When Tom Brady left the New England Patriots some years ago, it felt like the end of an era. And it was. the Pats really never were the same.
However, the recent announcement that Bill Belichick is leaving his position as the head coach of the franchise really feels like the final slamming of the door for that era. It was an era where the Patriots enjoyed a historical level of success.
How good were they?
Borrowing from my own blog entry post (New England Patriots Dynasty Appears To Be Over, published on February 4, 2020), here is a list of some of the incredible accomplishments that New England has reached during the Belichick/Brady era:
- 19 consecutive winning seasons, one behind the Dallas Cowboys record of 20 straight winning seasons.
- 17 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins, exceeding the record of 16 straight previously held by the San Francisco 49ers from 1983-1998.
- 11 straight AFC East division titles, far surpassing the previous record of seven straight division titles, achieved by the Los Angeles Rams from 1973-79, since passed by the current Kansas City Chiefs, who have now won eight straight AFC West division titles. In addition, the Patriots have won the AFC East 17 of 19 seasons, which also stands alone now as an unparalleled era of success in NFL history.
- 11 straight seasons qualifying for the playoffs, surpassed the previous mark of 9 straight, held by both the Dallas Cowboys from 1975-1983, and the Indianapolis Colts from 2002-2010.
- 8 straight seasons with at least 12 wins during the regular season, surpassing the previous record of 7 straight seasons with that mark, held by the Indianapolis Colts from 2003-2009.
- 10 straight seasons with at least 11 wins, also surpassing the previous record of 7 straight seasons with that mark, held by the Indianapolis Colts from 2003-2009.
- During the Belichick/Brady era, the New England Patriots had some of the longest winning streaks in league history. They hold the longest winning streak in NFL history of 21 straight wins, which is one more than the second longest winning streak of 19 straight, held by the 2010-2011 Green Bay Packers. The Pats also had other notable winning streaks during this era, when they won 18 straight during the 2007 season, 13 straight games twice, first from 2014-2015, and again more recently, from 2018-2019.
- The New England Patriots won more games in this time span than any other team in NFL history, surpassing the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980's and 1990's in that regard.
- The Patriots became the first team in modern North American sports history to win "Team of the Decade" honors in consecutive decades, winning with three Super Bowl titles in four appearances in the 2000's, and then earning "Team of the Decade" honors again in the 2010's, with three Super Bowl championships in five appearances.
- New England qualified for 9 Super Bowls in an 18 year span. That averages out to one out of every two Super Bowls during that stretch, which is phenomenal. They won six out of those nine appearances, which is also a record. No other team has even been to nine Super Bowls, and only one other NFL franchise , the Pittsburgh Steelers, have won six Super Bowls, as of the time of my writing this (January 2020).
- The Patriots became the first team to qualify for the AFC Championship Game eight consecutive times, which is more consecutive championship game appearances than any team in league history. That also means that they are the only team with at least one win in each postseason for eight consecutive seasons.
Clearly, this franchise enjoyed virtually unparalleled levels of success in recent seasons. Team owner Rovbert Kraft referred to Belichick as the greatest coach in NFL history during the announcement. And he very well may be that.
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