A two point attempt to bring the deficit to three failed when a Kevin Faulk run was stopped short of the goal line. But then Willie McGinest sacked Shaun King for a loss of 11, and the Pats regained possession at the Tampa 45 yard line with 1:53 left to play. With 29 seconds left Bledsoe completed his fifth straight pass on a 4th and 1 to Troy Brown at the 22, but the game ended on four consecutive incomplete passes.


The Patriots could not get their running game going against a stout Tampa Bay defense. At first glance the numbers don't look bad (88 yards rushing, 4.2 yards per carry), but more than half of that yardage came on a pair of first quarter plays: a ten-yard scramble by Bledsoe on the second possession, and a 35-yard run by Troy Brown on the next possession. Both of those drives resulted in punts after a Bledsoe sack. The Patriots kept it close thanks to their return game: Troy Brown returned three punts for 118 yards (including the 66 yard TD), and Kevin Faulk had a 40-yard kickoff return.


The Pats had one defensive lapse that was a game-changer. The Patriots took a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter on Troy's punt return. Tampa Bay drove into New England territory on the ensuing drive, stalling after predictable Dungy-Bucs offensive play calling (two Mike Alstott runs up the middle followed by an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-long). On 4th-and-8 from the 37, Tampa did not call on Martin Gramatica for a long field goal and instead punted - pinning the Patriots down at the 8-yard line.


The Patriots went three and out and Tampa took over at the 50-yard line with 1:38 left in the half. On 3rd-and-1 Jacquez Green beat Otis Smith for a 33-yard gain to the eight yard line. With the clock ticking, everybody assumed King would spike the ball to stop the clock and figure out the next play. Instead he pulled a Dan Marino, faking the spike while Kato Serwanga wasn't watching, and connecting with a wide open Reidel Anthony for a touchdown with 35 seconds to go.

Buccaneers Fake Spike Touchdown vs Patriots - 2000 (1:07)
​

Bledsoe connected with Troy Brown on completions of 26 yards and 12 yards, but that was all they had time for. After spiking the ball, Adam Vinatieri's 55-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining in the half was short. The fake spike and missed field goal to end the half, plus the failed two-point conversion later resulted in the Patriots needing a touchdown rather than a field goal at the end of the game.


Troy finished the game with 221 all-purpose yards: 33 yards on two runs, 70 yards on seven receptions (he caught all seven passes thrown his way), and 118 yards on four punt returns. The two teams combined for 19 punts: nine by Lee Johnson (40.6 avg) and ten by Tampa's Mark Royals (40.3 per).


One historical sidenote: this was the last time that Tom Brady did not play in a game between these two teams until November 9, 2025, when the two QBs were Drake Maye and Baker Mayfield. TB12 was one of the seven players inactive for the Pats for this game. Michael Bishop was Drew Bledsoe's backup, and John Friesz suited up, but did not get on the field.

2:39 Sports Center Highlights:



33:03 Extended Highlights:



Full Game Video:
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Patriots.com Game preview:

Week One - New England vs. Tampa Bay

The New England Patriots open the 2000 regular season on Sunday, Sept. 3 by hosting the defending NFC Central Division Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

www.patriots.com

This link from jt-sw.com provides the pertinent information from the box score:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21, New England Patriots 16

ESPN box score:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/200903017

Official NFL Media Game Summary, with complete play-by-play, team & individual stats, and drive charts:

Viewer - Patriots

Media Archive Suite

patriots.1rmg.com

In standard New York Post style, the tabloid trashes Belichick:

BELICHICK’S PATS FLOP

FOXBORO – For openers, Bill Belichick’s Patriots could be summed up with the same word that captures his body of work as head coach of the Browns: flop. Belichick’s Patriots often…

nypost.com

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