Top 5 worst moments from New England Patriots victories

4. The most devastating extra-point in team history

Rob Gronkowski had the best single-season ever by a tight end in 2011 with 90 receptions, 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns in only his second season in the league. Alongside Aaron Hernandez, the pair created matchup problems all over the field in the Patriots' two-tight end offense under offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. Gronkowski picked up where he left off in 2012 as he had 53 receptions, 758 yards and nine touchdowns through the first 10 games. However, a meaningless extra-point in a week 11 win over the Indianapolis Colts would ruin Gronkowski's season and the Patriots' Super Bowl hopes.

The Patriots demolished the Colts 59-24 at Gillette Stadium but Gronkowski broke his forearm while blocking on an extra-point attempt with the Patriots already ahead by 30 points late in the fourth quarter. He would miss the next five games and return for the season finale before re-breaking the forearm in a Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans. Without Gronkowski, the Patriots' offense only had Hernandez to rely on at tight end and lost the AFC Championship Game at home to the Baltimore Ravens.

3. Deflategate

After a decisive 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship Game, the Patriots were headed back to the Super Bowl after a two-year absence, looking for their first win in the big game in 10 years. Even with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks waiting for them, the Patriots were healthy and playing well on both sides of the ball so hopes were high. However, the morning after the game, news came out that the Patriots may have been playing with slightly deflated footballs. Thus began the stupidest two-year controversy in NFL history: Deflategate.

The Patriots were able to put the controversy behind them and defeat the Seahawks, however they, and quarterback Tom Brady, would pay the price over the next few years. Despite Bill Belichick's explanation of the Ideal Gas Law, commissioner Roger Goodell and the Wells Report found that the idea that Brady and the Patriots deflated footballs was "more probable than not". The team was fined $1 million, docked draft picks and Brady was suspended the first four games of the 2016 NFL season. Still, the Patriots went 3-1 in Brady's absence and went on to their fifth Super Bowl win at the end of the 2016 campaign.