Playoffs?! Playoffs?!

At the start of this decade the Patriots had played in 17 playoff games in 40 years of football and their record was an underwhelming 7-10. There were some great games in there but also some heart breakers (Steelers 7, Pats 6 in '97 is a good example). In this decade the Pats have played in ... 17 playoff games. In just ten years. Their record? 14-3. It's still hard to believe.

As the Pats get ready for the playoffs in a new decade, it's a good time to look back at the last 10 years and rank the top playoff games. It's not really a ranking as much as a list of great memories. 14-3. Three titles. What a decade.

10. '06 Divisional round (vs. Chargers): The only non-Super Bowl year game to make the list. This was one I watched mostly with my hands partially blocking my eyes, fearing the Chargers next score that would have blown the game open. San Diego led 14-3 early but the Pats scratched their way back to 21-13 with eight minutes to go. The Pats were teetering on the brink of disaster the whole game and when Brady was picked by Marlon McCree with about five minutes left it looked like the Pats were done. But McCree kept running with the ball and the ever-alert Troy Brown stripped it and the Pats recovered. New life! Brady quickly cashed in on the second chance with a TD and two-point conversion (direct snap to Faulk of course) to tie the game at 21. The Pats D held and Gostkowski nailed a 31-yarder for one of the all-time great playoff thefts.

9. '04 Division round (vs. Colts): When a team's most impressive, dominating defensive playoff performance of the decade only comes in at #9, well, you know you've been treated to some great games. This was the "Clock Killin' '' Corey Dillon game. This was the game where the unstoppable force (Colts' offense) met the immovable object (Pats' D). The league had changed the rules after the Pats beat the Colts (and beat them up) the year before, allowing more freedom for the receivers. The new rules didn't help. Bruschi ripped the ball from Dominick Rhodes's hands. The Pats (with the help of the cold and snow) ripped the heart right out of the Indy offense. They beat the Eagles for the title two weeks later but this was the '04 Super Bowl.

8. '03 Divisional round (vs. Titans): The coldest playoff game in Patriot history. Every now and then a shiver will run through my body leftover from that day. How the players were able to play such a great game is beyond me. It took all my strength just to drink my beers. Brady hit Bethel Johnson on a 41-yard bomb as if it was a sunny September afternoon. Rodney Harrison hit everything in sight (and had a pick) and Adam Vinatieri hit yet another huge kick, nailing a 46-yarder with five minutes to go. I can still hear his foot smack the frozen ball as if he was kicking a cinder block. It hurt just to listen to it.

7. '01 AFC Championship (vs. Steelers): I watched this one at a bar with Paul. I was supposed to be at work. It seemed like a good day to take a three-hour lunch break. Other than the Sox Game 7 win over the Yankees this was the best bar game I've watched. The place was raucous. The Pats were big underdogs. The Steelers were way too cocky. Then Brady went down and Drew Bledsoe came in to play the role of hero. It was Bledsoe's shining moment as a Patriot -- and his last. He sure deserved it. Troy Brown made two huge special teams plays and the Pats found themselves headed to New Orleans for the Super Bowl.

6. Super Bowl XXXIX (vs. Eagles): A Super Bowl not in the top 5? A Super Bowl that gave the Pats back-to-back titles not in the top 5? That's right. It wasn't all that great a game. The Pats only won by a field goal (24-21) but the game never felt that close. Not every Super Bowl is a classic. The key is just to win it. The beauty always lies in the final score. The Eagles and T.O. put up a good battle but the Patriots were too experienced, deep, and confident to let the chance at history get away. Linebacker Mike Vrabel made an acrobatic TD catch and Rodney sealed the victory with a pick, ending the game by flapping his arms like Eagles wings. The Pats had soared to the level of a dynasty.

5. '03 AFC Championship (vs. Colts): When someone says Gillette Stadium isn't a great home-field advantage its pretty clear that they weren't there for this game. The rivalry was just starting to build at this point. If you asked most people (outside of NE) which of these teams was about to win back-to-back titles I bet 90 percent of them would have chosen the Colts. They would have been wrong. The Pats D forced Manning to throw four picks (three by Ty Law) by harassing him and knocking his receivers all over the field. Rule changes would follow. And so would more Pats victories.

4. '04 AFC Championship (vs. Steelers): Oh, this game was fun to watch. The rematch with the Steelers in Heinz Field. Three years later the Pittsburgh players were still whining about their '01 loss and, having put a beating on the Pats in the regular season, were predicting a blowout. They were right. It was a blowout. Pats 41-27. And it wasn't that close. Deion Branch caught a TD bomb to open the scoring and then ran one in on the reverse to close out the scoring. Brady was an efficient 14-21 for only 207 yards and two TDs. But the D forced three picks -- Rodney taking one 87 yards for a touchdown. Blowout.

3. Super Bowl XXXVIII (vs. Panthers): One of the strangest Super Bowls ever. And the most exciting. The first quarter was a defensive war. Neither team scored. Then Vrabel forced a fumble, Brady hit Branch for a touchdown, and the two teams busted out to score 24 points in the last three minutes of the half. 24 points in three minutes after a bruising defensive first half. I've never seen anything like it. The two teams went back into their defensive stance, both coming up empty in the third quarter. That all changed again in the fourth quarter when the teams combined to score 37 points. Most of them on big plays. The game kept swinging from a standoff to a shootout. The Pats had Brady and Vinatieri. They got off the last shot for one of the greatest Super Bowl victories in NFL history.

2. Snow Bowl (vs. Raiders): "After review, the quarterback's arm was going forward ..." Tuck that! I'll be watching the tape of this game when I'm a happy old man. Hopefully I will be able to remember what it was like to be there as well as I can now. I think I will. The weather. The old stadium. A franchise's luck changing forever. A kick for the ages. A game for the ages. Most of the talk now centers on the fumble-that-wasn't and Vinatieri's clutch kicks, but the Pats receivers (Patten, Brown, Wiggins, Faulk) made some incredible catches in the blizzard. It was a memorable way to close out the old place. There's only one game that could top this instant classic.

1. Super Bowl XXXVI (vs. Rams): I was sitting on the floor next to the television in my parent's den. I wanted to be as close to the TV as I could. Brady spike the ball with just seven seconds left, the ball bouncing straight up and landing gently in the palm of his hand. Everyone was silent as Vinatieri walked out for the kick. "If he makes this we are Super Bowl champs," ran through my mind about 100 times in 30 seconds. I'm sure it was going through the mind of everyone in the room. But no one dared say it. The ball was snapped. Vinatieri kicked it smoothly. The camera angle switched to behind the goal post, the ball heading right towards me. It was right down the middle. Right down the middle! We yelled and danced and hugged and laughed -- and even cried a little -- for hours. The kick was good. I still can't believe it.

Give away game

WEEK 14
Patriots 20, Panthers 10 (12/13/09): The Carolina Panthers brought their 5-7 record to Gillette. It was the first tailgate since mid-November when the Pats convincingly beat the Jets and Topher's car got smashed. The Pats have looked more like Toph's car since then so a tailgate was long overdue. And much needed.

Mark, Shep, Matt, and Bergs took a day off. It's what we call a "give away game" in the season ticket world. A game against a crappy team from the other conference whose starting QB is hurt. Not one you circle on the schedule at the start of the season as "must be there." And the weather forecast was not so promising. Thus a game season ticket holders look to "give away" to friends and family.

And that means a lot of people going to their first Patriots game. Like my wife Devra and our co-worker Katie, a Broncos fan from Colorado (Broncos vintage T-shirt on but hidden under the layers). Bringing people to their first Pats game is one of the best parts of being a long-time season ticket holder. They have that wide-eyed look (thanks to the Bailey's and coffee maybe) like a kid at the circus. Things that you take for granted are fun again. Me, Dev, Paul, and Katie rolled into P2 around 10:30 under mostly gray skies. But we were feeling pretty good because we knew rain was coming our way but it looked like the pregame tailgate would be enjoyed in dry -- if not toasty -- weather. And enjoyed it was. As Devra said when questioning the lack of beads and tie-dyed T-shirts (or NFL equivalent) being sold in the lot ... "It has a definite Dead show atmosphere."

We listened to a tailgate mix Toph made during the 16-0 season (Dead featured prominently) and grilled up some flank steak for sandwiches. But not just any steak sandwiches. Dev prepared banh mi -- a Vietnamese version. The recipe includes some pickled vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, radishes) and a rub for the meat (soy sauce, coriander, white pepper) that has a rich flavor. Add a little sriracha and it will warm you up almost as much as Maker's Mark and Coke (Katie's excellent addition to the menu -- flask and all). It was the tastiest -- and prettiest -- steak sandwich ever consumed at a tailgate.

The game itself was not so pretty. The Pats actually looked much better in most of their loss to Miami than they did beating the Panthers. Neither team was really in sync. As the first half drew to a close the drizzle started. It was just one of those regular season games where all that really matters -- for the team and the fans sitting in the wet and the cold -- is to get a win. That makes it all good.

The Pats ran the ball 40 times. (Katie and Dev didn't get to admire Brady's passing form too often, but there was admiring going on nonetheless.) They ran 40 times! That is the story of the game. The Patriots brought a certain mindset. A late-season, grind-the-game-out mindset. And it worked. Maroney again looked strong, gaining 94-yards on 22 tough carries. The team had close to 200 yards rushing. And Gostkowski made two kicks (one a 48-yarder) in a close game under tough conditions. He's quietly having another excellent season and confidence in him going into the playoffs has to be high.

There's a lot to talk about on the positive side after the victory, but you know the thing that will be talked about the most this week is the performance of Randy Moss. The future hall-of-famer had a lousy game. He only had one catch and on that play he fumbled the ball. That's a lousy game. But he really wasn't a featured part of the game plan. Anyone who was at the game could see that. You could tell Moss knew on most plays that the ball wasn't coming anywhere near him. Sometimes he went through the motions. Sometimes he didn't. The interception that Brady threw early in the game when he was trying to hit Moss on a out looked like a bad pass and bad decision on Brady's part. Moss didn't react fast enough to prevent the pick but there wasn't much he could do. That pretty sums up his day. There wasn't much he could -- or was asked -- to do. That happens. Fortunately there was a lot Wes Welker was asked to do -- and did. Another ridiculously great game -- 10 catches for 105 yards. Moss wasn't asked to do anything pretty in this game. Next week he might. And odds are he'll deliver.

So it wasn't a pretty game for the Pats, but it keeps them ahead of Miami and New York. Now they head to Buffalo. They haven't recorded a real road win all season (they are due, right?). If they can handle the always challenging Buffalo weather and crowd noise conditions and bring home a win -- even against a mediocre opponent -- that would be a very enouraging sign. No matter how pretty -- or ugly -- the game might be.