- Overall Quality of Play: 4
- Competitiveness of Game: 5
- Historical Significance: 5
Just five months after the 9-11 tragedy changed the country forever, the underdog Patriots — led by their second-year quarterback Tom Brady, a sixth-round pick of the 1999 NFL Draft — upset the defending Super Bowl champions with a brilliant game plan and gritty defense. The Rams were 14-point favorites, but found themselves down 17-3 at the end of three quarters. Kurt Warner led the Rams back in the fourth quarter, hitting Ricky Proehl on a game-tying 26-yard pass. That’s when Brady went to work. After a magnificent nine-play, 53-yard drive in just 1:53, Adam Vinatieri hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
—Peter Schrager The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.