New England Patriots of 2003 and 2014 Share Shocking Similarities

By Connor Fulton @ConnorFultonRS on October 8, 2014

At times, you have to pinch yourself to remember that there was a time when the New England Patriots actually won Super Bowls. Smack in the middle of those glory years is the 2003 season in which the Patriots began a 21-game winning streak and defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. But it surely didn’t look like the Patriots were going to do much after the first month of regular season play in 2003.

There are several similarities between the 2003 Patriots and the 2014 Patriots thus far that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. For starters, let’s take a look at the first five games of each of these teams:

2003 Patriots                                   2014 Patriots

at Bills                    L    31-0               at Dolphins       L    33-20

at Eagles              W    31-10             at Vikings         W    30-7

Jets                      W    23-16               Raiders           W    16-9

at Redskins          L     20-17             at Chiefs            L     41-14

Titans                    W    38-30               Bengals          W    43-17

As you can see, both teams started 3-2, and in similar fashion: losing by double digits on the road to an AFC East rival, then winning by double digits on the road to an NFC team, then defeating an AFC team at home by only one touchdown, then losing on the road yet again and then defeating an AFC powerhouse at home to eclipse .500.

Granted, the Redskins loss was nowhere near the magnitude of the Chiefs loss this year and the victory over the Titans was only by one score, but you get the point; these two teams, separated by 11 years, began their respective seasons in nearly identical ways.

Another startling relationship between these teams is a classic Bill Belichick personnel decision. Five days before the Pats’ season opener in 2003, the Patriots released three-time All-Pro safety and locker room leader Lawyer Milloy; on Aug. 26 of this year, the Patriots stunned the football world by trading away six-time All-Pro guard Logan Mankins, creating similar unrest within the Patriots organization.

Both moves, it can be argued, contributed to the slow starts of these teams. Back in 2003, the defense was especially unhappy with Belichick and rumors swirled of an impending mutiny. This season, it was Tom Brady who was reportedly ticked off at his coach for ripping a hole in his offensive line.

2002 was perhaps the most unexciting season in the Belichick-Brady era, as the Patriots finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. After Brady’s forgettable performance in the 2003 opener in Buffalo, there were some who questioned whether or not he should be the Pats’ starting quarterback.

Sound familiar? It should, because after suffering that drubbing in Kansas City, some members of the media and fanbase were calling for a changing of the guard at quarterback.

Week 5 was the turning point for the 2003 Patriots. They set aside that topsy-turvy first month filled with tensions in the organization and defeated a Titans team at home that would eventually go on to make the playoffs that season. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that the Bengals will reach the playoffs this season for yet another similarity.

From that point on, the 2003 Patriots were invincible. They wouldn’t lose again that year, finishing 14-2 and going on to win the Super Bowl.

If there’s one thing you take away from this article, let it be this: The Patriots have been here before. Or rather, Belichick and Brady have been here before. Quite literally, this coach-quarterback duo has slogged through an uneven first month, a loss of a cornerstone player and a quasi quarterback controversy before. Unlike any other pair in NFL history, these two guys are actually in charted territory.

Patriots fans, you are in good hands.

Connor Fulton is a Patriots writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on Google. 

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