Last week we brought you the first part of the Patriots season review, remembering the events and stories from their 2013 campaign. In that first part, there was coverage from Aaron Hernandez’s arrest in June up until their bye in the first weekend of October. They went into that bye at 7-2 sitting fairly comfortably in the AFC playoff race but under the surface, was a battered team that was taking hit after hit.
They came back with two very tough tests on the national primetime stage right from the outset and that would be a real indication of their Super Bowl credentials.
Week 11 had them travelling to Carolina to complete the NFC South portion of their schedule. Against the league’s top ranked defense, the Patriots survived a tough test and the game was decided on one final, highly controversial play. Down by four points with time running out, Brady threw the ball to Gronkowski in the end zone but Luke Keuchly prevented Gronkowski coming back to the ball allowing an easy interception. The official threw the flag to signal pass interference but was convinced to pick it up, the lack of an explanation from referee Clete Blakeman only further added to the chaos at the end. Opinion will always be divided on the play, but it is undeniable that some restriction in the end zone occurred. While it would not have guaranteed a Patriots victory, it would have given them a very good chance of winning the game. It did provide the best Bill Belichick press conference of the year though, as he stared down several reporters, who were seemingly scared to ask any questions.
As much drama as there was in week 11, it was matched and possibly beaten by the phenomenal scenes of their game against the Broncos the following week. On a blustery night in Gillette Stadium, multiple first half turnovers had the Patriots down 24-0 at the halftime, where the fans voiced their displeasure with the lacklustre display. A furious second half rally had the Patriots leading 31-24 at one point, before Peyton Manning tied the game up to send it into overtime. After winning the coin toss in overtime, Bill Belichick decided to take the wind instead of possession, backing his defense to make the big play. In the end, after several unsuccessful possessions, a special teams mistake decided the game. A muffed punt handed the Patriots the ball inside the Denver 20 and Stephen Gostkowski won the game on a chip shot field goal. With a final score of 34-31, this would go down as the best game of the Patriots season by far.
A week later they travelled to Houston for what was suddenly a much less testing game on paper. At the start of the year, the Texans were tipped for the Super Bowl, but instead found themselves at the bottom of the NFL standings. Whether it was the Patriots taking them lightly after two physically demanding games, or the Texans wanting to beat the team who started this downward spiral, it was still a tough game but the Patriots still made enough plays to win. What stood out in this game though, was the benching of Stevan Ridley after three straight fumbles, however he would return to action in a backup role the following week against Cleveland. There were more troubling signs as Jason Campbell looked like an all-pro quarterback and Josh Gordon had his way with a clearly struggling Aqib Talib. It took a lucky pass interference call from the officials (at this stage, they were probably owed one) on the final drive before Brady found Danny Amendola for the winning score.
With three weeks to go, the trip to Miami can only go down as a blown opportunity, with Denver having lost on Thursday night, the Patriots were now in position for the number 1 seed. An uninspired performance resulted in an upset win for the Dolphins and the Patriots back in the second seed. As it turns out, that loss would cost them a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.
Their final two games against Baltimore and Buffalo saw the running game, in particular LeGarrette Blount emerge as weapons for the offense to rely on. Against Baltimore, a dominant performance had the Patriots up 27-7 late on before two defensive touchdowns made the final score a bit more reflective of how the game played out. In their season finale, played in an insane monsoon, Blount had a career day gaining almost 200 yards on the ground, and breaking off two long kick returns to top it off. The win locked the Patriots in to the second overall seed and got this beaten up team a much needed bye.
In the second round of the playoffs, the Patriots faced the Colts and Blount’s good form continued as he carried the team on his back once more. In reality, the resounding scoreline may have been a red herring that made the Patriots look better than they were. On a beautiful day in Denver, the Patriots season ended as they were soundly beaten by a Broncos team that was quite frankly much better than they were. Ruthless execution on offense produced scores on 6 consecutive possessions as the Patriots defense could not make a stop. While the game was hardly a blowout at 26-16, it never felt like one that the Patriots had much hope of winning. They had their chances but with Denver in that mood, they would have needed too many variables to go in their favour. It provided a nice remind of the fact that when a team has to rely on that many outside factors going their way, it is never a good sign.
All things considered, a 12-4 record, the second best record in the conference and a third straight AFC Championship game appearance is an amazing effort by this young group of players. They managed to absorb blow after blow physically and emotionally as the season wore on. Leaders and significant players dropped like flies but new contributors stood up and made themselves known. As rarely as he shows emotion, in the immediate aftermath of their final game, Belichick made it known just how much he enjoyed working with this group of players. Some of these players may not be on the team, or even in the league in two or three years, but for this five month span, they gave their all for the logo on the helmet and won over their share of fans in the process.
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