Patriots regular season review: Ranking 16 games by most fun to watch
The 2015 NFL regular season is in the books. New England Patriots fans are fortunate that they get to see their team play at least one more time; 20 other fan bases aren’t as lucky. But before we fully shift focus to the playoffs, it’s good to take a moment to reflect on the regular season.
As Patriots fans, we are accustomed to winning, which is largely what makes us the envy of most other fan bases. We get stressed out when the Patriots don’t take full command of a game.
Watching the Patriots is usually a fun experience, although some games are more enjoyable to watch than others. To pay homage to the regular season and transition toward the playoffs, sit back and relive all 16 games, ranked from least fun to watch to most enjoyable. For each game, at least one fun and one not fun thing is listed, depending on the ranking.
Next: 16. Loss to Eagles
16. Week 13 – Eagles 35, Patriots 28
What was fun to watch
- Tom Brady catching a pass for 36 yards, the second catch of his career. His first was a 24-yarder back in 2001.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- The special teams imploding. A blocked Ryan Allen punt translated into a touchdown return for Najee Goode, and then late in the third quarter, Darren Sproles returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown. No one on the Patriots’ punt coverage unit looked like they wanted to make a tackle on that play.
- Brady getting pressured. The Eagles pressured or sacked him on 34 percent of his dropbacks.
- Brady throwing avoidable and costly interceptions. The first occurred on the goal line when Brady forced a slant pass into double coverage and Malcolm Jenkins picked it off and returned the ball 99 yards for a touchdown. The second happened right after Brady’s 36-yard reception; evidently pumped up from the previous play, Brady took an ill-advised shot downfield and Byron Maxwell made the easy interception.
This was an extremely frustrating game to watch because it came on the heels of the Patriots’ first loss of the season. The Pats were expected to get back on track against a mediocre Eagles team, but instead they faltered so badly on special teams that the game spiraled out of control.
Next: 15. Loss to Dolphins
15. Week 17 – Dolphins 20, Patriots 10
What was fun to watch
- James White catching crossing route and taking the ball 68 yards just short of the goal line.
- Third round pick Geneo Grissom recording his first career sack.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- The Patriots play-calling extremely conservatively on offense. At least it looked that way, as they ran the ball 21 times and threw on just five occasions in the first half.
- The pass defense struggling mightily, surrendering 350 yards. Rookie DeVante Parker got the better of Logan Ryan, snagging five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.
- The offensive line taking the form of a subway station gate. Brady was harassed all afternoon, and the Patriots are honestly quite lucky that he didn’t suffer anything more serious than a high ankle sprain.
This was the second of two botched opportunities to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. At least the Patriots emerged out of this game without any further additions to the long-term injury report.
Next: 14. Loss to Jets
14. Week 16 – Jets 26, Patriots 20 (OT)
What was fun to watch
- Jabaal Sheard forcing a strip-sack of Ryan Fitzpatrick, which led to a Jamie Collins scoop and score, the first touchdown of Collins’ career.
- Keshawn Martin getting targeted regularly and successfully. The former Texan caught seven of his 11 targets for 68 yards.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Duron Harmon looking lost on one of Brandon Marshall’s touchdowns. Without Devin McCourty on the field, the Patriots had no answer for Marshall and Eric Decker; the best wide receiver duo in football combined for 162 yards and three touchdowns on 11 receptions.
- Overtime defense. Had Malcolm Butler not committed that costly pass interference penalty, the Patriots would have forced a three and out. Instead, Quincy Enunwa soon caught a 48-yard pass which set the Jets up for victory.
- Brady throwing an interception to arch-rival Darrelle Revis. The pick was a result of a miscommunication between Brady and Gronk.
This was the first of the Patriots’ two losses to divisional opponents to close out the season, and it was just barely less frustrating than the loss to Miami because it was actually a tight game. The Patriots didn’t deserve to win, and they didn’t.
Next: 13. Loss to Broncos
13. Week 12 – Broncos 30, Patriots 24 (OT)
What was fun to watch
- Brady leading an inspired late drive to force overtime. It was some vintage Brady that was on display, and it kept the Patriots’ hopes alive.
- Brandon Bolden catching a 63-yard touchdown pass out of the backfield.
- Chandler Jones making an athletic tip drill interception.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Chris Harper losing his job by muffing a punt, which was arguably the difference in this game. The Broncos set up shop deep in Patriots’ territory following the play, and they never looked back.
- The run defense getting pummeled for 179 yards on the ground. The winning play was a 48-yard burst by C.J. Anderson for a touchdown.
- Brady getting whacked nine times by the Denver pass rush, in addition to three sacks.
- Gronk’s injury scare, of course. That wasn’t fun to see.
This game marked the end of the Patriots’ undefeated run and the beginning of their late-season slump. Should the Patriots and Broncos encounter one another again in the playoffs, expect the Patriots to channel their frustration from this regular season game into a postseason victory.
Next: 12. Win over Titans
12. Week 15 – Patriots 33, Titans 16
What was fun to watch
- Joey Iosefa lowering the shoulder on Coty Sensabaugh.
- James White and the offense executing what Bill Belichick called “one of the best plays” of the season, a 30-yard screen pass for a touchdown.
- The pass rush getting after Marcus Mariota and Zach Mettenberger, highlighted by Chandler Jones’ two sacks. One of the sacks resulted in a fumble return touchdown for Akiem Hicks.
- Malcolm Butler coming up with a deserving interception to cap off his Pro Bowl sophomore season.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Danny Amendola muffing a punt. It was the Patriots’ third muffed punt in four games, as Amendola joined Chris Harper and Keshawn Martin in the dog house after that play.
- Delanie Walker catching a short pass and navigating his way through the Patriots’ defense with ease en route to a 57-yard touchdown. Matt Patricia chewed out the defense following the score.
The Patriots had no problem dispatching the Titans. The somewhat sleepy nature of the win relegates it was the least-fun Patriots victory of the season—after all, we’re talking about the worst team in the AFC. The Titans will be on the clock first in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Next: 11. Win over Redskins
11. Week 9 – Patriots 27, Redskins 10
What was fun to watch
- LeGarrette Blount running all over the Redskins. Blount’s 129 yards and score on 29 carries was the best performance of his season.
- Brandon LaFell getting back into the swing of things, nabbing five passes for 102 yards.
- Logan Ryan recording two passes defended, including an interception.
- The run defense holding Matt Jones and Alfred Morris to just 37 yards on the ground.
- The offensive line preventing the Redskins from sacking Brady.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Dion Lewis tearing his ACL, ending a promising and highlight-filled debut season with the Patriots.
This game went about as you would expect a Patriots-Redskins game in Foxboro to go. You may remember that the Patriots did an onside kick after scoring the opening drive touchdown; that about summed up the day.
Next: 10. Win over Jaguars
10. Week 3 – Patriots 51, Jaguars 17
What was fun to watch
- Devin McCourty intercepting an airmailed Blake Bortles throw. Considering how close the Jaguars were to plucking McCourty away from the Pats in free agency, it was nice to see D-Mac make a big play in this game.
- Blount reaching the end zone three times. This one game represents half of Blount’s total touchdowns on the season.
- Keshawn Martin catching a touchdown pass in his first game as a Patriot.
- The run defense preventing Jaguars running backs from rushing for more than 50 yards.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Allen Hurns break loose in garbage time for a 59-yard touchdown
The Patriots dominated throughout this game, putting up double-digits in points every quarter. The Jaguars are getting better, but Week 3 clearly showed that they aren’t anywhere near the level of the Patriots.
Next: 9. Win over Bills (Week 11)
9. Week 11 – Patriots 20, Bills 13
What was fun to watch
- Danny Amendola taking command of the passing game, snagging nine of 12 targets for 117 yards, including a 41-yard catch.
- James White continuing to grow his stock; the sophomore pro accounted for both of the Patriots’ touchdowns in this game (one running, one receiving).
- Brady calling out “Rex Ryan!” at the line of scrimmage at a volume easy for Monday Night Football viewers to hear.
- The Patriots’ defense keeping a scrambling Tyrod Taylor at bay; Taylor attempted to run on four occasions but he was held to just one yard.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- An inadvertent whistle negating a beautiful fading throw from Brady to Amendola that would have surely culminated in a touchdown.
- Brady throwing an interception to Stephen Gilmore.
It was an ugly game, but it’s always fun to watch the Patriots win on Monday Night Football, which is what nudges this game over the Jaguars and Redskins matchups on the fun meter.
Next: 8. Win over Jets
8. Week 7 – Patriots 30, Jets 23
What was fun to watch
- Gronk being Gronk. No. 87 caught 11 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
- The run defense impressively holding the elite backfield duo of Chris Ivory and Zac Stacy to just 60 yards rushing.
- Chandler Jones strip-sacking Ryan Fitzpatrick on of the first plays from scrimmage. Dont’a Hightower recovered the loose ball.
- Brady leading the Patriots to a fourth quarter comeback, hitting Gronk and Amendola each to salvage the victory.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- The Patriots’ inability to produce any semblance of a ground game. Of all people, Brady led the team with 15 yards rushing; other than that, White and Blount combined for a whopping one yard.
- Brandon LaFell dropping everything in sight. You may remember that this was his first game back off the PUP, and it wasn’t pretty.
A good old Brady-led fourth quarter comeback is what puts this game in the top half of the most fun Patriots games to watch in 2015.
Next: 7. Win over Dolphins
7. Week 8 – Patriots 36, Dolphins 7
What was fun to watch
- Gronk rumbling for a 47-yard touchdown to cap off a perfectly executed opening drive.
- Stephen Gostkowski breaking Adam Vinatieri’s record for consecutive field goals when he hit from 52 and 36 yards out, extending his streak to 26.
- Rutgers products Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon each getting their mitts on an interception.
- Front seven keeping the Miami ground attack at bay; Lamar Miller and Jonas Gray combined for 16 yards.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Brady getting hit seven times and sacked twice, which can be viewed now as a sign of things that would come in Week 17.
The Patriots had no problem dealing with the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football. If anything, the Patriots themselves stood in their own way more than the Dolphins did, but it was nonetheless a fun game to watch.
Next: 6. Win over Cowboys
6. Week 5 – Patriots 30, Cowboys 6
What was fun to watch
- Dion Lewis’ unreal touchdown catch and run. Here’s a Twitter reaction to the play to jog your memory.
- Julian Edelman breaking Morris Claiborne’s ankles, and then later ripping off a 59-yard reception off a slant route.
- Dont’a Hightower timing a blitz up the middle perfectly and dragging down Brandon Weeden for a loss.
- Stephen Gostkowski drilling a 57-yard field goal.
What wasn’t fun to watch
- Greg Hardy and the rest of the Dallas pass rush getting to Brady early and often in first quarter. Hardy himself had a pair of sacks.
Brady’s first visit to AT&T Stadium is fully worthy of the No. 6 spot in this ranking because it was fun to watch him overcome the initial Greg Hardy storm and lead the Pats to victory. After all, the Cowboys didn’t even muster a single touchdown in this game.
Next: 5. Win over Texans
5. Week 14 – Patriots 27, Texans 6
What was fun to watch
- Akiem Hicks and Jabaal Sheard coming into their own on the defensive line. The two newcomers combined for four sacks and six quarterback hits in total.
- The defense as a whole surrendering just 189 yards of offense to the playoff-bound Texans, including just 52 receiving yards to DeAndre Hopkins.
- Martin catching a touchdown pass against his former teammates.
What wasn’t fun to watch
- Martin muffing a punt, setting the Texans up deep in Patriots’ territory.
- Jonathan Grimes slipping through the defense for a 37-yard run.
The Patriots dodged their first three-game losing streak since 2002 by winning in Houston after back-to-back frustrations against Denver and Philly. It was a blast to watch the Patriots slice through the Texans like butter on national television.
Next: 4. Win over Bills (Week 2)
4. Week 2 – Patriots 40, Bills 32
What was fun to watch
- Brady throwing for 466 yards against the vaunted Rex Ryan defense, including 113 yards and a touchdown to Gronk, 98 to Lewis, 97 and a pair of scores to Edelman and 87 to Aaron Dobson.
- Lewis accumulating 138 yards from scrimmage on the afternoon.
- Pass rush registering 12 quarterback hits and eight sacks, led by Jones (four hits, three sacks) and Collins (four hits, 2.5 sacks).
- Butler’s acrobatic tip drill interception, his first since the Super Bowl XLIX heroism.
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What wasn’t fun to watch
- Patriots collectively taking their foot off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter, getting outscored 21-3. It made the game more interesting than it should have been.
You may remember that the Buffalo fan base so extremely excited for this matchup. New coach, new quarterback, new mentality—the Bills and their fans were beyond confident that they were going to win this game and upset the balance of power in the AFC East. But they didn’t, and it was fun to watch the Patriots re-assert their dominance over their divisional rivals.
Next: 3. Patriots over Steelers
3. Week 1 – Patriots 28, Steelers 21
What was fun to watch
- Gronk posting a hat trick of touchdown receptions.
- Lewis introducing himself to the NFL by racking up 120 yards from scrimmage.
- Rookie Malcom Brown making his first career sack in his first NFL game.
- Brady connecting on 25 of 32 attempts, good for a completion rate of 78 percent.
What wasn’t fun to watch
- The defense giving up 485 of total offense. Yes, the Steelers are one of the more explosive teams in the NFL, but it still wasn’t fun to watch Antonio Brown reel off 133 receiving yards and DeAngelo Williams rush for 127 big ones.
- The Patriots committing seven penalties, although that can be attributed in part to this being the first live action of the season.
More of a celebration of the Super Bowl XLIX victory than anything, it was great to see the Patriots prevail over AFC powerhouse Pittsburgh in Week 1.
Next: 2. Win over Colts
2. Week 6 – Patriots 34, Colts 27
What was fun to watch
- Collins blocking a Colts’ extra point attempt.
- Amendola making one of the catches of the season en route to a stat line of seven receptions for 105 yards. In a game that saw Edelman make a few drops, it was fun to see Amendola step up.
- Blount breaking loose for a 38-yard touchdown run. As long as Blount is a member of the Patriots, fantasy football players should always start him against the Colts.
- The Colts’ laughable botched fake punt attempt. That one won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
What wasn’t fun to watch
- Edelman dropping the ball on multiple occasions, one of which was caught of the deflection by Mike Adams and returned for a touchdown, Brady’s first interception of the season.
- Andrew Luck scrambling for a 25-yard run.
Coming in at No. 2 on this list is the Week 6 game in Indianapolis because it was just really fun to beat the Colts at home after enduring through an offseason of Deflategate nonsense.
Next: 1. Win over Giants
1. Week 10 – Patriots 27, Giants 26
What was fun to watch
- Gronk going 76 yards for a touchdown, the longest play of his career.
- Amendola slicing his way through the Giants’ coverage team on an 82-yard punt return.
- Butler’s coverage on Odell Beckham Jr. after the 87-yard touchdown. From that point on, Butler owned the matchup, allowing just 17 yards on three receptions to the star wideout.
- Gostkowski booting through the go-ahead 54-yard field goal, arguably the most clutch kick of his career.
What wasn’t fun to watch
- OBJ’s 87-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
- Brady throwing an uncharacteristic goal line interception to Trumaine McBride, which put the Giants back in the game.
- Duron Harmon tripping up Amendola right before the goal line on that punt return.
This was arguably the best game of the entire regular season across the league. An instant classic, really. Although it was nail-biting as all hell for Patriots fans, this game has to be remembered as the most exciting and enjoyable 60 minutes of football the Patriots played all year.
Next: AFC Power Rankings: End of regular season edition
Now, the attention shifts to the bye week and the postseason.