Big Game misery: New England Patriots 5 Super Bowl losses ranked
By Zachary McMahon
Super Bowl XXXI: Brett Favre and Desmond Howard stole the show vs New England Patriots
In the 1996 season, Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots bounced back from a 6-10 record in the previous season in 1995.
Drew Bledsoe was a No.1 pick in 1993 and Bill Parcells came in as head coach after three dismal seasons in the early 1990s.
In 1996, the Patriots were 11-5 and was the No. 2 seed in the AFC Conference and won against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost the Super Bowl a year prior and the Jacksonville Jaguars in their 2nd year in the league.
Meanwhile, Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers were 13-3 and the #1 seed in the NFC. Packers would win against the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers, who were also in their second season in the league.
In the game, Brett Favre had 2 50+ yard touchdown passes to Andre Rison and Antonio Freeman (81). Freeman’s touchdown broke the record for the longest touchdown pass in Super Bowl history at the time, which was previously held by three touchdowns of 80 yards. That record would be broken by Mushin Muhammad of the Panthers in the Super Bowl XXXVIII loss against the Patriots.
To cap off the win for the Cheeseheads, Desmond Howard returned a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown, which was the longest kickoff return touchdown in Super Bowl history at the time. That record would be beaten by Baltimore Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones when he returned it back for 108 yards in the Super Bowl XLVII win against the 49ers.
Drew Bledsoe also threw four interceptions which tied a record for most interceptions thrown by a quarterback in a Super Bowl, which would get broken by Rich Gannon when he threw five in the Super Bowl loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.
This loss was more disappointing than Super Bowl XX because the Pats were a better team with a better quarterback than in 1985, and they did put up more of an effort.