Patriots Super Bowl Wins, Ranked

The New England Patriots have found themselves in the big game a ton. Especially in the last two decades. With quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, they’ve tied the Pittsburgh Steelers with the most Super Bowl championships for a franchise with six. It spanned over the course of only two decades. This dynasty is by far the most impressive of any in the world of sports.

Tom Brady’s career is over, and the Patriots dynasty has come to a close. So now, we can look back at these half-dozen football matchups and rank them against each other. Dissecting what made this Patriots’ dynasty so great, and how they played in the biggest moments.

#6: Super Bowl LIII: 13-3 vs Los Angeles Rams

The last time wasn’t the sweetest time for New England and their Super Bowl championships. They totally and utterly smothered the new-age Sean McVay offense headed by Jared Goff. Meanwhile, the Pats’ offense didn’t find the endzone until the fourth quarter on a handoff to Sony Michel. Although it didn’t come without maybe one of the greatest throws in the history of Super Bowls hitting Rob Gronkowski just inside the five-yard line.

Super Bowl LIII had the tough task of topping the AFC Championship between the Patriots and the Chiefs. A game that saw momentum shifts, and high-stakes plays and wasn’t finished without two clutch drives from Brady and the crew to end it. All Super Bowls are sweet, especially where a wide receiver like Julian Edelman wins the game’s MVP award, but the Patriots had this in the bag the second they left Arrowhead victorious.

#5: Super Bowl XXXIX: 24-21 vs Philadelphia Eagles

This game had all of the potential to match the first two New England Super Bowl victories. The Andy Reid led Philadelphia Eagles, a roster loaded with talent in Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, Brian Dawkins, Brian Westbrook, and Jevon Kearse. But the Eagles shot themselves in the foot late in the game. Reid brutally mismanaged the clock. He chewed off way too much time to give his team a fighting chance in the end.

New England forced four turnovers, Brady threw two touchdowns, and Deion Branch caught 11 passes for 133 yards, winning the MVP of the game. It was close but not as close as the score indicated. The Patriots had it locked up confidently and cemented themselves as a dynasty in Jacksonville after a game-ending interception from superstar safety Rodney Harrison.

#4: Super Bowl XXXVIII: 32-29 vs Carolina Panthers

This Super Bowl is criminally underrated when talking about the all-time games in NFL history. It had everything you wanted in a championship-determining matchup. It had great and physical defensive play, clutch offense by both teams, and a fast-paced battle of wills in the fourth quarter. Coming down to one or two plays that determined how the game would go down. It ended very similarly to the Patriots’ first victory, with a game-sealing kick from Adam Vinatieri, capping off a clutch drive from Brady and the offense.

Despite neither team scoring in the first or third quarters, both teams combined for 868 yards and 61 points. Super Bowl XXXVIII had anything you could dream of in a football game, and the Patriots put another brick in their wall of greatness. Tom Brady won his second Super Bowl MVP, and they wouldn’t lose another game until October of 2004, creating a league-record 24-game win streak.

#3: Super Bowl LI: 34-28 vs Atlanta Falcons

Although this game I’d argue wasn’t better than the previously listed one, this game has a special place in the ranks. Never had a team come back from 25 points down in the history of the Super Bowl. Never had a quarterback won more than four Super Bowls and three Super Bowl MVPs.

This game cemented Tom Brady’s place as the greatest of all time. It put James White and Julian Edelman on the map as clutch playoff performers. But more notably it also created memes that would last a lifetime. You can’t hop on Twitter during any week during NFL season without finding a team who choked a lead being compared to the 2016-17 Atlanta Falcons and MVP signal-caller Matt Ryan. There’s just a special lore surrounding this game, which is why it ranks in the top three of this list.

#2: Super Bowl XXXVI: 20-17 vs St. Louis Rams

As the saying goes; “There ain’t nothing like the first time”. The same applies when it comes to Super Bowl XXXVI. As my good friend Chad Finn of the Boston Globe often writes, the 2001 New England Patriots are the most unlikely Super Bowl champions to ever exist. They lost superstar quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Forced to trust a sixth-round second-year signal caller that had thrown one career pass in the regular season. It all seemed doomed when Mo Lewis gave Bledsoe a collapsed lung.

Nothing could be any more wrong. Freezing Cold Takes would have had a field day if Twitter existed in 2001. Brady willed this team through adversity. They defied all expectations by winning against the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams offense. Led by MVP Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and Orlando Pace. The Patriots were 14-point underdogs heading into this game, and they stalled this offense to the surprise of all.

Bill Belichick proved himself as more than just a defensive coordinator who couldn’t cut it. The defensive core made a name for themselves and demanded league recognition, and a young Tom Brady was just getting started. The first of six titles holds a special place on this list just for the improbability of it all. It’s unlikely we ever see anything like it again.

#1: Super Bowl XLIX: 28-24 vs Seattle Seahawks

This game is probably the greatest to ever be played. Maybe not just in comparison to just other Super Bowls, but playoff and regular season as well. Much like Super Bowl XXXVIII, there was drama, tension, and big plays all over. Seattle was trying to do something that hadn’t been done since their opponent did it a decade prior, going back-to-back. The Patriots hadn’t won a Super Bowl since, losing their last two to the New York Giants. This was a battle of wills that came down to not only a signature Tom Brady 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter. But finally, a play from their defense in a goal-line interception from undrafted free agent Malcolm Butler.

I may be biased as this was the first Super Bowl win I got to witness as a true fan of the team. I think most Patriots fans would agree there’s no sweeter sound than Al Michaels exclaiming “And it’s intercepted at the goal line! By Malcolm Butler! Unreal!”

This game was a coming-out party for fan-favorite players like Julian Edelman (9 catches, 109 yards, 1 touchdown), and Danny Amendola (5 catches, 48 yards, 1 touchdown). Tom Brady was as surgical as ever with over 400 yards, a then-Super Bowl record, and four touchdowns. Winning his fourth ring, tying his boyhood idol Joe Montana. Basking in the glory of another title after a decade-long drought of coming so close, but never close enough. This is undoubtedly the best of them all for Patriots fans. And could be argued to be the best of all time.

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