Top 10 Patriots Moments Of The Decade

BOSTON — When the decade of the 2000s ended, it kind of looked like the Patriots’ run of dominance might be concluding too. Sure, Bill Belichick was still roaming the sidelines, and Tom Brady was still under center. But entering the 2010 season, the team hadn’t won a playoff game in the previous two seasons, losing its previous two postseason contests in spectacular fashion. With the quarterback entering his — gulp — mid-30s, perhaps the days of glory were indeed a thing of the past.

As we know full well now, such doubts have proven to have been preposterous.

Incredibly, Brady, Belichick and the Patriots have experienced a magnificent renaissance, one that changed the franchise from mere three-time Super Bowl champions into six-time Super Bowl champions, tied for the most of any franchise ever in the history of the league.

That this transformation took place is quite the feat in and of itself. That it appears capable of concluding with another championship is downright unfair.

We cannot know right now whether or not this season will end with another Lombardi, but with the new year and new decade approaching fast, it’s worth taking a moment to flash back to all of the most memorable moments from 2010-2019. The list could probably have 50 entries, but for the sake of Patriots pragmatism, let’s keep it to a top 10 list.

Honorable Mention: The Big Boy Kick Return

Was it the most impactful play in Patriots history? Well, no. But when it comes to memorable moments, you’d be hard-pressed to think of a better one than offensive lineman Dan Connolly’s scintillating 71-yard kick return vs. Green Bay on Sunday Night Football in 2010.

It was a fun moment, and it was pretty important, too. Tom Brady threw a touchdown a few plays later, and the Patriots would end up winning by just four points.

Honorable Mention: Super Bowl-Sealing Pick

In some football markets, a single Super Bowl win is the most memorable moment of the decade. In some cases, it is the most memorable moment in a quarter-century. Sometimes it’s the only great moment in 50-plus years (looking at you, New York Jets). Things are different, though, in New England, so sometimes even a Super Bowl win struggles to climb atop a list like this.

Still, this list would be faulty if it didn’t include an All-Pro play from an All-Pro cornerback in the biggest moment of the year, when Stephon Gilmore perfectly read the Rams’ play and stepped in front of a Jared Goff pass intended for Brandin Cooks.

The interception gave the football to the Patriots with 4:17 left in a game which the Patriots led 10-3. Sony Michel then ran for 41 yards, Rex Burkhead broke a 26-yard run, and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a field goal to put the game out of reach for L.A. with 1:16 left.

That end-of-game sequence all started with Gilmore breaking up a pass in the end zone on a different pass intended for Cooks, followed by the pick on the next play.

10. Two-Man Game

The Patriots did not win the Super Bowl in 2015. They didn’t even reach the Super Bowl in 2015. For all intents and purposes, it was a disappointing end to the season.

Yet in a last-gasp effort to keep the season alive, with Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola battling injuries, with no running game whatsoever, with Jamie Collins getting burned twice for touchdowns by retiring-after-the-season Owen Daniels , and with James White struggling to contribute with five catches on 16 targets, Tom Brady looked to the only man who could climb out of an eight-point hole in the final minutes of the game.

It almost worked. It didn’t work, technically. But the show put on by Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski was one for the ages, as the GOATs of their respective positions showed exactly how dominant they could be.

Gronkowski, who looked battered and exhausted, ran behind two defenders on a fourth-and-10. Brady, who absorbed 17 hits and four sacks on the day, lofted a picture-perfect pass up the right seam, dropping it directly into the giant mitts of No. 87, who hauled it in and hung on despite immediately getting hit.

See the full list at CBS Boston