Sports Then and Now

The New England Patriots dynasty is the most successful in NFL history, eclipsing the past feats of the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. Since 2000, the franchise have won six Super Bowls, appearing in nine in total in the period.

Six. #SBLIII pic.twitter.com/GBYUYDKKyp

— NFL (@NFL) February 4, 2019

New England have dominated the AFC East, winning their division 15 out of the 18 seasons following the arrival of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. The duo have been the source of their imperious hold over the rest of the league, morphing from plucky underdogs in Super Bowl XXXVI to comparisons of the evil empire from the Star Wars movie series. Their reputation and their excellence has seen them backed as a leading contender for Super Bowl LIV, although the Kansas City Chiefs are the favorites in the Betfair betting tips for the 2019 season. New England are perhaps the safest bet for the title given that they have appeared in the AFC Championship game every year since 2011.

The Patriots’ dynasty has been split into two eras. The first when Brady was a young quarterback surrounded by a talented defense, including Hall of Famer Ty Law. As an unheralded sixth-round pick that rose to the top due to an injury to Drew Bledsoe, Brady captured the imagination of the sporting world, upsetting Super Bowl favorites St Louis Rams in New Orleans to secure New England’s first crown. The team kicked on in 2003 and 2004, winning back-to-back titles by defeating the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles before suffering a decade worth of heartbreak.

New England became the first team to go 16-0 in the 2007 season on the back of Brady’s brilliance but saw their quest for perfection ended by the New York Giants, who would then conquer them again in Super Bowl XLVI. After a below-par campaign in 2013 there were suggestions that the dynasty was over. However, Brady and Belichick surged towards the Super Bowl once again to overhaul the Seattle Seahawks, courtesy of one of the greatest plays in NFL history by Malcolm Butler.

The greatest Super Bowl comeback against the Atlanta Falcons saw a fifth Vince Lombardi trophy arrive at Gillette Stadium. However, a defeat in the title game at the hands of the Eagles saw Butler go from hero-to-zero, while Belichick and Brady were reportedly at odds. They managed put their differences aside, although the team struggled for peak form in 2018 until finally finding their rhythm. It was a case of back to the future against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII as a defensive effort limited Sean McVay’s men to only three points to secure the crown once more.

New season. Same Tom Brady. pic.twitter.com/6djVhswQtv

— ESPN (@espn) September 9, 2019

Belichick and Brady show no signs of slowing down. They’re now in pursuit of the feat that evaded them in 2017, back-to-back crowns for a second time. Incredibly, Brady and Belichick have managed to create two dynastic eras in 20 years. They have been the foundation around interchangeable parts, whether it was the defence in the early years or Brady’s potent offence of late. The Patriots now have a mesh of the two as they aim to lock up their seventh Lombardi. Another crown would see New England set a record for the most Super Bowl victories. It would certainly cement the Brady-Belichick era as the greatest the NFL has seen in 100 years of the professional game.