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Top 10 2014 Patriots Plays of the Year

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Here they are, the 10 best plays of the 2014 Patriots regular season. The winners of the best three were: 1. Gronk’s catch vs. Denver 2. Gronk’s Catch & Run vs. Indy 3. Amendola’s Catch vs. Jets

Wilfork game-sealing interception vs. Raiders.

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Danny Amendola game-winning TD vs. Jets

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Chris Jones game-saving blocked FG

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Brian Tyms Deep Threat TD vs. Bills

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Gronk TD Rumble vs. Colts

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Browner Hit on Chargers

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Edelman long TD vs. Chargers

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Chandler Jones Blocked FG

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Gronk runs over Bears

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Gronk one-handed catch vs. Broncos

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GIFs That Defined Patriots Super Bowl Win Over Seahawks

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As expected, this was a game that was tied at the half and went down to the final play. The Patriots found themselves in a 10-point hole in the fourth quarter and, after giving up four-straight scoring drives, things were looking a little bleak as the Seahawks got the ball back.

First, I have to start with a 3rd-and-1 red zone stop of Marshawn Lynch, a play that everyone seems to forget about when talking about the last play of the game. Without this stop, we might’ve been looking at overtime. Siliga does a great job holding the POA while Ninkovich crashes down to make the stop.

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Now we’re in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots had to get a stop to keep the game from slipping completely out of comeback reach. So this nextGIF, a Rob Ninkovich sack (thanks to great coverage) is the spark that ignited the rally. 

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The Seahawks punted, but things still weren’t looking good for the Pats after a sack on first down put them into a hole. This 3rd-and-14 conversion to Julian Edelman was one of the best plays of the game and Edelman paid a vicious price for making the catch. Without this play, the Pats probably would’ve lost.

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Edelman makes another huge third-down catch on this same drive, and it almost look like a carbon cop of the last one. Brady climbs the pocket and shows great touch to set the Pats up inside the red zone. They’d score a touchdown two plays later to cut the lead to 24-21.

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Seattle got the ball back with clinging to a three-point lead with momentum clearly on the Patriots’ side. Once again the defense rises to the challenge, forcing a three-and-out. Credit great initial coverage from Jamie Collins on this third down to get the ball back in Tom Brady’s hands. 

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The Patriots wouldn’t face a third down on the game-winning drive, due to a couple great plays to Rob Gronkowski. This one on 2nd-and-11 got the Pats into Seahawks territory and at least on the edge of field goal range.

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Then this one to Gronk got them inside the red zone with the chance to take the lead. Everyone contributed on the last two drives, including Shane Vereen and Brandon LaFell, who would make the next two plays after this one. The Pats would take the 28-24 lead a couple plays later.

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Once again, Tom Brady got the Patriots a lead in the Super Bowl and it came down to the defense getting a stop. After the miracle catch by Jermaine Kearse, the Seahawks were set up inside the 10 yard line. This stop on first down by Hightower and Chung was a championship-saver. Knowing now that Hightower was playing with a torn labrum makes it look even more impressive. Everyone will remember the last interception, but this gritty stop was every bit as important.

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And of course, the play that everyone will remember for all of NFL history.

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See the entire season of GIFS THAT DEFINED THE GAME here.

Pats Posits: The Patriots are Super Bowl Champions!

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This one means the most to me. Yes, I grew up a Patriots fan and spent plenty of time watching the old Patsies getting their asses handed to them in the old Foxboro Stadium, so the first Super Bowl win was special.

But it was after the 2005 AFC Divisional loss to the Broncos that I realized that Brady and Belichick had an unknown end date and a finite number of chances to win it all, that my Pats passion truly kicked into another gear.

Then, in 2007, when my real job slowed to a crawl due to a strike, I found an ad on Craigslist saying you could get paid to blog about your favorite sports team. After a trip back to see the ‘07 Pats beat the Steelers, when I saw a banner being flown over Gillette Stadium saying the Pats’ Super Bowl wins deserved asterisks, I decided to start blogging.

Since then I’ve written exclusively about the Patriots, analyzing their team building process and schemes, breaking down all the wins and losses, through thick and thin. It’s been over seven years, thousands of blog posts and millions of page views.

The disappointment of the season endings from 2006-2013 was ever-compounding. Maybe Patriots fans are spoiled, but to miss out on the playoffs is one kind of disappointment. To keep getting so close to the ultimate goal on the biggest stages and continually fall one play short is another kind.

Needless to say my bond to this team has grown exponentially since becoming a Patriots blogger. So to finally win the big one again and to be able to “celebrate” it with my online audience and fanmates, this is a new kind of special.

I want to thank every one of you that have supported this blog with your clicks, questions, conversations and t-shirt purchases. You’re the ones who make this incredibly fun, and why I keep doing it despite it not being even close to a money-making venture.

It’s still sinking in this morning. When it looked like the Patriots were going to lose another Super Bowl on another miracle catch I was beside myself, pacing in another room away from everyone, where I could just see the TV.

I always say you can’t truly appreciate a win unless you’ve accepted at some point there’s a good chance you’re going to lose. Well I don’t think I’ve ever accepted a loss more than I had last night as the Seahawks lined up for their final two plays.

To have Malcolm Butler come through and make a huge play – a play the Patriots defense couldn’t make in 2007 or 2012, well, I am not sure the words that do it justice other than poetic and perfect.

I can’t even look at the Kearse catch this morning without re-feeling the pit that was in my stomach when he came up with it. Truth be told, I didn’t even have my eyes on the screen when he caught it. I had half the TV blocked and only saw Wilson throw it up, then listened for the result.

So today, the Patriots are once again Super Bowl champions and the razor-thin margin of victory is every bit as thin as it was in their two Super Bowl losses.

The win embodied everything the 2014 Patriots were. Clutch red zone stops by the defense and a surgical and diverse passing attack, led by the greatest quarterback of all time.

I’m going to enjoy this one for a while, but inevitably we’ll be back at the bottom of the mountain once again, looking up at Super Bowl 50, one that will take place in Tom Brady’s hometown, with a chance for Brady and Belichick to break every Super Bowl record in the book.

Not that I’m on to 2015 just yet, but still…

Best Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl Previews of the Week

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There was a ton of great content out there this week, and it was hard not to miss some of it. So here are my favorite pieces:

Bill Barnwell/Grantland Super Bowl Preview

Chris Brown/Grantland Understanding Bill Belichick’s Genius

Matt Bowen/Bleacher Report Super Bowl Film Study

Greg Bedard/MMQB Super Bowl Preview

Bill Barnwell/Grantland Finding a Weakness

Andy Benoit/MMQB Containing Russell Wilson is Key

Finally, a Definitive Super Bowl Breakdown «

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Finally, a Definitive Super Bowl Breakdown «

Really well-written and researched piece from Bill Barnwell. Tactically he comes to some of the same conclusions I did for my gameplan article that will post tomorrow – keep Wilson contained, trust Wilfork and the men in the middle to stop Lynch.

He picks the Seahawks and I can’t fault his reasoning. If the Pats can’t stop the Seahawks ground game they could very well be in for a long day.

However, I think New England’s smart and well-coached defense won’t give up anything easy. Mistakes will likely weigh huge in this one and who knows how the bounces and miracle catches will go.

Still, a very informative read that is spot on analysis.