ONE MORE SUPER THAN THE NEXT
Taking a shot at ranking the Patriots’ Super Bowl victories
HOUSTON — Trying to rank the Patriots’ five Super Bowls can be a daily exercise in futility.
Their handful of victories stretch two generations, even though the key leaders are the same, and each game was dramatic for its own reasons. That’s why the rankings could change from person to person or based on their mood at the moment. And really, how do you compare a 25-point comeback to an incomprehensible game-winning drive in the upset of the century?
But let’s try anyway. Here are the Patriots five Super Bowl victories, ranked:
5. Super Bowl XXXIX: Patriots 24, Eagles 21 Skinny:
Don't tell Donovan McNabb's insides, but this wasn't the most dramatic game, at least relative to the other four ulcer-inducers. But this Super Bowl cemented the Patriots' dynasty with three world championships in four years, and it capped back-to-back titles and put the exclamation point on a season in which the Patriots set an NFL record with their 21st consecutive victory. Because of their talent and coaching — Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel were still on staff — this Patriots team is in the debate among the franchise's greatest of all-time.
4. Super Bowl XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29 Skinny:
The game was scoreless until Deion Branch caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with 3:05 remaining in the second quarter, and the Pats ultimately took a 14-10 lead into the half. After a scoreless third, the Pats and Panthers combined for 37 fourth-quarter points and two lead changes. The Panthers took a shocking 22-21 advantage with Muhsin Muhammad's 85-yard touchdown catch, but Mike Vrabel's 1-yard score made it 29-22. And after Ricky Proehl scored another touchdown against the Patriots in a Super Bowl, Adam Vinatieri drilled his second Super-winner in as many tries. This victory validated the success of the 2001 team and provided the first hint the Patriots might be building something special.
3. Super Bowl XLIX: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24 Skinny:
More than the other games, you knew before kickoff this Super Bowl featured two great teams, as the Seahawks were the defending champs with a chance to boast the greatest defense in history. Brady had other plans and unleashed the greatest fourth quarter in Super Bowl history (until Sunday night, at least) by completing 13-of-15 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots erased a 10-point deficit. And then Malcolm Butler became a folk hero with the greatest defensive play in Super Bowl history. The 2014 Patriots had the defensive talent with Darrelle Revis as the headliner to complement Brady's offensive group, and they ended a title drought that featured some gut-punching losses.
2. Super Bowl LI: Patriots 34, Falcons 28 (OT) Skinny:
This was unfathomably unbelievable, as the Patriots trailed 28-3 in the third quarter and made too many mistakes to think a comeback was realistic. And then, somehow, it happened. Brady was 27-of-34 for 294 yards and two touchdowns during the Patriots' final five scoring drives. (To put that in perspective, no QB put together those splits in a game all season.) Dont'a Hightower and the defense made the plays to spur the comeback, and James White got the ball across the goal line, but Brady gets the glory with his fifth title and fourth Super Bowl MVP performance. It marked Brady's 51st game-winning drive in the 51st Super Bowl.
1. Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17 Skinny:
It started everything, and the Patriots pulled off the biggest upset in Super Bowl history by knocking off the Greatest Show on Turf with Bill Belichick's defensive game plan that now resides in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ty Law had his signature moment with a pick-6 against Kurt Warner, though only one of them got the call to Canton this week. And showing no fear, the Patriots let Brady loose with 1:21 to play at his own 17-yard line without any timeouts. He completed 5-of-8 passes (two incompletions were spikes) for 53 yards to set up Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal at the buzzer. And just like that, a tortured Boston fan base got the first of 10 Duck Boat parades in a decade and a half.