The New England Patriots are the Manchester United of the NFL world.
Led by head coach Bill Belichick, the Sir Alex Ferguson of American football, and quarterback Tom Brady, NFL’s version of Ryan Giggs, the Patriots have been the dominant force in the league for the best part of 20 years.
Since selecting Brady with the 199th overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, New England have reached the Super Bowl on nine occasions.
There have only been 19 Super Bowl matches during that period, meaning the Patriots have played in 50% of the Super Bowls during the Brady-Belichick era.
Furthermore, New England have won six of those games, most recently in 2019. It wasn’t a classic for neutrals but Patriots fans didn’t care; that 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams will live long in the memory.
Could New England reach the NFL showpiece in 2020? It would be foolish to write the Patriots off…
Fans of the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets have had to sit back and watch the Patriots dominate the AFC East for the best part of 20 years – it can’t have been easy.
Since the start of the 2001 season, New England have been crowned division champions an incredible 16 times.
Belichick has seen Dolphins, Bills and Jets coaches come and go over the years but nothing has changed the general outlook of the AFC East.
New England are always well backed to go on and retain the divisional title at the beginning of each season and NFL betting odds for the Patriots are never great for punters.
The Patriots mentality is arguably their greatest strength of all. Instilled in the entire roster from day one, New England believe strongly in a ‘next man up’ policy.
If a player goes down hurt, the Patriots are well equipped to cope through astute coaching and smart play-calling. An injury to Brady is perhaps the only exception to that particular rule.
New England have had some of the most talented players in NFL history over the years, with the likes of Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski and Vince Wilfork wreaking havoc on both sides of the ball.
The Patriots front office is arguably the smartest in the NFL and every decision is made with the team’s best interests at heart.
That is another area where the Patriots have a clear advantage. New England take emotion out of decisions and Belichick isn’t afraid to make tough calls if it is going to prove beneficial for the team.
Brady has been untouchable for most of his NFL career but you feel Belichick would give the green light to move on if needs be.
It looked like the Patriots could go undefeated in 2019 entering Week 7 but things haven’t exactly gone to plan for New England in recent weeks.
The Patriots were disappointing in the 37-20 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens in November while they struggled to keep tabs on the Houston Texans in their latest NFL loss.
However, like elite teams in every sport, they always find a way to win. Whether plagued by injuries or facing a playoff contender in a tough road game, New England usually come up trumps.
As long as the Belichick-Brady combination reigns supreme, the Patriots will always be in the Super Bowl reckoning.
Love them or hate them, you have to respect them. The Patriots have helped to mould the modern-day NFL and American football fans have been lucky to live through a special era for the sport.
New England’s dominance won’t last forever though; so let’s enjoy them while we can – the sands of time are running out for Brady and Belichick.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Elise Amendola / AP Photo*
