NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 3: St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner is brought down by Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots. New England Patriots face the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA on Feb. 3, 2002. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
A second-year quarterback leading an unheralded and slept-on team to the No. 2 playoff seed in the AFC, and then, finally, the Super Bowl, where it will face off against a the heavy favorite with the Lombardi Trophy in sight. That quarterback, of course, didn’t get the credit for getting them there, since the offense was supposedly “carried” by the defense.
When Tom Brady did this in 2001, he finished a miraculous run with a game-winning field goal drive, setting up
new Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri for the first ever walk-off win in Super Bowl history.
When Drake Maye takes the field on Sunday, he will have a chance to author the beginning of his own fairytale story.
As you can see, the story of the 2025 Patriots is quite similar to that of the 2001 Patriots. Those similarities, however, go a lot deeper than what we’ve already discussed. Let’s take a closer look at these two teams.
Coaching and front office
In 2001, Bill Belichick was in his second season as Patriots head coach. Twenty-four years later, Mike Vrabel isin his first. Despite the difference, there are some interesting parallels between Belichick and Vrabel’s approach to team building and coaching.
When Belichick came to New England, he took a very important piece with him, personnel executive Scott Pioli. Pioli had assisted him in Cleveland and moved to Baltimore with the Browns franchise, before going to the Jets to rejoin his former colleague. Pioli became assistant director of player personnel under Belichick before taking over as the director of player personnel before the 2001 season (he eventually moved to vice president of player personnel before leaving for Kansas City in 2009).
Pioli and Belichick had a very clear vision of what they wanted their team and players to look like. It was not just about how they performed on the field, but also how they fit into the team that they were trying to build.
Vrabel did the exact same thing with Ryan Cowden, with whom he worked in Tennessee and who the Patriots hired as vice president of player personnel after a two-year stint with the Giants. The two share a very clear vision for what they’re looking for in a player. As we’ve seen with this team all year, the front office put a lot of weight on not just the way the players play on the field, but also the way that they fit into the locker room. The vision being so clear has helped them to quickly build the locker room and team that they want, and it has paid dividends for them this season.
Also paying dividends was bringing John “Stretch” Streicher over from the Rams. Streicher was with Vrabel in Tennessee as well, and is the 2025 equivalent of dynasty-era Ernie Adams: both fill similar roles and are their respective head coach’s right-hand men on all things preparation and in-game execution.
Offseason acquisitions
The 2000 and 2024 Patriots were both bad enough to earn top-6 picks in the NFL Draft, so they were set up to get a potentially game-changing player in the first round. Both selections ended up facing their fair share of scrutiny at the time, but ultimately ended up playing critical roles.
In both 2001 and 2025, however, the draft alone did not help the Patriots take a major step forward in their development. Free agency investments did as well, so let’s compare the two classes.
- 2001: Mike Vrabel, Antowain Smith, David Patten, Roman Phifer, Anthony Pleasant, Bryan Cox, Terrell Buckley, Marc Edwards, Larry Izzo, Mike Compton
Every single one of these players was either a starter or contributor to the team. David Patten caught the only two offensive touchdowns of the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl for the Patriots; Antowain Smith turned the Patriots rushing attack into a force, finishing the season with over 1,100 yards and adding 12 touchdowns; Bryan Cox is often credited with changing the entire season with his hit on Jerome Pathon in their Week 3 win against the Colts; Roman Phifer immediately became one of the defensive leaders; Mike Compton was plugged in as a Day 1 starter on the offensive line.
The Patriots had rebuilt their entire team through free agency, but what was most impressive is that they did it with guys that received limited interest from around the league. They didn’t spend big on anyone, but the pieces fit in correctly (including a diamond in the rough in Mike Vrabel, who would go on to be a Patriots Hall of Famer and, well, here we are). Combine that with Richard Seymour and Matt Light in the draft, and it’s one of the most impressive turnarounds in NFL history.
Now, let’s take a look at last year’s free agency class for comparion
- 2025: Milton Williams, Stefon Diggs, Carlton Davis III, Harold Landry III, Robert Spillane, Morgan Moses, Garrett Bradbury, K’Lavon Chaisson, Mack Hollins, Khyiris Tonga
We don’t have to revisit every one of these signings, but almost every single one of them has been a definitive hit. You have competent starters all over, and then add some dominant playmakers in there too.
This class has not only raised the floor of talent for the Patriots, but it has made the locker room a cohesive place, and some of the biggest leaders on the team are in this group. Now, the Patriots spent a whole lot more money this offseason compared to 2001’s, so there is a different level of expectation. Still, to hit on so many different players is unexpected.
And while last year’s draft might not have the high-end talent that 2001’s had — Richard Seymour is a Hall of Famer — it added both depth and starter talent to the team.
Will Campbell and Jared Wilson are the first ever rookie duo to start the Super Bowl at left tackle and left guard; Craig Woodson has played the most snaps on defense this year; Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson have provided some big-play potential on offense (with Williams adding some great run blocking as of late); Andy Borregales and Julian Ashby have been solid as kicker and punter, respectively; UDFA Elijah Ponder has had a very solid second half of the year.
Just looking at the Broncos game two weeks ago, New England’s starting lineup consisted of 50% new players totaling 11 guys who did not play for the team last year. If the Patriots are able to finish the job and win on Sunday, that turnaround should be compared to what the team did in 2001, and rightfully so.
Favorable unpredictability
Call it luck or call it whatever you want, but the 2001 Patriots just like the 2025 Patriots have both benefited from favorable bounces, scheduling quirks, and bad play by their opponents. This doesn’t take a single thing away from what those teams accomplished, but there is still an element of favorable unpredictability to it that can’t be ignored.
In 2001, the Patriots needed roughly 37 things to go their way in order to get the No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye in the AFC, and all of them happened. They won their last six games, and the Raiders lost four out of their last six, with losses to the 7-9 Cardinals and Titans, the 8-8 Broncos, and the Jets at home, who they would then beat 38-24 the next week.
Meanwhile, the Patriots won a game where they were down 13-0 at the half (vs. Jets9, and one that was a 12-9 overtime victory (vs. Bills). That second game illustrated just how small the margin for victory can be.
David Patten caught a pass near the sideline in overtime and was knocked out cold on the ground, losing the ball as he went down. It was recovered by Buffalo, and the game seemed to be swinging in the home team’s favor. However, the Patriots challenged the play, and the ball was seen touching Patten’s leg ever so slightly. With half of his body out of bounds, the ball was technically out of bounds too, which meant that the Patriots would keep possession. The very next play was a 38-yard run by Antowain Smith, which set up a game-winning 23-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
Then, of course, there’s the Tuck Rule, which was the correct call at the time, but the Patriots still benefited from what was a little-known rule that was later scrapped. There are more instances of luck, but, ultimately, history washes those moments away when your team wins a championship. The banner lives forever, and those moments are eventually forgotten.
The 2025 Patriots have benefited from an easy schedule, there is no debating that. It’s not their fault (and the Bills had an almost identical schedule), but the point has to be made when discussing this team. The schedule is made years in advance, and every game in the NFL is one that you can absolutely lose, but the slate of opponents this year certainly was easier than it will be in most seasons.
We also have to talk about some of the decision-making and execution by their opponents. The Ravens forgot that they had Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter and the Falcons missed what would have been a game-tying extra point late in the fourth quarter.
Then there is the injury “luck” that they had. They played the Bengals the week before Joe Burrow came back from his injury, the Chargers without a capable offensive line (what else is new?), and the Broncos who lost their starting quarterback to an injury suffered on the final drive of their divisional round game against the Bills; an injury that went undetected until after the game. They also didn’t have to play any of the elite quarterbacks in the AFC in the playoffs. The Chiefs had fallen off a cliff even before Patrick Mahomes got hurt, Burrow and Lamar Jackson didn’t make the playoffs, and Josh Allen turned the ball over four times in Denver to contribute to his team’s loss.
Again, none of this takes away from what the Patriots have accomplished this season, but the similarities to what happened in 2001, and the way that everything lined up for them perfectly still stands out. Ultimately, they got to the Super Bowl and are now only one win away from immortality.
And no matter what any of the distractors might have to say, once you win a title, they can’t take it away from you.
It remains to be seen how this 2025 Patriots team will be remembered in history. The 2001 team is remembered as one of the greatest rebuilds of all time, and it started a nearly 20-year run of dominance the likes of which has never been seen before or since in the NFL.
If the Patriots can finish the job on Sunday, they might end up being remembered in a similar fashion as that 2001 team: as a great team that most people counted out even as the wins kept coming; a team with players that most people didn’t know, didn’t think highly of, or thought were washed.
The Patriots have a chance to etch their names into the history books Sunday. If they want to do that, however, they have to take care of business first. The winners of the Super Bowl are remembered forever, and stories of their greatness are told through the generations, yes, but the losers of the Super Bowl are cast off like the other 31 teams that didn’t reach the mountain top. To change the narratives, and prove to everyone that they are just as good as they believe, a win is a must.
It happened in 2001, and it could happen again in 2025.
Carlton Davis III – 21.4
