Patriots 2024 rebuild has eerie resemblance to the 1993 team

As the New England Patriots prepare for the 2024 season, we look back 31 years to the 1993 offseason, which was eerily similar.

The 1992 New England Patriots finished their season with two wins and 14 losses, putting them in last place in the AFC. It's similar to the 2023 Patriots, who won four games and finished last in the AFC East.

Albert Breer of NBC Boston posted on X that the 2023 Patriots team had the most losses since the 1992 team. 

That's just the start of the similarities. The 1992 team had a woefully awful offense, finishing 27th out of the 28 teams in the league, averaging only 12.8 points per game. In 2023, the Patriots ranked 31st out of 32 teams on offense, averaging just 13.9 points per game.

Patriots 2024 offseason has eerie resemblance to the 1993 team

Quarterback struggles

Both teams' quarterback positions were glaring weaknesses during the season, and there was a huge need to upgrade them in the off-season. 

During the 1992 season, the Patriots started four quarterbacks: Hugh Millen, Tom Hodgson, Jeff Carlson, and Scott Zolak. Zolak was the only quarterback to win games that year, winning the only two games the team won for the season.

The 2023 team saw two quarterbacks start, and three got playing time. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe got the majority of the snaps starting at quarterback, while Malik Cunningham saw limited action as well.

The similarities do not end there, however. The 1993 and 2024 teams had the top three picks in the NFL draft. The 93 team had the number one overall selection and drafted Drew Bledsoe. The 2024 currently has the number three pick heading into the NFL draft.

Lastly, both teams would have new coaches and coaching staff for the season. The Patriots hired Jerod Mayo at the end of the 2023 season and Bill Parcells at the end of the 1992 season.

What happens next?

The 1993 season saw the Patriots improve by three games, winning five. In Bill Parcell's second year with the team, 1994, they finished with ten wins and six losses. They made the playoffs but lost to Bill Belichick's Cleveland Browns in the wildcard round. 
Bill Parcells was named the NFL coach of the year for the 1994 season. 

The Patriots eventually made it to the Super Bowl in Parcells' fourth season in 1996, but they lost to the Green Bay Packers. That would be Bill Parcell's last season with the Patriots. After his relationship with his owner, Robert Kraft, fell into disrepair.

Looking at how lackluster the Patriots' 2023 offense was, if they can make it to the playoffs in Mayo's second year, that seems like a giant win based on how far the team has fallen, especially considering how they stack up against the current top teams in the AFC.

Although the new era that began with the 1993 season never brought a Super Bowl championship, it did bring a lot of excitement to the fan base. During that time, fans could taste what was possible, as the team got close to a championship but never got there.

One major difference

There is one big difference between the two teams. That has to do with the track record of previous teams and the fan base experience.

Before 1993, the team was consistently the doormat of the NFL. The fans of this most recent team had previously witnessed one of the most epic dynasties in professional sports history. The Bill Belichick and Tom Brady-led teams won six Super Bowls, making the disappointment and expectations much different from what they were heading into the 1993 season.

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