Led by a second-year quarterback and a revamped defense, the New England Patriots have gone from the worst team in the AFC East to first.
Now they face the NFC West, a Super Bowl favorite with a league-leading team loaded with great power.
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The Patriots have been here before. Back to the 2001 season, when their two-decade dynasty began with Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as head coach, in Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams.
So how similar are this year’s Patriots to the one that helped redefine the franchise? More than you think. Let’s have fun.
Quarterback: Tom Brady VS Derek Meyer
Although Brady and Derek Meyer both led the Patriots to the Super Bowl the following year, their journeys were very different. New England selected the dual-threat Meyer with the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, while the traditionally unathletic Brady was taken in the sixth round of the 2000 draft with the 199th pick. Brady caught one pass as a rookie while backing up Drew Bledsoe. Meyer, on the other hand, was thrust into the Patriots quarterback role about a month into his first season in the league.
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Brady didn’t get his chance until the second week of the 2001 season. He took over late in the fourth quarter after Bledsoe was shocked by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Brady was selected to the Pro Bowl that season, throwing for at least three touchdowns without a draft pick in three different games and running game-winning drives in three other games. However, Meyer’s numbers from 2001 pale in comparison to his numbers during the 2025 campaign. Benefiting from the team’s realignment, Meyer established himself as an NFL MVP candidate, scoring 31 touchdowns and completing a league-high 72% touchdown rate.
QB Verdict: very different
Brady’s rise from sixth-round backup to Super Bowl champion during the 2001 season remains one of the best and most improbable stories in sports history. Meyer’s second-year success was significant. However, he was a member of Alabama and a top-10 Heisman Trophy pick at UNC before going into the top three of the draft as a high-prospect prospect. No quarterback’s stardom is guaranteed in the NFL, but Meyer’s is much higher than Brady’s.
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Coaches: Bill Belichick vs. Mike Vrabel
The 2001 season was Bill Belichick’s second year as head coach in New England and his sixth season leading an NFL team, where he also coached the Cleveland Browns. Belichick’s Patriots went 5-11 in 2000. In 2001, they lost to the Jets, who he was supposed to coach, but fell to 0-2 after resigning about 20 months ago. Ultimately, Brady saved the day at quarterback and Belichick’s defense gelled.
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Mike Vrabel helped make the latter happen. A former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, he was one of several new faces in New England that year. Now, he’s coaching teams that have won three Super Bowls in the Patriots’ first half. While Belichick was reportedly worried about his job security at the beginning of the 2001 season, Vrabel entered the 2025 season with tremendous head coaching credibility. He has coached the Tennessee Titans to four winning seasons and an AFC championship. In stark contrast to the upbeat Pete Carroll, Belichick was demanding on the field and brooding in front of the media as he installed the “Patriot Way.” This season, Vrabel has struck a balance: a defensive-minded CEO head coach who is both authoritative and personable.
Coach’s verdict: different
Vrabel’s stunning turnaround in 2025 rivals Belichick’s in 2001, only with a more emotional nature and in his first year. While Belichick and Vrabel were both detail-oriented coaches who improved New England’s defense, the nuances of their different head coaching resumes and leadership leading up to Super Bowl season justified the distinction.
How similar are the 2001 Patriots to this year’s team? So far, more than you think. (Jonathan Castro/Yahoo Sports)
Team Building: 2001 Patriots vs. 2025 Patriots
In 2001, the Patriots’ preseason win margin was 6.5 games. At that time, it had been three years since they last made the playoffs and five years since their last trip to the Super Bowl.
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In 2025, New England’s over/under is 8.5. It’s been four years since the Patriots last made the playoffs and seven years since their last appearance in the Super Bowl. Both teams finished last in the AFC East.
In each instance, New England’s spurts were preceded by shocking roster changes. Prior to the 2001 season, the Patriots set a franchise record for offseason transfers. According to Over the Cap, entering the 2025 season, they have invested heavily in the free agent market, and the player return rate last season was only 48.4%, which is the lowest retention rate among NFL teams this time.
Team Building Conclusion: very similar
Major adjustments are necessary for a Patriots team looking to shake off the stench of defeat. Like the 2001 Patriots, the 2025 Patriots have a second-year quarterback (Brady/Meyer), a rookie left tackle (Matt Wright/Will Campbell), a veteran wide receiver who leads the team in receptions (Troy Brown/Stefon Diggs), a hard-nosed linebacker who started his career with the Steelers (Vrabel/Robert Spillane) and a Pro Bowl cornerback (Ty Lowe/Christian Gonzalez).
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Their defensive rating jumped from 17th to 6th from 2000 to 2001, then from 22nd to 4th in the same category from 2024 to 2025. These units played a vital role in the team’s playoff rise, never scoring more than 17 points.
Oh, and New England experienced blizzards both times. But this year’s AFC Champions League did not have the controversy caused by the “Tucker Rule” in the divisional games 24 years ago.
Super Bowl Rivals: 2001 Rams vs. 2025 Seahawks
The 2001 Patriots found themselves facing off against the “Greatest Show on the Field,” the St. Louis Rams, one of the most potent offenses in NFL history. Led by two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner at quarterback, the high-flying Rams rank first in points per game (31.4), yards per game (6.6) and third-down conversion rate (50 percent). Torrey Holt and Isaac Bruce serve as receivers. Marshall Faulk runs the same routes as them, but he’s also an explosive running back.
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The 2025 Patriots face a similar threat on the other side of the ball. The Seattle Seahawks defense is allowing the fewest points per game (17.2), the second-fewest yards per game (4.6), and the lowest third-down conversion rate (32.1 percent) of any NFL team this season. The Dark Side is competing with last decade’s Legion of Boom as one of the most fearsome defenses in recent memory. The defensive front, led by Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence and Byron Murphy II, is suffocating, giving Seattle a chance to keep its two-high safeties going.
judgment: quite similar
The 2001 Rams actually ranked seventh in scoring defense, while the 2025 Seahawks ranked third in scoring offense and had the NFL’s leading receivers. These Super Bowl teams weren’t one-trick ponies, but they were best known for their dominance on offense (Rams) and defense (Seahawks).
Prediction: 2001 Patriots vs. 2025 Patriots
In February 2002, the Patriots trailed the Rams by 14 points in Super Bowl XXXVI. They currently trail the Seahawks by just 4.5 points in Super Bowl 60. After all, the Seahawks’ hopes of winning the big game were slim before the season began. Still, critics have been unimpressed with this year’s Patriots and their weak regular-season schedule for months.
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judgment: similar
As an up-and-coming quarterback, Brady didn’t put up earth-shattering playoff numbers in his second season. Neither did Meyer. They all deal with bad weather and even injuries. Remember, Brady sat out the 2001 AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh with an ankle injury. The Patriots wouldn’t have made it to the Super Bowl this year without their defense. The same was true for them back then. Will a New England team with a good feel, especially a young quarterback, be enough to take on the NFC West juggernaut? As before, questions abound. Maybe the Patriots will like that.
