Gone in 73 seconds: Patriots last gasp victory ends Saints' unbeaten run!

A half empty Gillette Stadium witnessed one of the greatest ends to a game in recent memory. With 73 seconds left and no timeouts remaining who else would you want leading your offense in to the last chance saloon other than Tom Brady. After all it was Terrific Tom who rallied the Patriots to victory in Louisiana at Super Bowl XXXVI when the team had no timeouts and just 1:30 left in regulation.

After turning the ball over on downs deep in their own half a Garrett Hartley field goal put New Orleans up 27-23 leaving the Pats needing a touchdown. Brady gathered the troops but then threw an interception on the first play of the drive shortly before the two minute warning which appeared to confirm defeat for Bill Belichick's team. The Saints offense was thwarted by New England's defense with their big stops giving Tom Brady and co had a chance to win the game.

The offense moved with urgency with the first pass completed when Brady hit Edelman in the middle of the field on a 23 yard play before throwing over the middle again on the second play of the drive to Austin Collie for the 15 yard reception. With time ticking away the team hurried to line but Brady was as composed as ever as he completed an important 6 yard pass to Aaron Dobson on the sideline with the rookie wideout being dragged out of bounds forcing the clock to stop.

At this point it appeared anything could happen but after two incomplete passes it looked like the Saints may hold out for the win as arguably the most crucial moment of the drive came up with the Patriots needing 4 yards to keep their hopes alive; Brady hit Collie on the left side for 9 yards to get the first down. The team spiked the ball after quickly lining up in formation meaning that with 10 seconds to go the team realistically had two shots at the end zone to win the game.

But the Patriots only needed one attempt with Brady showing why he is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time by keeping calm and composed as he hit Thompkins in the left corner of the end zone with a perfect throw over the arms of the helpless defensive back Jabari Greer. The three-time Super Bowl champion had done it; his 342nd career touchdown pass, tying him with Fran Tarkenton for fourth all-time, was one fans of the Patriots will remember for years to come as getting a win with 5 seconds to go against very good opposition is something you don't forget quickly.

A picture perfect throw!

It's the 37th time Tom Brady has led the Patriots to victory from a fourth-quarter deficit or tie as well as the fifth game in his illustrious career in which Brady threw a game-winning TD pass in the final minute to turn a New England deficit into a win. The win over New Orleans will give Bill Belichick's men a new found belief and confidence in themselves especially the young guys. This is extremely valuable as soon they will be approaching the business end of the season and will want to claim a bye in the playoffs so to get a momentous win like this can only be a good thing.

The Patriots are now 5-1 are now tied for the second best record in the league and are heading in to a big divisional rival matchup against the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium which will host the upcoming Super Bowl in around 4 months. The young guys will get a feel and taste of a stadium which will host the big game come the end of the season so a memorable win over the Jets may even inspire the team to push even harder to go one step further and have a shot at creating an even more memorable experience by getting back to MetLife in February.

Unfortunately for New England the injuries are piling up with defensive captain Jerod Mayo officially being placed on injured reserve yesterday meaning he joins Vince Wilfork on the sidelines for the rest of the 2013 season. Cornerback Aqib Talib also sustained a hip injury on Sunday which is not good news considering he is one of the best shutdown corners in the league and was instrumental in keeping Saints tight end Jimmy Graham at bay as he finished the match with no catches; thankfully Dennard, Arrington and McCourty all contributed in making sure Graham was kept quiet by doing their part defensively.

On offense Danny Amendola suffered a nasty head injury leaving him with a concussion which is not good news for an already thin New England receiving core. After some key catches on Sunday during that final drive Austin Collie could play against the Jets while Dobson and Thompkins continue to get better and better week by week as well as the fact that the Patriots are still waiting on superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski to make his long awaited return to the field. Stevan Ridley had his best performance of the season with two touchdown runs for 110 yards so the offense is clearly progressing.

Despite the defensive injuries mentioned already the team re-signed DT Andre Neblett whilst Dont'a Hightower could possibly take over Jerod Mayo's role; arguably it would suit it more than his current role considering that is where he played most at Bama. Fellow Sophomore Chandler Jones is becoming extremely valuable to the D and came up with a big sack against the Saints whilst rookie Jamie Collins will see more game time due to the teams injuries. New England's defense has forced a turnover in 33 straight games which is the longest active NFL streak.

The Patriots have faced adversity early on in the season but 5 wins out of 6 is extremely impressive. There are many more challenges ahead but the old saying of 'next man up' is working for the team with the roster helping each other win games as a team through hard work and determination. There are trade rumours swirling regarding a wideout with Kenny Britt, Josh Gordan, Emmanuel Sanders and even Hakeem Nicks all possibilities for the Patriots offense. Regardless of that the Pats' defense and offense have proved their worth throughout these opening six games by helping each other grind out wins with quality performances which makes it clear to see that New England remains as one of the best teams in the National Football League.

Unlucky Rob!

Patriots move to 4-0; on to the next one!

Easy work on Sunday night!

Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a fantastic 30-23 road victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. It ensured that the Pats moved on to 4-0 for the third time in Bill Belichick's tenure and it was the head coach's 209th win which moved him to joint 5th all-time with Chuck Noel. It was a back to the future performance for Tom Brady who just seems to keep on getting better with age even despite being surrounded by a cast of rookie receivers. The future hall of fame quarterback is pulling off a great achievement with this receiving core and he is helping turn these players in to legitimate NFL wideouts so early on in their careers; Brady finished Sunday night's game with a season high of 316 passing yards completing 20 out of 31 passes.

Not for the first time this season we saw the Patriots defense come up big with Aqib Talib being the stand out performer versus Atlanta as he hauled in an interception early on as well as the providing the game-sealing defensive breakup in the end zone to stop the Falcons late comeback attempt. Unfortunately Vince Wilfork suffered a season ending injury when he tore his achilles on Sunday night which has come as a massive blow for this Patriots team. The franchise has the 'next man up' approach but he will be a big miss. Thankfully for New England its entire defense has been contributing so far this season which has been a big factor in this four game winning streak; they are tied for 6th in forced fumbles recovering 3 out of 5 and are tied for 10th in interceptions with five picks. This defense is for real and despite Wilfork's absence Belichick will find a way to make things work.

Tom Brady has won 140 games to just 39 losses which is outstanding. He has 45,820 passing yards and a fantastic touchdown to interception ratio of 341-125. With this limited offense people dared to doubt the Golden Boy but he has built up a good rapport with the likes of Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins as well as utilised Julian Edelman and even connected with Mike Mulligan for a touchdown on Sunday night. The running game has looked good with a well-run combined attack which saw Blount rush for 64 yards and a score, Ridley get 53 yards as well as Bolden chip in with 17 from 6 carries.

The offense will get stronger when Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola return from injury; two valuable weapons who Brady can rely on and will help take this team to another level. Tom Brady is working miracles at the moment I mean could Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Alex Smith make things work with this receiving core? No. The Patriots are a Super Bowl contender if they have a healthy roster heading in to the playoffs and after starting the season 4-0 they’re on course for an impressive regular season.

Season Prediction: With the way things currently stand the next chapter of Brady and Manning could be on the cards in a potential mouth-watering AFC Championship game. Picture a Star Wars scenario with Wes Welker as Anakin Skywalker and he has left to join Emperor Peyton Manning on the dark side. Brady, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his young receivers, they can represent Luke Skywalker, will go on the road to Mile High in a high stakes affair with the winner going to New York to play in Super Bowl XLVIII. Regular season: 13-3

who would prevail?

3-0 an omen or just a coincidence?

On the last two occasions that the New England Patriots have started a season 3-0 they have gone on to reach the Super Bowl. The 2004 season saw the team defend their Super Bowl crown from 2003 as the team went on to repeat their success from the year before and become back to back champions. In 2007 it appeared they would achieve something greater than that period of dominance as the team dominated the league entirely by finishing the 2007 regular season undefeated 16-0 and advancing to the Super Bowl with an 18-0 record before unfortunately falling at the final hurdle.

2004's team was built around one of the best defenses in the league and on offense Tom Brady was efficient despite not having any real standout receiving options but it was the collective efforts from the likes of Troy Brown, David Givens, Deion Branch and David Patten which helped the team succeed. Brady in 2004 threw 28 touchdowns to 14 interceptions and 5 touchdowns to 0 interceptions in that post-season; It wasn't until the 2007 season when we saw Brady throw over 30 touchdowns for the first time in his career as he went on to break the regular season record for passing touchdowns with 50.

Despite the 2007 team being a more complete team than any of the Patriots' three Super Bowl winning teams they lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII as they missed out on being undefeated for the whole year. They are still arguably one of the greatest sporting rosters of all-time let alone in the NFL but the Lombardi trophy eluded them on that particular occasion. Here we are six seasons later and there have been many changes in New England especially ahead of the current 2013 season as the team entered a period of transition with many of Tom Brady's receiving options being rookies as opposed to an explosive receiving core from 2012 which featured the likes of Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez.

Despite some doubt surrounding the Patriots going in to the start of the year the team managed to grind out two early season victories over the Bills and the Jets before a solid win over Tampa Bay last week 23-3. At 3-0 is it possible to assume the Patriots could make it to MetLife stadium in February 2014 for an eighth Super Bowl appearance? Well it is impossible to ever rule the Patriots out as they will always contend with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady but it is too early in the season to make Super Bowl predictions for any team in the league as there is still a long way to go.

In spite of that this Patriots team is improving week by week with Bill Belichick's defense on fire so far as they are second in points allowed, 11.3 per game, along with being tied for eight in total defense, 309 yards per game. The Patriots D has had many standout performers this year from the likes of the young Chandler Jones to unsung heroes such as Rob Ninkovich and Kyle Arrington. Aqib Talib and Jerod Mayo have also been impressive for New England and Vince Wilfork is as consistent on defense for this team as Tom Brady is on offense.

New England's defense is tied for eighth on third-down conversions allowed and they are the only team in the league to have allowed zero points in the fourth quarter which is incredible considering that run stretches over three games. With a big game against Atlanta coming up tomorrow night the form of the Patriots defense will stand them in good stead and considering they are doing well in turnovers and in the red zone, two things Belichick' defenses have always relied on, it is clear to see this group have lots of potential. The defense has created seven turnovers in three games leaving them tied for fifth in the league and is tied for having the 12th best red zone defense

How will 2013 end for the Patriots?

Since the 2009 season Tom Brady has needed a defense to help out the Patriots as in recent years the offense has carried the team at times but now it appears the offense is playing catch up to the defense when you look at the start of this 2013 season. The good news for all those involved with the Patriots is that with Tom Brady you have a future hall of fame quarterback leading the offense and a man who is hungry for his 4th Super Bowl ring so if anyone can make a set of rookie wideouts in to productive NFL receivers early on in their careers it is him.

Last week we saw Brady and Kenbrell Thompkins combine for two scores as the rookie showed off the type of display we saw from him during preseason. Aaron Dobson has showed he has lots of potential and racked up the most receiving yards out of the receivers last week. There will be lots of pressure of those two and Julian Edelman who Brady has relied on even more in recent weeks after Danny Amendola joined Rob Gronkowski on the sideline but the Patriots will walk in to the Georgia Dome in high spirits and confident of walking out 4-0.

On the past two occasions the teams have made the Super Bowl when starting 3-0 they have won their fourth game but regardless on tomorrow night's result it is clear to see this Patriots team will grow week by week. The more game time these rookie receivers get the more they will improve as a unit and tomorrow night will be a valuable experience. The Patriots will have to deal without Gronkowski and Amendola tomorrow night; With the Falcons at 1-2 it is a tough game to call which could go either way whilst having the potential to be a thriller but to win tomorrow night the Patriots needs to improve on its red zone woes as the Falcons pose a stronger threat than any other team they faced so far.

Looking ahead at the rest of the 2013 season if the Patriots roster is healthy come the start of the playoffs they have to be considered a contender represent the AFC at Super Bowl XLVIII. Rob Gronkowski will open up the field for the other offensive weapons which will be beneficial for the rookies plus it will give the likes of Edelman and Amendola the ability to have a bigger impact on the field. From an offensive point of view the running game will also be critical to the team’s success as they look to get something going from there various options with Shane Vereen, Legarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, and Stevan Ridley all on the roster.

There is no coincidence in the Patriots' success as the franchise has been strong for over the last decade and although the Super Bowl is a long way away with the potential on both sides of the ball New England has a lot to be excited about for the future so if things go to plan 2013 could potentially finish with a fairytale ending for all those involved with the franchise.