The New England Patriots have played in 11 AFC Championships during the Brady-Belichick era, and they have a pretty solid record so far.
The Patriots are 7-4 under Bill Belichick in AFC Championship Games, and they’ll look to add another win and Super Bowl trip to the books on Sunday against the Jaguars.
Here, I’ve taken a look at the first 11 AFC title games of the Brady-Belichick era, ranking them from most devastating to the most satisfying. Of course, these are just my opinions and they’re open for debate, so let us know in the comments or on Twitter how you’d rank these 11 historical Patriots games.
11. 2006 AFC Championship Game – Indianapolis Colts
Final: Colts 38, Patriots 34
The New England Patriots were a dynasty by the time the 2006 AFC Championship rolled around. They had won 3 of 4 Super Bowls, but in 2005 they dropped the ball. In 2006, New England looked to bounce back. They went 12-4 during the regular season before taking down the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers in the playoffs. Of course, the Patriots then met Peyton Manning’s Colts in the AFC Championship Game.
The game was a tale of two halves, with New England losing it in the 3rd and 4th quarters. The Patriots had a 21-6 lead at halftime, and another Super Bowl trip looked like a lock. At one point, the Colts actually trailed by 18, but Manning ripped the hearts of New Englanders out. A Joseph Addai touchdown run with a minute left in the game put the Colts up 38-34, but that left Tom Brady and the Patriots with one more chance. Instead, Brady threw an interception and the Colts got to go to the Super Bowl.
What makes this one sting a little more is the fact that the Patriots likely would have another Super Bowl trophy if they had won this game. The NFC was represented by a Rex Grossman led Chicago Bears team that couldn’t handle the Colts. They wouldn’t have been able to handle New England either.
10. 2012 AFC Championship Game – Baltimore Ravens
Final: Ravens 28, Patriots 13
This is another very disappointing game because the Patriots likely would have won the Super Bowl. The San Francisco 49ers had a dynamic QB in Colin Kaepernick, but the Patriots would have had so much more experience on their roster.
In the AFC title game, New England grabbed an early lead. The only score of the first quarter was a Stephen Gostkowski field goal, but in the second quarter, Ray Rice put the Ravens up 7-3. New England responded though. Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field and finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker. Another Gostkowski field goal gave the Patriots a 13-7 halftime lead, but they wouldn’t score again.
Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense held the Patriots scoreless as Joe Flacco threw 3 touchdown passes in the second half. The first went to Dennis Pitta and the second two went to Anquan Boldin.
Brady finished the game with 320 yards and a touchdown, but his two interceptions were too much to overcome. Stevan Ridley also had a costly fumble to give the Ravens a 3-0 turnover advantage. This one stung.
9. 2015 AFC Championship Game – Denver Broncos
Final: Broncos 20, Patriots 18
Yep, the Patriots would have won the Super Bowl in this season too if they had made it. The Carolina Panthers weren’t ready for the big stage, and to see Brady in Super Bowl 50 in his hometown would have been awesome. Instead, the Patriots fell to the Broncos, and Peyton Manning once again in the AFC Championship Game.
DeflateGate was a year old when this game took place, and New England could have silenced so many haters with a win. They were so close too. Owen Daniels caught a touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to get things started, but New England responded with a Steven Jackson TD run. Gostkowski missed the extra point though, and the Broncos retained their lead. Daniels caught another score in the second quarter, and Gostkowski swapped field goals with Brandon McManus for a 17-9 score at the half.
Two more field goals were added (one for each team) and the Patriots were down 20-12 in the final quarter. Tom Brady then led New England down the field, and he connected with Rob Gronkowski on a 4-yard touchdown pass with just 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Patriots had to go for 2 and a tie, but they couldn’t convert and the Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl. It was a great game, a classic even, but it’s unfortunate that it didn’t end with the Patriots on top.
8. 2013 AFC Championship Game – Denver Broncos
Final: Broncos 26, Patriots 16
For me, this is the Patriots AFC Championship Game that hurts the least. The game wasn’t all that close in the end, and the NFC’s Seattle Seahawks likely could have done to New England what they did to Denver in the Super Bowl.
Denver had a 13-3 at the half thanks to a Jacob Tamme touchdown reception and 2 Matt Prater field goals. The Broncos continued to extend that lead with a touchdown to Demaryius Thomas and yet another 3 points from Prater.
New England began their comeback in the 4th quarter, but they were a little too late. Brady threw a touchdown pass to Julian Edelman and ran a score in from 5-yards out, but in between those Prater hit another field goal and Denver held on for a 26-16 win.
7. 2007 AFC Championship Game – San Diego Chargers
Final: Patriots 21, Chargers 12
Chargers QB Phillip Rivers played this game on a torn ACL so props to him, but this was the least exciting AFC title game win for the Patriots. They were undefeated and were the heavy favorite to make it to the Super Bowl.
Surprisingly, the Patriots offense started off very slowly. Running back Laurence Maroney got them on the board in the second quarter to take a 7-3 lead. Jabar Gaffney then hauled in a TB12 touchdown pass for a 14-6 lead. San Diego’s best player of the half, Nate Kaeding, it a third field goal before halftime and it was just 14-9.
Kaeding had the only score of the third quarter, and all of the Chargers points, when he added a 4th field goal. New England pulled away and went up 21-12 with a Wes Welker touchdown early in the final quarter. The defense did enough to hold that lead and they kept the Chargers out of the end zone all day. Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel both had interceptions off Rivers in the win.
6. 2014 AFC Championship Game – Indianapolis Colts
Final: Patriots 45, Colts 7
Ahhh the game that started the DeflateGate saga that ultimately ended with a Tom Brady 4-game suspension. To be honest, that hurts this game a little bit in terms of enjoyability. Also the score. Sure it’s fun to run away with a huge blowout in one of the biggest games of the season, but the best football games are the nailbiters.
The Patriots were in control of this game from the start as LeGarrette Blount and James Develin both found the end zone in the first quarter to give New England a 14-0 cushion. The Colts looked like they could make it a game when Zurlon Tipton pushed one over the goal line in the second quarter, but they never got on the scoreboard again.
The game got even more interesting when left tackle Nate Solder caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady. Then. TB12 got his third of the game with a pass to Rob Gronkowski. The game was closed out on the ground with two more rushing touchdowns from Blount. He finished the night with 148 rushing yards while Brady threw for 226 yards, the 3 touchdowns, and one interception. Andrew Luck had just 126 passing yards and he threw two interceptions for the Colts.
5. 2004 AFC Championship Game – Pittsburgh Steelers
Final: Patriots 41, Steelers 27
This game helped the New England Patriots to become a true dynasty. They had to again beat the Steelers, this time against Ben Roethlisberger. New England dominated.
The Patriots led 24-3 at halftime, thanks to Tom Brady touchdown passes to Deion Branch and David Givens, as well as an 87-yard interception return touchdown from Rodney Harrison. The Steelers had no chance at that point. New England’s defense wasn’t as stout in the second half though. They allowed Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward, and Plaxico Burress to get into the end zone, but New England’s offense kept rolling too.
Corey Dillon had a 25-yard rushing TD and Deion Branch caught a second from Tom Brady. There were some field goals sprinkled in, but the Patriots ran away with a 41-27 victory.
4. 2016 AFC Championship Game – Pittsburgh Steelers
Final: Patriots 36, Steelers 17
The Steelers again? It seems the Patriots have a knack for taking down big, bad Pittsburgh in big games. In 2016, a season of vindication for Tom Brady and the Patriots, they did just that once again.
In order to get back to the Super Bowl for a 5th title, New England had to take down Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown. Luckily for the Patriots, Bell was limited due to an injury and DeAngelo Williams had to fill in. The Patriots defense shut down the Steelers, and Tom Brady carved up their secondary.
Chris Hogan had a huge day with 2 touchdowns and 180 yards receiving, followed by Julian Edelman’s 118 yards, 1 touchdown performance. Tom Brady was spectacular with 384 yards and 3 TD passes while not turning the ball over. The game was never close as the Steelers didn’t score their second touchdown until late in the final quarter. Most of the game was just a celebration for Patriots fans.
3. 2003 AFC Championship Game – Indianapolis Colts
Final: Patriots 24, Colts 14
Back when Peyton Manning was with the Colts, this was a huge rivalry. In this game, the Patriots defense made him look silly. Peyton Manning threw four interceptions to the Patriots, with 3 to corner Ty Law and 1 to safety Rodney Harrison. Jarvis Green sacked Manning 2.5 times, while Willie McGinest added 1 and Roman Phifer cleaned up with half a sack. It was a defensive clinic. Oh, and they had a safety too!
New England’s offense did just enough with a touchdown from Tom Brady to David Givens and 5 field goals from the legendary Adam Vinatieri.
2. 2001 AFC Championship Game – Pittsburgh Steelers
Final: Patriots 24, Steelers 17
This game was simply awesome. After surrendering the starting quarterback job to a young Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe was asked to step up and fill in after an injury. Troy Brown got the part started though with a 55-yard punt return in the first quarter. The Steelers responded, but they were only able to muster a field goal.
Right before halftime, Drew Bledsoe tossed an 11-yard pass to David Patten for a score, and New England went into the locker room with a 14-3 lead. No one saw this coming.
The Patriots offense stalled over the next two quarters, but with a great defense, that was okay. In the third, Antwan Harris returned a blocked Steelers field goal attempt 49-yards for a touchdown to give New England a 21-3 lead. That’s when Pittsburgh began their comeback. Jerome Bettis and Amos Zereoue both got in on rushing touchdowns, and the Steelers pulled closer at 21-17. A Vinatieri field goal added some more room to the lead, and the Patriots earned their ticket to Super Bowl 36 with a 24-17 win.
1. 2011 AFC Championship Game – Baltimore Ravens
Final: Patriots 23, Ravens 20
Yes, I know the Patriots were upset in the Super Bowl again this year, but this AFC title game was so much fun. It was so close all night, and with the ending, this was a classic.
In the first quarter, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal was the only score. The second quarter had a bunch of action though. Billy Cundiff hit a 20-yard field goal for the Ravens, but the Patriots got into the end zone on a 7-yard BenJarvus Green-Ellis rush. The Ravens responded. Joe Flacco connected with his tight end Dennis Pitta to tie the game 10-10, but with 3 minutes to go before the half Gostkowski nailed another field goal.
Scoring in the second half also opened with a Gostkowski kick to put New England ahead 16-10. The one score game was too close, and the Ravens were able to take a lead with another Flacco touchdown. This time it was a 29-yarder to Torrey Smith. A Cundiff field goal pushed the Ravens lead to 20-16. In the final quarter, the Patriots needed to score, and Tom Brady got them in the end zone on a 1-yard rush. Now, it was all up to the defense.
The Ravens were able to get down the field, but Sterling Moore had a couple of pass breakups to keep Baltimore out of the end zone. The Ravens had to send Billy Cundiff on for a 32-yard field goal attempt to try to tie the game and send it to over time. He missed wide left, and the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl once again.
Cundiff took it personally, even though his teammates had his back.
"“When it’s your job … and get paid to make field goals, I think you have to take it personally,” Cundiff said. “First and foremost is to stand up and face the music and move on.”"
So, which game do you feel is the best Patriots win? Which is the worst? Vote below!
Which #Patriots AFC Championship Game win was the most satisfying?
— Chowder & Champions (@CandCFanSided) January 15, 2018
Which #Patriots AFC Championship Game loss was the worst?
— Chowder & Champions (@CandCFanSided) January 15, 2018
The Patriots will attempt to add another big win to this list on Sunday in their 7th straight AFC Championship Game.
Next: How the Patriots matchup with the Jags
New England and the Jacksonville Jaguars will kick things off at 3:05 PM at Gillette Stadium with a trip to Super Bowl LII in Minnesota on the line. In the NFC, the Vikings are attempting to become the first team to play in a Super Bowl at home as they go on the road to take on the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles. Both games should be a lot of fun to watch, and history will be made one way or the other.