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Today In Patriots History September 24, 2017: Brady to Cooks in final seconds for 36-33 win over Texans

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Today in Patriots History
2017: Brandin Cooks' 2nd TD in final seconds for the win
Tom Brady leads Pats to another epic last minute comeback
Patriots 36, Texans 33



Sunday Sept 24, 2017 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Gillette Stadium
New England Patriots 38, Buffalo Bills 7
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien
QBs: Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson
Odds: Patriots favored by 13½
Pats improve to 2-1, Texans drop to 1-2



Tom Brady and the Pats offense, which had sputtered to consecutive three-and-outs in the fourth quarter, got the ball back with one last chance, trailing the Texans 33-28 late in the fourth quarter on Sunday.​

The Pats converted a 3rd-and-12 early in the possession, as Brady hooked up with Rob Gronkowski. They then converted a 3rd-and-18 on a 27-yard completion to Danny Amendola. And, finally, Brady found Brandin Cooks in the short corner of the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown with 23 seconds remaining.​

A stunning final: Patriots 36, Texans 33.​


“They were playing a two-high defense and we got [Cooks] behind the corner,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said after the game as he broke down the game’s defining play. “We had Danny [Amendola] going up the middle of the field, so I tried to stare down the middle and then put it up and didn’t really see the end of it until I saw it on the scoreboard. It was close, and they reviewed it. I’m glad we got the two-point play.​

“It was a great win. Got to play to the last second.”​

Two of Cooks’ catches went for 40 yards or more, giving him three such plays on the season. The Randy Moss comparisons are starting to be justified.​


Brady finished 25 of 35 for 378 yards as New England won its fifth straight regular-season meeting with Houston and seventh straight overall. Cooks caught five passes for 131 yards and pair of scores. It was the fifth multi-touchdown game and eighth 100-yard game of his career.​

Texans rookie Deshaun Watson was strong in his second career start. The Patriots were thin on the edge without linebacker Dont'a Hightower for the second straight week, and Watson took advantage, completing 22 of 33 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns.​


PIVOTAL PLAYS​

The Patriots extended their halftime lead to 28-20 in the third quarter before Houston used a 12-yard TD pass from Watson to Ryan Griffin, and a 31-yard Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal to edge back in front 30-28 early in the fourth quarter.​

The Texans forced New England to punt with just over seven minutes to play, but had to settle for a 36-yard Fairbairn field goal with 2:24 left. Houston failed on a third-and-1 at the Patriots 18.​

That left Brady room. After an early holding penalty pushed New England back to its 15, Brady used a 15-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski and 27-yarder to Danny Amendola to the Houston 25. But the Texans had a chance to end the game prior to the Amendola reception when safety Corey Moore dropped an interception on Brady's second-and-18 pass attempt to Cooks.​

Instead Cooks made good on his second chance for the go-ahead score. He also caught the ensuing 2-point conversion.​


Houston wasn’t intimidated by the Patriots in the first half, trading leads with the defending champions thanks to big plays on both sides of the ball.​

With Houston trailing 7-3 after an early Brady touchdown pass to Gronkowski, the Texans’ defense handed Watson great field position on the Patriots 44. The rookie responded with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington.​

Watson got caught trying to do too much a few drives later and paid for it when Stephon Gilmore intercepted his pass intended for DeAndre Hopkins and returned it 39 yards to the Houston 12. Brady took the lead back two plays later when he hit a wide-open Chris Hogan across the middle for a 7-yard score.​

It was 14-13 when Whitney Mercilus got free around the end and sacked Brady from the blind side. The ball popped free on the hit and it was picked up and returned 22 yards by Jadeveon Clowney for a touchdown.​

But the Patriots responded again late in the half when Brady found Hogan wide open again for a 47-yard touchdown.​


CLOWNEY’S BIG DAY​
Jadeveon Clowney had two sacks along with his fumble return. He became the third player in Texans history with two sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown in a game, joining Mario Williams and J.J. Watt. The two sacks also matched a career high for Clowney.​

ANTHEM PROTESTS​
About 30 Patriots players knelt or locked arms during the national anthem in response to criticism President Donald Trump levied against Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players and teams over the weekend. Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who's been a strong supporter of the president, expressed "deep disappointment" with Trump in a statement. Texans owner Robert McNair also called the president's comments "divisive."​


Performances of Note:​
WR Brandin Cooks, 90.4 overall grade​
After a relatively quiet first couple of weeks as a Patriot, Cooks made his mark in front of the New England faithful to lead another Patriots comeback. 111 of his receiving yards and both his touchdown catches came on passes aimed 20-plus yards downfield including his majestic game winner that sends the Patriots to 2-1.​


TURNING POINT
Patriots faced a third-and-18 at their own 48-yard line with 54 seconds left. That's when Brady went back to pass, but got nailed from behind by J.J. Watt as he threw, and ended up throwing an anticipation pass to Danny Amendola who went up high and held onto it against tight coverage from safety Eddie Pleasant. A phenomenal play by both players, and it set up the game-winner on the next play.​
Here’s the play:​



Houston perspective:
Patriots 36, Texans 33: The good, bad and ugly | Houston Chronicle
The Good
Deshaun Watson. If anyone questioned whether Watson was ready for the big stage of going against the defending Super Bowl champions and Brady, he answered those questions in resounding fashion. His final stat line: 22-of-33 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and a 90.6 rating (the last one came on the game-ending Hail Mary). Watson showed the playmaking ability to make things happen like no Texans QB before him. He made positive plays out of seemingly nothing on numerous occasions. And he spread the ball around to multiple targets instead of locking in on DeAndre Hopkins. And for once, the Texans didn’t have a vanilla game plan, mixing in a reverse, fake reverse and designed rollouts for Watson.​

The Bad
Game management. So many things here to ponder. What took so long to call timeout after Hopkins’ catch on the Texans’ penultimate play? He was tackled with 13 seconds left, but timeout wasn’t called until just three seconds remained. And what about Bill O’Brien burning a timeout on an iffy challenge on a third-down play? Even if he won the challenge, the Patriots were going to punt anyway. The chance of losing a precious timeout is too big to risk there. Does having another timeout at the end change the approach? The Texans also burned through all three of their first-half timeouts before the two-minute warning.​







8:41 Highlight Video
Texans vs. Patriots | NFL Week 3 Game Highlights




Raymond Clayborn was honored at halftime




Gronk with a first quarter TD



Deshaun Watson threw for 301 yards, and ran for 41 more yards





Stephon Gilmore's pick set up the Pats second touchdown




Chris Hogan's TD put the Pats up 14-10 in the second quarter



Brandin Cooks 42 yard TD put the Patriots up 28-20 in the third quarter



Cooks drags his toes to stay inbounds on the winning score​





Game Notes via Pats Media Dept

Official NFL Media Game Summary

Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:
 
I loved Cooks here and never understood why we did not keep him. Sure he had no YAC but he was always open and productive. Weirdest hall of fame worthy stats too.
 
Today in Patriots History
1978: Patriots return to the scene of the crime
Come from behind with to win 21-14 with 16 seconds to play
Defeat Raiders in Oakland on first ever SNF game



Sunday Sept 24, 1978 at 9:00
Week 4, Game 4 at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium
New England Patriots 21, Oakland Raiders 14
Head Coaches: Chuck Fairbanks, John Madden
QBs: Steve Grogan, Ken Stabler
Odds: Raiders favored by 6½
Patriots improve to 2-2, Raiders drop to 2-2



The Patriots returned to Oakland six weeks after Jack Tatum paralyzed Darryl Stingley. The Raiders had won two in a row and were two weeks removed from the famous Holy Roller game, when Pete Banaszak and Dave Casper pushed and kicked Ken Stabler's fumble forward for a game winning touchdown as time expired.

The game is also noteworthy for being the first regular season Sunday Night Football game, billed at that time as 'Monday Night Football on Sunday Night'.


New England was sitting at 1-2, with a victory at St. Louis sandwiched between close home losses to Washington and Baltimore. The entire team visited Stingley, who was still hospitalized in Oakland, prior to the game.


If that gave the Pats extra motivation, it did not show early. Turnovers led to a 5-play, 39-yard drive to put Oakland on the scoreboard first, and then a 11-play, 52-yard drive to gift the Raiders with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Patriots cut the lead in half on a seven-play, 80-yard drive. That finished with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan to Russ Francis, with 1:31 left to play in the half.

In the second half the defense took over, with **** Conn, Raymond Clayborn and Mike Haynes picking off Ken Stabler passes. The Patriots tied the score on another long drive, culminating in a Horace Ivory 16-yard touchdown run. Then the Pats took advantage of a turnover, going 34 yards on four plays, highlighted by a beautiful 28-yard Steve Grogan naked bootleg to the left. On the next play Sam Cunningham dove in for the winning score from one yard out with 16 seconds left in the game, for the final score of 21-14.


The Patriots dominated the stat sheet with 404 total yards to Oakland's 236, but four Grogan turnovers (three picks, one fumble) kept the Raiders in the lead. The Pats averaged five yards per carry, rushing for 207 yards, Cunningham ran for 62 yards and added 23 yards receiving and Andy Johnson had 112 yards from scrimmage, 64 on the ground and 48 through the air. Steve Grogan threw for 219 yards and rushed 65 yards on six carries, and Russ Francis had 126 yards and one TD on five receptions.


This game kicked off a seven-game winning streak for the Patriots.


The John Madden era started in Oakland back in 1969. The previous nine years had been great run of success for the Raider franchise. Madden’s teams earned eight playoff berths, six appearances in the AFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl title in 1976—all while competing in a conference that had some of the league’s all-time great times, from the Shula-era Dolphins to the Steel Curtain. The 1978 Oakland Raiders season was looking much the same, with a playoff berth in grasp. But a late fade and an early retirement from the young head coach ended an era.​

Ken Stabler was at quarterback. The veteran southpaw was renowned for his accuracy—a 58 percent completion rate was good for fifth in the league in an era where passing was more difficult. Stabler could also get it downfield, with his 7.3 yards-per-attempt. But he also threw a lot of interceptions. Even allowing that more INTs were thrown in this era, Stabler’s 30 picks—on 7.4 percent of his passes—was one of the worst in the league. I guess the nicest way to say it is that very few of Ken Stabler’s passes hit the ground in 1978.​

Dave Casper was the key to the short passing game. The NFL’s best tight end caught 62 passes. Cliff Branch and Morris Bradshaw were at wideout, each with an ability to get down the field.​


Oakland’s great offensive line was starting to show its age. The great Gene Upshaw missed the Pro Bowl at age 33 and began to decline. Art Shell still had a Pro Bowl year at left tackle, but even though fullback Mark van Eeghen was a 1,000-yard rusher, he had a mediocre four yards per attempt. Arthur Wittington’s 661 yards at halfback came at the cost of just 3.8 yards a pop.​

Even so, the Raider offense still ranked a solid 10th in a 28-team league for points scored. The defense ranked the same. There were no Pro Bowl seasons on D, but there were still playmakers, from outside linebacker Ted Hendricks to corner Lester Hayes to safeties Jack Tatum and Charlie Phillips.​


Tatum was surrounded by controversy and tragedy in the preseason. His hit on New England Patriots’ receiver Darryl Stingley resulted in Stingley being paralyzed. It bears noting that Tatum was not penalized on the play nor disciplined by the league afterward, but there’s no question the tragedy impacted him, and Madden would later cite it as a factor in his decision to retire.​


The regular season opened at Denver, whom Oakland had lost to in the previous season’s AFC title game. The Raider pass defense limited Bronco quarterback Craig Morton to 34 passing yards. But Oakland had to settle for field goals on two trips to the red zone. They lost the turnover battle 3-1. Denver got touchdowns on their red zone trips and handed the Raiders a 14-6 loss.​

Another divisional road game was in danger of getting away at San Diego. With Stabler throwing three interceptions, the Raiders trailed the Chargers 20-7 in the fourth quarter. Stabler hit Bradshaw on a 44-yard touchdown pass, then drove Oakland down to the San Diego 14-yard line. There was time for one more play.​

It would prove to be one of the most famous (or infamous) plays in NFL history. Stabler was about to get sacked to end the game. He deliberately fumbled it forward. Two Raider players, including Casper, kept pushing the ball forward, where the tight end finally fell on it in the end zone. This was a legal play at the time. It became known as “The Holy Roller” and it handed the Raiders a 21-20 win.​

A road trip to play a decent Green Bay Packers team finally produced an easy win. Even though Stabler threw four interceptions, van Eghen rushed for 151 yards and the team overall rolled up 348 yards on the ground. Oakland coasted, 28-3.​


The following week would make history. The Raiders’ home opener with the Patriots would be in prime-time on Sunday Night. This would be the first-ever edition of what is now the highest-rated TV show of any kind in the United States—Sunday Night Football. Madden likely had a hard time appreciating the history of it all after his team was outrushed 207-83, blew a 14-0 lead and lost 21-14.​



1:53 Mini-Highlight Video
9/24/1978 New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders highlights, National Football League Week 4



18:17 Highlight Video
1978-09-24 New England Patriots vs Oakland Raiders (Grogan vs Stabler)



26:15 Extended Video
Excellent Raiders/Patriots Game - 1978



1:57:42 Full Game
1978 Week 4 - New England at Oakland



22:08 Season Yearbook
1978 New England Patriots Team Season Highlights "How The East Was Won"




Official NFL Media Game Summary


Box Score, Team & Individual Stats:
 
Today in Patriots History
1972: Atlanta blows fourth quarter lead to Patriots
Pats come back from 20-7 deficit
Plunkett with his second 4th quarter, game winning drive



Sunday Sept 24, 1972 at 1:00
Week 2, Game 2 at Schaefer Stadium
New England Patriots 21, Atlanta Falcons 20
Head Coaches: John Mazur, Norm Van Brocklin
QBs: Jim Plunkett, Bob Berry
Odds: Falcons favored by 7½
Patriots improve to 1-1, Falcons drop to 1-1



Thanks to the 28-3 Game, internet searches on the first Pats comeback victory over Atlanta did not yield many results.

Most resulted in items like this:





Atlanta took a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter on a pair of field goals, before Josh Ashton got the Patriots on the scoreboard with a four-yard run with 49 seconds left in the half. Then the Falcons scored twice in the third quarter to make the score 20-7 entering the fourth quarter.

Atlanta had been dominating on both sides of the ball. An dropped pass in the end zone gave the Patriots life, and then Jim Plunkett threw a 37-yard TD down the left sideline to his old college teammate, Randy Vataha, to pull the Patriots within six. The Falcons forced a Plunkett fumble, but New England retained possession when the ball squirted out of bounds. Carl Garrett scored on a 12-yard run up the middle, and the Pats were somehow in the lead with 7:09 left to play.

The Falcons drove into the red zone for an easy chip shot field goal - remember the goal posts were still on the goal line, not in the back of the end zone at that time. Somehow the ten-yard field goal attempt with 28 seconds remaining went wide left, and the Patriots escaped with an upset one-point victory.



Jim Plunkett was under constant pressure all game, but persevered in the clutch


2:49 highlight video
1972 Falcons at Patriots week 2




Official NFL Media Game Summary, with handwritten notes

Box Score, Team & Individual Stats:
 
Today in Patriots History
1967: Jim Nance rushes for 185 yards
Pats go on the road for upset win at Buffalo
Shut Bills out 23-0 for first win of the year



Sunday Sept 24, 1967 at 1:00
Week 4, Game 4 at War Memorial Stadium
Boston Patriots 23, Buffalo Bills 0
Head Coaches: Mike Holovak, Joe Collier
QBs: Babe Parilli; Tom Flores, Jack Kemp
Odds: Bills favored by 8½
Patriots improve to 1-3, Bills drop to 1-2



Thanks in part to the Red Sox Impossible Dream year, the Boston Patriots had to begin the 1967 with five consecutive road games.

Actually, that is not entirely correct. Because the Sox defied odds and were playing against Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, the Pats played their week two home game against the Chargers in San Diego. For an aging team on the decline, playing eight road games versus six home games was not helpful.


With each week the season was quickly disintegrating with progressively worse losses. The Patriots entered this game with an 0-3 record, losing 26-21 at Denver, 28-14 at San Diego and 35-7 at Oakland. Buffalo had won the AFL East the previous season with a 9-4-1 record, so things looked grim.


Jim Nance carried the Pats on his huge shoulders, running for what would be the second most single-game yards in his storied career: 185 yards on 34 rushes (5.4 ypc), including a highlight reel 53-yard run. The Patriot defense did the rest, sacking Tom Flores three times and picking off five of his passes. Gino Cappelletti booted three field goals, Nance scored on a three-yard run to put the Pats up 13-0, and Babe Parilli's fourth quarter 11-yard pass to Larry Garron gave the Patriots an insurmountable 20-0 lead.

CB Leroy Mitchell had one interception for the Patriots, and MLB Nick Buoniconti and safety Don Webb both had a pair of picks.


On a side note, Buffalo's head coach was Joe Collier, who began his pro football career as an assistant with the Pats for Mike Holovak in 1961-62, and finished his career as the team's defensive coordinator in 1991-92. His son Joel was a RB and WR coach during those same '91-'92 seasons, worked as a pro scout the following year, and returned to New England as their secondary coach from 2005-07. The younger Collier has been Atlanta's director of pro personnel since 2016.


Boston handed the Buffalo Bills their first shutout in 137 American Football League games today as Jim Nance led the Patriots to their first triumph of the season, 23-0.​







Official Media Game Summary - very minimalistic

Box Score, Team & Individual Stats:
 
Today in Patriots History
2023: Pharoah Brown scores 58-yard touchdown
Pats hold off Jete for first win, 15-10



Sunday Sept 24, 2023 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at MetLife Stadium
New England Patriots 15, New York Jets 10
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Robert Saleh
QBs: Mac Jones, Zach Wilson
Odds: Patriots favored by 2½
Patriots improve to 1-2, Jets drop to 1-2



Pharoah Brown scored on the longest reception of his pro football career, Chad Ryland somehow converted on two of the longest field goals of his pro football career, and Matt Judon scored 50% of the points of his pro football career in this game.


Mac Jones threw a touchdown pass to Pharaoh Brown, Matt Judon had a late safety and the Patriots extended their winning streak over the New York Jets to 15 games with an ugly 15-10 victory on a rainy Sunday.​
Bill Belichick's bunch avoided its first 0-3 start since the coach's first season in New England in 2000 while continuing the team's mastery over its AFC East rivals.​
Zach Wilson made his second start in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers, but was unable to produce much other than one solid possession in the fourth quarter that got the Jets (1-2) back into the game.​
Nick Bawden capped New York's 13-play, 87-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle to make it 13-10 with 5:24 left.​
After a defensive stop, the Jets faced third-and-10 from their own 10 and Wilson ran for a first down — but it was erased by a holding penalty by rookie guard Joe Tippmann. Judon brought down Wilson in the end zone on the next play to make it 15-10.​
The Jets got the ball back with 1:43 left — but again couldn't convert. On fourth-and-10, Wilson threw a 1-yard pass to Tyler Conklin, turning the ball over on downs — and causing the remaining rain-soaked Jets fans at MetLife Stadium to boo.​
Chad Ryland capped the Patriots' first offensive series with a 48-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Ryland missed another 48-yard attempt early in the second quarter.​
On New England's next possession, Jones lofted a pass to a wide-open Pharaoh Brown, who streaked downfield for a 58-yard touchdown that put the Patriots ahead 10-0 with 11:38 left in the first half.​





It wasn't pretty, but the Patriots notched their first win of the 2023 season on Sunday, escaping with a 15-10 victory over the New York Jets in New Jersey.​
It was a lot harder than it had to be for the Patriots, as the team's offensive struggles continued. But New England's defense dominated the day, flustering Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (now 0-5 against the Patriots for his career) throughout the soggy afternoon and coming up with a massive play late: A Matthew Judon sack of Wilson for a safety with just over two minutes to play.​
Judon had a pair of sacks on the day, and the New England D held the Jets to just 171 yards of offense. It was New England's 15th straight win over the New York Jets. The Patriots have not lost to the Jets since the 2015 season.​
The New England offense didn't look particularly great on Sunday either, as Mac Jones completed just 15 of his 29 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. Rhamondre Stevenson struggled to get it going on the ground against New York's stout defense, averaging just 3.1 yards on his 19 carries for just 59 yards. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 80 yards on his 16 carries, leading the New England running attack on Sunday.​
The Patriots' secondary was down Jonathan Jones for the second straight week, but still kept Jets star receiver Garrett Wilson from doing much damage. With rookie Christian Gonzalez shadowing him for most of the day, Wilson had just five receptions for 48 yards on nine targets. He got the bulk of his yards on a 29-yard reception on the first play of New York's final drive.​
















5:00 Patriots Highlight Video
New England Patriots Top Plays vs. New York Jets | 2023 Regular Season Week 3



11:15 NFL Highlight Video
New England Patriots vs. New York Jets | 2023 Week 3 Game Highlights



Patriots Media Dept Game Notes

NFL Media Game Summary

Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:
 
Today in Patriots History
2006: Denver wins battle of the trenches
Broncos 17, Patriots 7 on SNF



Sunday Sept 24, 2006 at 8:20
Week 3, Game 3 at Gillette Stadium
Denver Broncos 17, New England Patriots 7
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Mike Shanahan
QBs: Tom Brady, Jake Plummer
Odds: Patriots favored by 6½
Patriots drop to 2-1, Broncos improve to 2-1



Javon Walker scored on touchdown passes of 32 and 83 yards from Jake Plummer, as the Broncos easily handled the Patriots in Foxboro. Denver had a 17-0 lead befor the Pats finally got on the scoreboard via an 8-yard pass from Tom Brady to Doug Gabriel with 9: left to play. The Pats went three-and-out on the next drive, and turned the ball over on downs on their final drive to end the game.


In a physical game, the Patriots offense was no match for a Denver defense that took away the Patriots ground game for the first time this season. That was the difference. Laurence Maroney had only 18 yards on 12 attempts while Corey Dillon, who left the game in the first half with an arm injury, had 5 carries for 16 yards.​

For the Broncos, Tatum Bell had 27 carries for 123 yards.​

Despite gaudy numbers for Tom Brady -- 31 of 55 for 320 yards and a touchdown -- he once again struggled for most of the game. Whether it was simply having no one open or just being off with his throws, the Patriots passing game posed no threat until the fourth quarter when Denver had already built a 17-0 lead and its defense gave up the short pass, forcing the Patriots to eat up valuable time.​

New England had a chance to do some damage early in the second quarter when it went for a fourth and 1 on the Broncos 36. Maroney ran to the left but Denver's Demetrin Veal came from his left side and caught Maroney from behind for a 1-yard loss.​

Plummer took the turnover on downs and found his wide receiver David Kircus for consecutive completions of 12 and 24 yards. On the second pass, Ty Warren was flagged for roughing Plummer to move the ball to the New England 12. Despite that, the Patriots held on from there, only allowing a 23-yard field goal by Jason Elam for the game's first score.​

It looked like Brady might have an immediate answer. On his next series he began working his tight ends with a 7-yard pass to Daniel Graham and then 17 yards downfield to Ben Watson at midfield. On the next play, Brady play-actioned to Maroney, pumped to Troy Brown and then hit Maroney with a little dump off. The rookie back did all the work from there, stiff-arming his way for a 31-yard gain to the 19. That was as far as New England could get and worse, Stephen Gostkowski had his 37-yard field goal attempt blocked.​

Instead of a 3-3 tie, Denver got the ball back and 7 plays later, a 10-point lead on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Plummer to Javon Walker. The running of Tatum Bell (70 yards in the first half) set up the play, a third and 1 fly pattern that had Walker beating Ellis Hobbs by a step.​


2:59 Highlight Video
Broncos vs Patriots 2006 Week 3



Official NFL Media Game Summary

Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:
 
Today in Patriots History
2000: Patriots lose another close game
Fall for fourth straight time, 10-3 at Miami



Sunday Sept 24, 2000 at 1:00
Week 4, Game 4 at Pro Player Stadium
Miami Dolphins 10, New England Patriots 3
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Dave Wannstedt
QBs: Drew Bledsoe, Jay Fiedler
Odds: Dolphins favored by 4½
Patriots drop to 0-4, Miami improves to 3-1



The Bill Belichick era began with a rather inauspicious start, going 0-for-September. The Pats kept losing one-score games, by five points to Tampa Bay, one point to the Jets, eight to Minnesota and now seven to the Dolphins. New England's only points came on a 40-yard second quarter field goal by Adam Vinatieri.

Miami answered with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Jay Fiedler to Bert Emanuel about three minutes later. The Dolphins then upped their lead with a field goal from Olindo Mare with seven seconds left in the half, and neither team would score in the hot and humid sun for the rest of the game.

The Dolphins turned the ball over, but the Pats offense just could not take advantage. Miami limited the Patriots to 56 yards rushing on 29 carries, and 210 total yards of offense.


2:09 Highlight Video
Patriots vs Dolphins 2000 Week 4



1:41:06 Full Game
2000 - Week 4 - New England @ Miami




Official NFL Media Game Summary

Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:
 
Today in Patriots History
1989: Dave Krieg lights up the Pats
Seattle wins, 24-3



Sunday Sept 24, 1989 at 1:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Foxboro Stadium
Seattle Seahawks 24, New England Patriots 3
Head Coaches: Raymond Berry, Chuck Knox
QBs: Tony Eason, Dave Krieg
Odds: New England favored by 3
Patriots drop to 1-2, Seahawks improve to 1-2



Dave Krieg threw three touchdown passes, and John Williams rushed for 64 yards while catching five passes for 71 yards to lead Seattle to an easy win in Foxborough.


With two of New England’s starting defensive backs sidelined, Dave Krieg threw three touchdown passes in the last 8:15 of the first half, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 24-3 victory Sunday.​
The swift attack turned a 3-0 New England lead into a 21-3 Seahawk halftime advantage.​
Both teams are now 1-2.​
A 27-yard pass play touchdown to Louis Clark gave Seattle a 7-3 lead. Strong safety Jim Bowman, starting because Roland James had a groin injury, ran toward Clark on the left side of the field, where the receiver already was well covered by cornerback Raymond Clayborn. Bowman couldn’t recover when Clark cut across the middle.​
Seattle scored again with 1:43 left in the half on Krieg’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Paul Skansi.​
Rookie cornerback Maurice Hurst, playing because of a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury to Ronnie Lippett, left Skansi alone in the left corner of the end zone, and Krieg, scrambling out of trouble, easily found the wide-open receiver.​
Krieg’s third touchdown pass was a 10-yard play to John L. Williams’ with 35 seconds left in the half. Williams took a pass in the right flat and dove into the end zone after being hit at the one-yard line.​
Seattle scored on its fourth consecutive possession on a 23-yard field goal by Norm Johnson 6:57 into the third quarter.​
Fumble recoveries set up the touchdowns by Clark and Williams.​
“The defense gave us a boost and the three touchdowns did, too,” said Krieg, who completed 14 of 24 passes for 177 yards with no interceptions.​


2:13 NFL Prime Time Highlights
Seahawks vs Patriots 1989 Week 3



2:54:08 Full Game
1989 - Seahawks at Patriots (Week 3) - Enhanced NBC Broadcast - 1080p



Official NFL Media Game Summary

Box Score, Team & Individual Stats:
 
Today in Patriots History
1965: Denver shuts Pats out in second half
Broncos cruise to 27-10 win



Friday Sept 24, 1965 at 8:00
Week 3, Game 3 at Fenway Park
Denver Broncos 27, Boston Patriots 10
Head Coaches: Mike Holovak, Mac Speedie
QBs: Babe Parilli, John McCormick
Odds: Boston favored by 4
Patriots drop to 0-3, Broncos improve to 1-2



Denver wins the battle of two winless teams by outscoring the Patriots 17-0 in the second half.

The Patriots were coming off one of the best seasons in franchise history pre-Brady/Belichick, when they went 10-3-1 in 1964. The next season was a polar opposite. This loss was in the middle of an 0-6-1 start to the 1965 season, as the offense averaged just 11 points over their first six games. Denver limited the Patriots 34 yards rushing, and the Pats turned the ball over four times in the loss.

The great Cookie Gilchrist - who had many big games against the Pats while with both Buffalo and Denver during his career - rushed for 142 yards on 32 carries. Wendell Hayes added another 81 yards on the ground and ran for two touchdowns for the Broncos, who held a 220-34 yard advantage rushing in this game.

Denver LB (and future Patriot) John Bramlett recovered a fumble by Ellis Johnson at the Pats' 7-yard line and returned it for a touchdown to open the scoring. With the score tied 10-10 in the third quarter, Hayes scored his two touchdowns to give Denver a commanding 24-10 lead.

When Denver completed the scoring on an 18-yard fourth quarter field goal, some fan fell from the stands, perhaps attempting to catch the kick? Apparently he was just ahead of his time, as Schaefer Stadium was still several years away.





4:24 Highlight Video
9/24/1965 Denver Broncos at Boston Patriots highlights, American Football League Week 3



Old school official media game summary


Box Score, Team & Individual Stats:
 
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