2007 Recap

The New England Patriots finished an astounding 16-0, the first team to finish with a perfect record since the 1972 Dolphins. However, the Patriots failed to finish with a perfect record, losing to the Giants 17-14 in the Super Bowl. The team seemed unstoppable in the regular season averaging 26.8 points a game and only allowing 17.

That high powered offense was led by QB Tom Brady, who three for 4806 yards and an NFL record 50 touchdowns. WR Randy Moss entered the records books too, with a record 23 touchdown catches. Moss was not the leading receiver though, Wes Walker caught 112 balls. Laurence Maroney only ran for 835 yards, but his 4.5 yards per carry average made teams respect the run in the pass-first offense. The defense was led by veterans, including Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel. The team is largely intact for the 2008 season, but is trying to improve the secondary and add some youth to its linebacker group.

Team History

The Patriots have been around since 1960, originating in the AFL and coming over to the NFL in the merger, but had found little success until the 90s. The team made the playoffs on occasion, most notably losing to the 15-1 Bears in Super Bowl XX 46-10, but never managed to maintain success.

The Patriots have been a perennial playoff team since 1993, winning the AFC Championships four times since 2001 and winning the Super Bowl in 2001, 2003, and 2004 under head coach Bill Belichick.