Why Not Us?

[jimnance]

David Patten against Buffalo, on the ground unconscious, ball out, complete!

First thing that came to mind.

One of the coolest plays in Pats' history

 

[jimnance]

It's possible but it'll be tight, even at 12-5. The problem is I played around on the ESPN playoff machine, and even assuming NE wins vs Tennessee and 1 Buffalo loss, the Chiefs come out on top every time. If KC wins out, then they will likely get the top seed and I don't see them losing (MAYBE they'll lose to LAC or Pitt, but I don't see it). On the other hand, if NE wins out, then not even KC winning out can stop them from getting the 1 seed. That Miami loss (and Harris’ fumble) may come back to haunt us.

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I agree about kc but if the Pats get as far as the AFCCG, they will be fully capable of beating kc in kc.

 

[Toofy]

Let's go 1-0 for six more times and then 1-0 for 3 more times . Achievable I guess...

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

It's possible but it'll be tight, even at 12-5. The problem is I played around on the ESPN playoff machine, and even assuming NE wins vs Tennessee and 1 Buffalo loss, the Chiefs come out on top every time. If KC wins out, then they will likely get the top seed and I don't see them losing (MAYBE they'll lose to LAC or Pitt, but I don't see it). On the other hand, if NE wins out, then not even KC winning out can stop them from getting the 1 seed. That Miami loss (and Harris’ fumble) may come back to haunt us.

ESPN.com's 2025 NFL Playoff Machine - Playoff Matchup Predictor

Use the NFL Playoff Machine from ESPN to predict the NFL Playoff matchups by generating the various matchup scenarios based on your selections.

www.espn.com

Maybe it depends on who beats who, but I’m getting us as the 1 seed if both us and kc finish 12-5, I tried a few different combos too -

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Maybe it depends on who beats who, but I’m getting us as the 1 seed if both us and kc finish 12-5, I tried a few different combos too -

yeah, you are assuming 1 KC loss and 1 NE loss. I was assuming 0 KC losses and 1 NE loss. Hopefully your scenario is right. This is why we need to win out. Can’t rely on the chargers and Pitt to do the dirty work.

 

[jimnance]

Maybe it depends on who beats who, but I’m getting us as the 1 seed if both us and kc finish 12-5, I tried a few different combos too -

The Pats have tiebreakers vs. everyone except Buffalo( due to better afce record).
But if they tie with anyone else,Pats are #1 seed.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

yeah, you are assuming 1 KC loss and 1 NE loss. I was assuming 0 KC losses and 1 NE loss. Hopefully your scenario is right.

Ohh ok I think I misread your post. Yeah if kc or even lac win out we would need to win out. If not , we could very likely afford one loss

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

The Pats have tiebreakers vs. everyone except Buffalo( due to better afce record).
But if they tie with anyone else,Pats are #1 seed.

Correct, that’s how I understood it. We either have to sweep buffalo or finish with a better record to get the division

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I agree about kc but if the Pats get as far as the AFCCG, they will be fully capable of beating kc in kc.

We absolutely could but it Depends on how much the refs want to impact the game. In 2018 we outplayed them quite thoroughly but refs and turnovers had us needing a Brady miracle at the end.

 

[NCPATSFAN1971]

This fires me up

Thanks for posting these videos. I had season tickets back then and was probably blitzed at that Rams game so my memory of the actual game is pretty foggy. Sheaffer Stadium was not what one would say "family oriented" in the 70's. And seeing those aluminum bench seats again . . . Can't believe that was almost a half century ago. LOL

However, I do remember Mini Mac making play after play and Plunkett to Vataha and Stingley was awesome. BTW, I looked back and the year before in 1973, the Patriots had an outstanding draft that included John Hanna, Sam Cunningham, Ray Hamilton, and Darryl Stingley. Stingley's carreer was cut short by an awful paralyzing injury in 1978. I think all four are in the Patriots Hall of Fame.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Thanks for posting these videos. I had season tickets back then and was probably blitzed at that Rams game so my memory of the actual game is pretty foggy. Sheaffer Stadium was not what one would say "family oriented" in the 70's. And seeing those aluminum bench seats again . . . Can't believe that was almost a half century ago. LOL

However, I do remember Mini Mac making play after play and Plunkett to Vataha and Stingley was awesome. BTW, I looked back and the year before in 1973, the Patriots had an outstanding draft that included John Hanna, Sam Cunningham, Ray Hamilton, and Darryl Stingley. Stingley's carreer was cut short by an awful paralyzing injury in 1978. I think all four are in the Patriots Hall of Fame.

It was only Fairbanks' second season. Local and national Patriots denigration was already in high gear since the merger only four years earlier, from describing Chuck as 'controversial' (like what happened at Oklahoma was unusual, or a big deal) to creating stupid excuses for our success in '74: the preseason players' strike, and the league 'catching up to' the Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 defense - which is nonsense, as every team in the league except one adopted it within five years.

The '74 team was simply outstanding. After losing both games - and the playoff spot - to the Bills by a total of three points, four of the ensuing losses were by one score or less. Injuries killed us. Mack Herron set the NFL All-Purpose Yards Single-Season record, which Terry Metcalf broke by 18 yards a year later. The Patriots scored the second most points in the league.

Hog & Sam are in the team HOF, and Darryl should be. Ray was of course very good for us, but wasn't a Pro Bowler.

1974 put the Patriots on the map. Injuries messed up 1975, but to go with some close losses, Grogan - Plunkett's future replacement - got critical experience. The draft haul we got from the 49ers for Plunkett put us over the top, and only Dreith prevented our first Super Bowl title.

 

[sb1]

Yeah as others have said I think we need to sweep the Bills if we want the division. That's a tough task. That freaking 1 point week 1 Dolphins loss might be the difference between playing on wild card weekend and resting...

 

[SBLIII]

Yeah as others have said I think we need to sweep the Bills if we want the division. That's a tough task. That freaking 1 point week 1 Dolphins loss might be the difference between playing on wild card weekend and resting...

you mean the number 1 seed, right? Or the difference between playing at home or away.

 

[sb1]

you mean the number 1 seed, right? Or the difference between playing at home or away.

Yes for tying the Bills for the division and the conference top seed.

 

[jimnance]

Yeah as others have said I think we need to sweep the Bills if we want the division. That's a tough task. That freaking 1 point week 1 Dolphins loss might be the difference between playing on wild card weekend and resting...

Pats do NOT need to sweep Buff to win div. Buff has 2 guaranteed losses: @Bucs and @ Pats. They could even lose@Saints
tomorrow night. But Pats might need to run the table to beat out kc for #1 seed.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

It was only Fairbanks' second season. Local and national Patriots denigration was already in high gear since the merger only four years earlier, from describing Chuck as 'controversial' (like what happened at Oklahoma was unusual, or a big deal) to creating stupid excuses for our success in '74: the preseason players' strike, and the league 'catching up to' the Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 defense - which is nonsense, as every team in the league except one adopted it within five years.

The '74 team was simply outstanding. After losing both games - and the playoff spot - to the Bills by a total of three points, four of the ensuing losses were by one score or less. Injuries killed us. Mack Herron set the NFL All-Purpose Yards Single-Season record, which Terry Metcalf broke by 18 yards a year later. The Patriots scored the second most points in the league.

Hog & Sam are in the team HOF, and Darryl should be. Ray was of course very good for us, but wasn't a Pro Bowler.

1974 put the Patriots on the map. Injuries messed up 1975, but to go with some close losses, Grogan - Plunkett's future replacement - got critical experience. The draft haul we got from the 49ers for Plunkett put us over the top, and only Dreith prevented our first Super Bowl title.

great recap, I loved that 70's team. Some of the greatest Patriots of all time on both sides of the ball.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Pats do NOT need to sweep Buff to win div. Buff has 2 guaranteed losses: @Bucs and @ Pats. They could even lose@Saints
tomorrow night. But Pats might need to run the table to beat out kc for #1 seed.

I hope I don’t need to eat my words, but it’s hard for me to see kc finishing with 10 wins in a row. They’re playing great d but they are still not there offensively. And they have a lot of divisional games left too which can be tricky. Imo they are bound to lose one. I agree though they probably are the main threat right now to that 1 seed if buffalo doesn’t turn things around.

 

[Mack Herron]

 

[reflexblue]

I know....

Unlikely.

Long odds.

Why Not Us?

Your "why not us" has been picked up by NBC Boston sports..

 

[Kasmir]

It was only Fairbanks' second season. Local and national Patriots denigration was already in high gear since the merger only four years earlier, from describing Chuck as 'controversial' (like what happened at Oklahoma was unusual, or a big deal) to creating stupid excuses for our success in '74: the preseason players' strike, and the league 'catching up to' the Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4 defense - which is nonsense, as every team in the league except one adopted it within five years.

The '74 team was simply outstanding. After losing both games - and the playoff spot - to the Bills by a total of three points, four of the ensuing losses were by one score or less. Injuries killed us. Mack Herron set the NFL All-Purpose Yards Single-Season record, which Terry Metcalf broke by 18 yards a year later. The Patriots scored the second most points in the league.

Hog & Sam are in the team HOF, and Darryl should be. Ray was of course very good for us, but wasn't a Pro Bowler.

1974 put the Patriots on the map. Injuries messed up 1975, but to go with some close losses, Grogan - Plunkett's future replacement - got critical experience. The draft haul we got from the 49ers for Plunkett put us over the top, and only Dreith prevented our first Super Bowl title.

To show how much the game has changed, Ray Hamilton played NT in the 3-4 at 240 lbs, which even then was light, maybe the equivalent of 265 lbs today. Needless to say, he rarely two gapped even though he played all three downs...

The 1976 team might still be my favorite Pats team of all time, because they were the first contending team we had post merger. So many great players! And of course because of the terrible call vs Hamilton in the Raiders playoff game. The 2001 Tuck Rule game was sweet revenge.