5 greatest wins in Bill Belichick's NFL career
Everyone is talking about Tom Brady these days, and it's not all positive. The long-time Patriots quarterback formed a bond with New England head coach Bill Belichick and saw it slow burn for two decades. After two seasons in Tampa, Brady has already torched the bridge with Bruce Arians, and he's close to nuking the entire Tampa Bay Buccaneers relationship altogether.
Brady had grand plans to become an owner/player and bring Sean Payton with him to Miami foiled, and the Rooney Rule was oh so close to being violated. Brian Flores may have singlehandedly brought down the coup by naming Dolphins owner Stephen Ross in a class-action lawsuit that may have implicated Brady, though not by name, as someone Ross was trying to coerce Flores into tampering with.
This offseason isn't as rewarding as last year for Brady. But enough about him. Let's talk about Belichick.
Belichick is the man who essentially made Tom Brady, giving him a system he could provide in, an offensive line that would protect him. The privacy to never air out anything that may be happening behind the scenes.
Judging by the public spat between Belichick and his former Patriots starting QB that came to light more in the aftermath of Brady leaving New England, plenty more likely happened behind the scenes.
While he isn't likely to win any more titles anytime soon with a young Mac Jones under center, Belichick has already left an impeccable impact on the game, should he hang things up soon as a head coach.
Here are the five biggest wins in the legendary career of Bill Belichick
#5 - 2003 AFC Championship game
The first triumph against Peyton Manning for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will always go down in the books for its historical significance in the all-time rivalry between the two QBs.
In hindsight, it means more now than that year's Super Bowl win over the Carolina Panthers. While Manning got the best of Brady the last two times they played, this was the first win of the Brady-Belichick era to capture the imagination of pundits who can only consume sports in a Godzilla vs. King Kong-type battlefield format and not appreciate individual talents.
#4 - Super Bowl LIII
Super Bowl LIII turned out to be the tremendous final run of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. On February 3rd, 2019, the Patriots won a defensive battle against Sean McVay's upstart Rams in a game where one touchdown was scored.
This was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl win of the Belichick era, but there was a beauty to the under-bettors' dream Super Bowl game three years ago. While typically known for his offensive air-raids, the last ring Belichick likely ever earns will be one that was won in the trenches.
#3 - Super Bowl XLIX
The conclusion of the 2013 season was one that many not everyone saw coming before the postseason started or even at the beginning of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX.
Down by 10 in the fourth quarter, Bill Belichick coached his Patriots to a 10-point come-from-behind victory due to two unanswered touchdowns in the final frame and one very famous Pete Carrol play call blunder. Let's not forget the ending; a genius play call defensively on Belichick (albeit with a wildly brazen play call offensively by Seattle) to read the pass on first and goal and pick off Russell Wilson, sealing the deal for Super Bowl XLIX.
#2 - Super Bowl XXXVI
Belichick got his first taste of Super Bowl gold in 2002 after defeating St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI. As slight underdogs to the NFC's top seed, New England began a dynastic run back with that win over the Rams.
Of course, the ending was among the most legendary in SB history, especially given the context. For the first time, fans witnessed a Super Bowl end in a game-winning field goal as time expired. You could thank Adam Vinatieri for that.
#1 - Super Bowl LI
For the rest of time, when NFL die-hards see the number '28' followed by a dash and the number '3', they will think of the 28-3 blown lead from the Atlanta Falcons against one of the most talented teams Belichick ever coached.
While Kyle Shanahan's offensive pass-heavy play-calling in the second half, carried out uncarefully by Matt Ryan, deserves much of the responsibility, the classic calm of Bill Belichick's stoic demeanor had just as much of a hand.
Nothing will ever top this comeback in the lore of Bill Belichick.