Are you old enough to remember when the New England Patriots were 0-1 in Super Bowls?
The New England Patriots have been to eleven Super Bowls. Nine of those Super Bowls have occurred under the watch of Bill Belichick as he has built one of the greatest dynasties that professional sports has ever seen.
But for some of you, all you remember is the Patriots dynasty. You’re a millennial. Perhaps you’re even generation Z. Regardless, if you fall in those categories, you certainly don’t remember what the Patriots once were.
Let’s wind the clock back to 1985. The NFL was a different place. Bone crushing hits were celebrated. Concussions were funny. And the Patriots were a nothing franchise.
The Patriots were one of the AFL’s original teams, after the NFL merger, the Patriots spent 15 years largely in obscurity. Sure, they had some stars such as John Hannah, Mike Haynes and Jim Plunkett, but the Patriots were just one of those franchises that no one gave a second thought about.
In fact, despite having some good regular seasons, entering the 1985 season, the Patriots had never even won an NFL playoff game.
During the 1985 season, the Patriots had a nice season, going 11-5 and earning a wild card spot. The Chicago Bears had steamrolled the NFL and finished the season 15-1.
Everyone (including the Chicago Bears’ players themselves) wanted to see the Miami Dolphins take on the Bears in the Super Bowl. The Dolphins were the lone team to give the Bears a blemish and revenge was on their mind.
The Patriots had to go on the road in the wild card round and despite being a 3-point underdog, they cruised past the New York Jets.
In the next round, everyone was certain the Los Angeles Raiders would make quick work of the Patriots, but the Pats went on the road again, and despite being a 5.5-point underdog, they won that game as well.
As the AFC Championship came around, the Patriots had to head to the Orange Bowl to face the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots hadn’t won in the Orange Bowl in 19 years. The point spread grew, and it was now a 6.5 point spread. Nobody thought the Patriots had a chance: except the Patriots.
The Dolphins turned the ball over 6 times. Dan Marino looked lost all game long and the Patriots defeated the Dolphins and clinched their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
At this point now, the Patriots felt invincible. They had won three straight road games, ended their Orange Bowl jinx and had the making of a true Cinderella run.
The Patriots saw the point spread grow again, this time it sat at 10 points. The Bears looked dominant in their first two playoff games, winning both games by a combined score of 45-0.
As the game kicked off, the Patriots and their fans weren’t intimidated. On the opening possession of the game, Walter Payton fumbled on his own 19-yard line. The Patriots went three and out, but it didn’t matter, Tony Franklin kicked a field goal and it was 3-0 New England. The Cinderella run was definitely on its way.
The Bears offense drove down the field on their next possession thanks to a 43-yard catch by Willie Gault, but the Patriots defense held and forced the Bears to kick a field goal and the game was tied at 3.
The Bears and Pats exchanged punts and with less than 6 minutes to go in the first quarter, the score was still tied at 3. The Patriots confidence grew. Their fans could smell it. This was going to be an upset for the ages.
But then it happened. Patriots quarterback Tony Eason dropped back to pass and the pocket collapsed. Steve McMichael swallowed him up and forced a fumble. Dan Hampton recovered, and seven plays later, Kevin Butler booted a short field goal to put the Bears up 6-3.
On the opening play of the next possession, Richard Dent ripped into the backfield and crushed Craig James 5 yards into the backfield. Mike Singletary recovered the football and two plays later Matt Suhey scored the first touchdown of the game and the Bears were up 13-3.
The Patriots went 3-and-out on their next possession and the Bears marched down the field and capped off a 10-play drive with a Jim McMahon 2-yard run. Suddenly it was 20-3.
The Patriots blinked and it went from a 3-3 tie to a 20-3 deficit.
With 5 minutes to go in the second quarter, Tony Eason was pulled from the game after the Patriots had gained -36 yards on 6 drives. Those numbers are accurate.
Steve Grogan managed a first down on his first drive, but still didn’t manage points and the Bears were up 23-3 at halftime.
The third quarter featured 3 touchdowns for the Chicago Bears including a pick six from Reggie Phillips and a rushing touchdown for William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Cinderella’s carriage had long since turned into a pumpkin, it was 44-3 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Steve Fuller in at quarterback and the Bears were more interested in running out the clock than pummeling the Patriots any further. The final score was 46-10.
The Bears defense did something truly remarkable. They didn’t allow a touchdown drive for 11 postseason quarters. They only allowed 3 points and those were only due to a Bears turnover on offense. It wasn’t until a mop-up TD was scored by New England in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, largely against the Bears’ backups, where the vaunted 46 Defense finally allowed a legitimate scoring drive.
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For the Patriots, it was just an embarrassing Super Bowl appearance for a nondescript franchise. They weren’t anything to the NFL for twenty years and they wouldn’t be anything to the NFL for almost another 20.
Yes, they reached the Super Bowl again in the 1990s with BIll Parcells, but it wasn’t until 2001 when Drew Bledsoe was injured and a sixth round pick named Tom Brady took over at QB and started a run of winning like nothing the NFL has ever seen.
After 6 titles and 9 Super Bowl appearances under Brady and Belichick, the Patriots have become one of the league’s elite franchises, but it wasn’t always that way. The Patriots were once a franchise toiling in obscurity, one that hadn’t done anything other than earning themselves a footnote as the opponent for the 1985 Bears Super Bowl victory.
Times change, and for New England, the last twenty years of their franchise’s history is far more interesting than the first forty, that’s for sure.