By Sean Docherty

When you hear the name ‘New England Patriots’ a few things come to mind, Super Bowl, Brady and most notable of all, success. The Patriots are one of the most successful American Football teams of all time with the franchise achieving a record six Super Bowl wins since the start of the millennium, a record only equalled by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The main reason to their success was the consistency they kept under their coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots would draft a young Tom Brady from Michigan in 2000 with Belichick giving him the starting role the following season where they would go onto win their first every Super Bowl.

Head coach Bill Belichick at press conference (Maddie Meyer via Gettyimages)

The patriots would remain consistent, winning two out of the next two Super Bowls and only failing to reach the playoffs two times out of the next 18 years winning their division 16 times while doing so. The Patriots also defeated their rivals The New York Jets 34 times out of the 38 since Brady was a starter.

The Patriots had some brilliant moments during the Brady Era with so many notable achievements. One of their achievements was when they became the first team to go the entire regular season undefeated winning all 16 games with their only defeat coming in the Super Bowl where they ultimately fell short to the New York Giants.

Another notable moment in their history came in Super Bowl LI when The Patriots would overturn a 28-3 deficit to beat Atlanta Falcons 34-28 which remains the greatest comeback ever in the Super Bowl.

The Patriots last Super Bowl win came in Super Bowl LIII when they defeated LA Rams 13-3. This would mark the end of the patriot’s dynasty with star player Tom Brady leaving the team at the end of the following season where he would go onto win the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady spent nearly 20 years with the patriots throwing 541 touchdowns and making 191 interceptions in 285 games.

Tom Brady being interviewed after victory over the LA Rams (Simon M Burty via Gettyimages)

Since Brady’s departure The Patriots have only reached the playoffs on one occasion where they were eliminated in the first round where they lost 47-17 to the Buffalo Bills. Four of the last five Seasons the Patriots have failed to reach the playoffs with them finishing last in their division the past two seasons with a record of 4-13 both times with the Bills winning the division the past five years.

Since 2020 The Patriots have struggled to replace Brady and replicate his numbers which has resulted in an extreme drop in form. The franchise has had three different starting Quarterbacks since Brady’s departure. Cam Newton was the first to inherit the quarterback role, he was then followed by Mac Jones who was starter for three years and finally Drake Maye. These quarterbacks had a combined 69 touchdowns and 56 interceptions whereas in Brady’s first five years as starter he had 123 touchdowns and 66 interceptions.

While Brady’s departure was a major reason for the lack of success other departures such as tight-end Rob Gronkowski started a slump in form for the franchise. Gronkowski was one of many who played a major role in the Patriots Dynasty reaching five Super Bowls and winning three during his time at The Patriots.

Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady at event (Matt Winkelmeyer via Gettyimages)

The Bill Belichick era came to an end in 2023 after spending more than two very successful decades at the franchise. Belichick would leave the patriots as the most successful NFL coach of all time coaching the Patriots to nine Super Bowls winning six of them as well as winning more than 300 games with the Patriots.

It is uncertain what the future has in store for The New England Patriots, but no one will forget the history this great franchise made and has everyone asking the same question, how long will this football giant remain dormant?

Downfall of the New England Patriots