21 Wins, 21 Years Later: The intentional safety and the Bill Bowl

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13-06-2025

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Twenty-one years ago, the New England Patriots completed the most dominant streak in the history of the NFL, finishing with 21 wins in a row across two seasons. Since it was such a dominant run, we have decided to take a look back at each one of the games.
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This is the third in the series, so expect a ton more to come, and make sure to follow along on YouTube for the accompanying videos for each game as well.
Today, let's take a look at Wins No. 5 and 6.
Win No. 5: Patriots 30, Broncos 26
2003 Week 9 | Nov. 3, 2003, 9 p.m. ET | Invesco Field at Mile High
Setting the scene: As the calendar flipped to November, the 6-2 Patriots headed west for a prime time tangle with the 5-3 Denver Broncos. Tom Brady and copmany had struggled against their AFC West foe, losing to them in each of the two previous seasons. Mile High also was the site of Brady's first career interception two years prior (he ended up throwing four picks that day) in a 31-20 loss.
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After starting that season 4-0, Denver lost three of four heading into this contest following injuries to starting quarterback Jake Plummer and backup Steve Beuerlein. Third-string passer Danny Kanell, who spent 2001 out of football and 2002 in the Arena Football League, would get his second straight start that night. It would also be his last in the NFL.
Despite the revolving door at quarterback, the Broncos had plenty of big names within their ranks. Head coach Mike Shanahan had won two Super Bowls, and his offenses would continue to give Bill Belichick fits for the next two decades. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak would also find success as a head coach. The offense, meanwhile, was built around star running back Clinton Portis, tight end Shannon Sharpe in his final season, and wide receivers Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie. Receiver Ed McCaffrey, father of now-49er Christian, also played on that team but was inactive for this game.
On a cold night in Denver with linebacker Al Wilson wired for sound, the Broncos were favored by two points.
Game breakdown: Early in this one, Brady's Denver struggles continued. On New England's first possession, he fumbled a snap, and the Broncos recovered. Clinton Portis would capitalize a few plays later with a 15-yard touchdown run. On the next drive, Brady then threw a ball into traffic that was intercepted by Kenoy Kennedy. Thanks to Jason Elam missing a 44-yard field goal, however, Denver's lead remained 7-0.
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It took one play on the next drive for Brady to tie the score. He unloaded on a deep play-action pass to Deion Branch, going over the top of the Denver defense for a 66-yard TD.
The teams would trade field goals early in the second quarter before Danny Kanell led a 72-yard, 14-play touchdown drive that took over half the quarter. Without Richard Seymour and with rookie Dan Klecko asked to start at nose tackle — the 40th different starter the Patriots had in 2003 — Shanahan was able to dial up the play-action passing game to slowly move the ball down the field. A trio of Patriots penalties would also help the Broncos get to the 1-yard line with half a minute left in the half, where Kanell would find Mike Anderson in the flat for a touchdown to go up 17-10. The Patriots would finish the half with nine penalties.
Thanks to a Bethel Johnson kick return, the Patriots were able to get back within four before the break. He took a kickoff 63 yards to the Denver 36, and Brady found Kevin Faulk for an 8-yard gain to set up Adam Vinatieri for a 46-yard field goal that split the uprights with 1 second left on the clock.
In the third quarter, Brady put the Pats on top for the first time with a play-action bootleg pass to Daniel Graham in the end zone. The lead did not last long, though. After a Lonie Paxton penalty forced the Patriots to re-punt following their next possession, future Patriot Deltha O'Neal took advantage of a short kick and took it 57 yards to the house to put Denver ahead 24-20 heading into the final period.
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New England added a field goal on the next possession, and the Patriots remained down by a single point when the Broncos took over midway through the fourth quarter. This would set up the game's final sequence and one of the iconic Bill Belichick decisions.
Up by one, Denver began to run out the clock. Behind Clinton Portis, the Broncos advanced inside the New England 40 as the clock ticked under four minutes remaining. Faced with a 3rd-and-4 from the New England 35 with 3:21 remaining, Rodney Harrison broke up a pass intended for Shannon Sharpe. With kicker Jason Elam injured, Denver opted to punt, and Micah Knorr managed to pin the Patriots on their 1-yard line with 3:06 remaining.
While the situation seemed set up for another Tom Brady comeback, three straight incompletions took just 15 seconds off the clock and left the Patriots backed up in their own end zone; a Daniel Graham drop on second down was particularly costly. Belichick appeared to have two options: he could decide to go for it on fourth down, but picking up 10 yards would be difficult and not converting would put Denver a single yard away from sealing the game, or he could punt, even though there was a high risk the punt could be blocked with Ken Walter standing deep in his own end zone. Returner Deltha O'Neal had already scored a touchdown as well, and another would seal the game for Denver. Even a modest return could put the Broncos in range to add a field goal, extending the lead to four and forcing the Patriots to score a touchdown instead of a field goal on the ensuing drive.
Instead, Belichick looked behind door No. 3. As announcer Al Michaels astutely pointed out, the Patriots could take an intentional safety. While giving the Broncos a pair of free points would increase the deficit to three, meaning a field goal on the next Patriots possession would merely tie the game instead of taking the lead, it would allow New England to kick from the 20 with no chance for a block.
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Belichick instructed Lonie Paxton to snap it over the punter's head and out of the end zone, and Walter then booted the free kick behind a confused O'Neal forcing the Broncos to start the next possession from their own 15-yard line. The decision combined with Denver's misjudgement totally flipped field position, and after forcing a three-and-out, the Patriots regained possession at their own 42. That meant Brady had to drive the offense just 30 yards to set up a game-tying field goal attempt by Adam Vinatieri.
Vinatieri would not be needed.
Brady connected with Kevin Faulk twice for 24 yards to open the drive, then found him again for 16 yards on 3rd-and-10 on the next series. The third completion was a perfectly-placed throw by Brady to spin Faulk away from a defender to pick up yards after the catch and get down to the 18-yard line.
Brady went no-huddle after the conversion, saw David Givens matched up with O'Neal on the outside, and went for the win. He connected. Brady put the ball on his back shoulder as Givens spun open in the front corner of the end zone, and New England was back on top with 36 seconds remaining.
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Asante Samuel intercepted a Kanell Hail Mary on the next drive, and New England's win streak continued. Brady would win AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts — 20-of-35, 350 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT — and David Givens' 87-yard performance was the best in his young career to that point.
Game highlights:
Other game notes: We look back on Belichick as a coach of discipline, but this group was anything but against Denver: the Patriots had 14 penalties for 85 yards in this one.
Denver scored three touchdowns, and all involved serious New England miscues. The first came off a fumbled snap, something that seemed to be an issue two weeks before in Miami as well; the second happened after New England penalties kept a Denver drive alive; the third was a punt returned for a touchdown after a penalty forced a re-kick. And, for all of the great situational football at the end of this one, it was only necessary because of a bad drop from Daniel Graham.
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It's also stunning how big of a part of the offense Tom Brady already was at that point in his career. The offense finished with just 69 yards on the ground while Brady threw for 350. He had the long touchdown to Branch, a 48-yard completion to David Givens to set up a field goal, another one to Branch for 30 yards to open the second half, and passes of 21 and 20 yards to Givens and Christian Fauria on the fourth quarter field goal drive. Add in three chunk plays on the game-winning drive and no sacks despite constant pressure, and it's easy to see why he won AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Another thing that caught our eye was Bill Belichick breaking out his red hoodie. At this point in his career, it seemed to be a good omen.
Elsewhere in sports: The most noteworthy occurrence in the world of sports that week was not in football. On the previous Wednesday, LeBron James made his NBA debut. With a game-high 25 points at Sacramento, he immediately came on to the scene.
The night before the Patriots beat the Broncos, Brett Favre led the Packers to a win in Minnesota despite a broken thumb in his throwing hand. With a splint on his right thumb, he tossed three touchdowns and also threw a block for running back Ahman Green as the Packers got back to .500 and pulled within two games of the Vikings.
Win No. 6: Patriots 12, Cowboys 0
2003 Week 11 | Nov. 16, 2003, 8:30 pm. ET | Gillette Stadium
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Setting the scene: This was not Bill Parcells' first return to Foxboro, of course; he had left the Patriots to become head coach of the hated Jets in 1997. However, this was the first matchup between him and Bill Belichick since his former assistant resigned as Parcells' successor with the Jets and came to New England via trade.
Parcells and Belichick were 2-2 head-to-head going into this game, with Belichick winning the lone playoff matchup between the two back in 1994. All four of those games had come with Belichick coaching the Browns and Parcells coaching the Patriots.
This felt like a real test of the up-and-coming head coach for Patriots fans. The student was facing off against the master, and, with his coaching performance the week before, Patriots fans were ready to declare that 2001 wasn't a fluke and that Belichick was indeed one of the best coaches in the league.
The Dallas Cowboys, who had finished their last three seasons 5-11, were 7-2 in Parcells's first year there, and boasted the No. 1 defense in the league. It was a tough test for the coaches, and a tough test for the players.
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Game breakdown: The Patriots defense completely shut down the Cowboys offense. This was one of the first examples of the Patriots employing the defense that was so effective against mobile quarterbacks: clamping down on the run, making them sit in the pocket, and asking them to win throwing the ball.
Quincy Carter was unable to do it, and the Cowboys only passed midfield three times all game: once to the Patriots' 48 (really the 43 after a 5-yard penalty on the punt) on the first drive of the game, and twice to the red zone in the fourth quarter, both of which ended with a Patriots interception.
For the Patriots offense, all three of its scores came after big plays. Brady hit Deion Branch for a 46-yard pass on an all-out Cowboys blitz, which set up a 23-yard field goal. Later, Brady hit David Givens on a 57-yard pass, when the Cowboys sent nine players at the quarterback and got called for roughing the passer; this set up an Antowain Smith 2-yard touchdown run the next play. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Patriots got the ball near midfield after a Tyrone Poole interception, and it led to another Adam Vinatieri field goal to make it a two-touchdown game and put the Cowboys away.
Game highlights:
Other game notes: This wasn't just a return for Bill Parcells, it was also a return for Terry Glenn. The former Patriots first-round draft pick had been back to Foxboro the year before when he was with the Packers, but now he was back again, this time with Parcells. He would finish the game with only one catch for 8 yards, and the Tyrone Poole interception was on a pass intended for him.
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Elsewhere in sports: Not much going on in the NFL this week, except for the Falcons doing what they do best, blowing a big lead. Up 20-3 at the half, they would let the Saints back into it with two touchdowns. The Falcons were driving late in the fourth quarter up 20-17, and got into the red zone, but Kurt Kittner threw an interception to end the drive. The Saints would drive down and kick a game tying field goal to end regulation. After a missed 54-yard field goal by Jay Feely, the Saints ended it with a John Carney 36-yard field goal.
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