PatriotsLife Round Table: Most memorable blowout in recent history?
Patriots fans are priviledged.
There really is no way around it when your team has won at least 10 games for 11 straight years and been division champions in all but two years since Tom Brady took the reigns in 2001.
In that time period, we've seen a lot of blowouts. A lot of them. Mostly it's been the Patriots pummeling the other team. Yet, the thing about blowouts is they are pretty fun at the time, but they don't quite stick in your memory as classic games as much as some of those nailbiters do. From last season, which game do you remember better, a 24 point win over the Steelers or the comeback three point win over New Orleans with Kenbrell Thompkins' game winning catch?
In light of that revelation and still basking in the glory of this past Sunday's 28 point trouncing of the Bears, we decided to poll ourselves of what Patriots blowout games actually stick in our memory from the past few years. There's a lot of them, for sure.
So here's a collection of what we think are the most memorable blowouts. Keep in mind this isn't a ranking and we deliberately wanted to have each writer focus on a different game (yes we all know the butt fumble games the best). Comment below with your most memorable blowout game!
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Fun in the snow
Patriots 59 Titans 0
October 18th, 2009
This one may actually be my favorite one I've ever seen.
If you may recall, the Titans came in as a winless team and the Pats were relatively strong but this was overall a down year for them and they were just coming off a loss to Josh McDaniels' Broncos. What made this game memorable for me were two things:
1. The snow.
That date up there isn't a typo, there was a snow storm in Massachusetts in October. That's what made this game so unusual. The Titans were clearly unprepared for that while the Patriots basked in the weather, absolutely slaughtering Tennessee.
2. The score.
I remember this blowout actually being pretty exciting. Just about every scoring play was great. Laurence Maroney capped things off with a 45 yard touchdown run. Randy Moss hauled in two straight deep balls for touchdowns, including one that was 40 yards. He ended the day with three. Kevin Faulk also had a long catch and run and Wes Welker got two touchdowns himself. Even Brian Hoyer got in on the action with a touchdown run.
It's hard to completely shut out a team too, and towards the end of a blowout you do really start rooting for that shutout. The Pats also scored so many points that they were dangerously close to breaking the all-time record for points in a game (72).
It was also reminscient of the good old 2007 days, where for awhile nearly every game was a blowout. 2009 wasn't the greatest year in Patriots history, but it gave us this game and for that I'm thankful.
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Paul Murphy (@_prmurphy)
Matt Cassel's statement
New England 47 Arizona 7
December 21st, 2008
In the Week 16 matchup at Gillette Stadium, the bizarre Arizona Cardinals came to Foxboro needing a win to make the NFC playoffs. Arizona featured five Pro Bowl players, including QB Kurt Warner and wide receivers, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
New England was led by backup QB Matt Cassel who had filled in admirably for the starter Tom Brady. Tom was injured in Week 1 against The Kansas City Chiefs.
Two early touchdown runs by Lamont Jordan of one and three yards gave the Patriots an early lead. New England added to the lead in the second quarter with a 15 yard pass from QB Matt Cassel to RB Kevin Faulk, and an 11 yard strike to WR Wes Welker.
The third quarter featured a 76 yard bomb from Cassel to WR Randy Moss. A late score from Arizona backup QB Matt Leinart to WR Larry Fitzgerald completed the scoring.
Arizona starter, QB Kurt Warner was taken out in the third quarter after completing only six of 18 passes for just 30 yards.
Just two months later, the Arizona lost Super Bowl XLIII, 27-23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Conor Frederick (@C_Frederick1016)
The Butt Fumble game
Patriots 49 Jets 19
November 22nd, 2012
The Buttfumble game will forever live in Patriots' fans memory, as it gave us one of the funniest moments in recent memory. Not only did the Patriots blow out the Jets in a game that ended 49-19, but Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez ran into one of his own offensive lineman and fumbled the ball, which was returned for a Patriots touchdown.
That game will forever live in my memory as my favorite blow out for 2 reasons: One is the Buttfumble (which was voted ESPN's "Worst of the Worst" for so long, it had to be forcibly retired) and because it was a division game against the Jets, and it always feels fantastic when you blow out a team from your division.
This game was similar to last Sunday's game, as the Patriots put up 35 2nd quarter points to put this game to bed (compared to 31 against Chicago). Brady threw for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for another, but this game will always be remembered as the Buttfumble game. And that never fails to put a smile on my face.
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The Letterman Jacket Massacre
Patriots 42 Texans 14
December 10th, 2012
Some blowouts are just sweeter than others. The blowout win against the Houston Texans in 2012 was one of those. The Texans franchise was experiencing unprecedented success at the time. Coming in regarded as the best team in the NFL and considered a lock for the #1 overall seed. They even went as far as to have letterman jackets made up and proudly wore them and took pictures with them on. The game was going to serve as a changing of the guard. They would show the Patriots they were the new power to be reckoned with in the AFC. But that's not the way it turned out.
The Patriots scored quick on a touchdown pass to a tight end who will not be named, then a Devin McCourty interception set up what I consider the most memorable play from the game. The Patriots ran a hard play action pass which the Texan's defense bit on hard. That left Brandon Lloyd open for a walk in 37 yard touchdown pass and the rout was on.
The final score of the game was 42-14. But the damage to the Texans psyche couldn't be measured. They lost 3 of their last 4 games and lost home field advantage in the playoffs. They had to make the return trip back Foxborough a few weeks later and didn't fair any better. They lost that game 42-28 but the game wasn't even close.
I commonly refer to this game as "The game that the Patriots broke the Texans" because they were never the same afterwards. As I mentioned before, they stumbled at the end of 2012. The following year they won their first two games and then lost 14 straight. Including their "homecoming game" against the Patriots. Their coach was fired and their quarterback traded to the Raiders.
You can point to this one game as the point when the team peaked and then everything went downhill afterwards. Making this blowout a franchise changer and that type of blowout is as sweet as it gets.
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Putting the Jets in their place (for now)
Patriots 45 Jets 3
December 6th, 2010
First, let me start by saying, if I haven't before, that the Jets are my No. 1 hated team in any sport. More than the Yankees, Lakers, Canadiens, etc. I hate them because they're so cocky for a bunch of guys who have never won anything. And don't even get me started on the fans.
Anyway, there are many reasons for the 2010 Monday Night Football match up against the Jets being my favorite Patriots blowout. Both teams came in at 9-2, and the Jets had beaten the Patriots at home earlier in the season. The team and the fans wanted revenge. They got it, and it was beautiful. It was a dismantling of epic proportions on a national stage with so much on the line.
The game really was over before it started, as the Pats scored 17 unanswered points in the first quarter and they didn't take their foot off the gas even once. Tom Brady was masterful, as he threw for four touchdowns and looked so fired up on every play, which got me even more amped. The best part of it all was after one of his many touchdown passes, he looked over at his bench, and then the Jets bench and figuratively said "don't mess with me." Not only that, but the defense, which was maligned at the time, only gave up a field goal in the second quarter. Of course, the Jets had the last laugh in the playoffs later that season. But for that night, it was a thing of beauty.
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London Calling
Patriots 45 Rams 7
October 28th, 2012
We Patriots fans have been blessed with a flurry of blowouts over the years. Be it dominant divisional showings against the hated Jets and Dolphins, or beating down Houston in the 'biggest game in Texans history'. The one that will always live most vivid in my memory though, is the first beatdown that I saw live - the 45 - 7 demolition of the Rams in 2012 at Wembley Stadium. While the UK Patriots fanbase network is extensive, it is rare that we get the opportunity to see our team live at all. Which is why this crushing is so special.
While the Patriots offense was flying in 2012, we had struggled to keep Gronkowski and Hernandez on the field simultaneously. While Hernandez missed this game with an injury, the Brady/Gronkowski connection was the real back breaker for the Rams. After going 7 down in the first quarter, it looked like the game might be a close run affair. But the fast tempo offense was ruthlessly efficient, and after incessant screaming that Brandon Lloyd was open in the corner of the end-zone, Brady looped a perfect fade in for the TD. The Patriots never looked back.
A Vereen touchdown on the goal line was followed by a trademark Gronk catch-and-bulldoze TD (some of you may remember his celebration - the Buckingham Palace guard march/spike combo). Another memorable performance on the day was that of rookie Chandler Jones, who showed flashes of the player he was going to become by providing relentless pressure on Sam Bradford. That day felt like part of the march to another Lombardi, and while it eventually ended at the hands of the Ravens, it was an unforgettable day.
