2007 New England Patriots Season

The 2007 New England Patriots season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and franchise's 48th season overall. They became the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season with a perfect 16–0 record; nonetheless they lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

The Patriots entered the offseason following a stunning loss to the rival Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship after blowing a 21–3 first half lead. After having lost their two starting wide receivers in the previous offseason, the Patriots added Donté Stallworth in free agency and traded for Wes Welker from the Miami Dolphins and Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders in the spring; Welker would lead the NFL in receptions tied with T.J. Houshmandzadeh in 2007 while Moss would set an NFL regular season record with 23 touchdown catches. The season began with controversy, when in Week Two Patriot head coach Bill Belichick and the team were penalized by the NFL for their involvement in the videotaping of opponents' defensive signals from an unauthorized location in their Week 1 game against the New York Jets, referred to in the press as Spygate. Despite the media scrutiny, the Patriots continued to gain momentum, winning mid-season games by scores such as 52–7 and 56–10, as quarterback Tom Brady iterated the team's desire to blow out and "kill teams." The Patriots set the record for most points in a season with 589, shattering the previous record by 33 points.

The Patriots clinched the AFC East after their eleventh game (in Week 12), the fourth time since the NFL introduced the 16-game schedule in 1978 which a team had clinched a division title by the eleventh game. In the season finale, the Patriots sought to finish the regular season with the first 16–0 record in NFL history, and did so successfully. In that game, Brady and Moss connected on two touchdown passes, with Moss setting his 23 catch record, breaking Pro Football Hall of Fame member Jerry Rice's 22 touchdown receptions and with Brady setting an NFL record with 50 touchdown passes on the season. It was the first undefeated regular season in the NFL since the 1972 Miami Dolphins finished 14–0. Brady earned his first NFL MVP award, while the Patriots' offense destroyed numerous NFL records, including those for touchdowns (75), points scored and point differential.

With the first seed in the AFC playoffs, the Patriots defeated both the Jacksonville Jaguars 31–20 and San Diego Chargers 21–12 to advance to Super Bowl XLII their sixth in franchise history; according to the Elias Sports Bureau, with this accomplishment, they became the first professional sports team since 1884 in any of the four major American sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey) to win the first 18 games of their season. Facing the prospect of a perfect 19–0 season with a victory over the underdog New York Giants, analysts saw the 2007 Patriots as being the greatest team in NFL history.

Despite being the overwhelming favorites to win the game, the Patriots failed to protect a four point lead on a Giants drive late in the fourth quarter. A dramatic pass from scrambling Eli Manning to an unbelievable catch by wide receiver David Tyree put the Giants deep in Patriots territory, and a Manning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress gave the Giants a lead with just 35 seconds left. The Patriots could not score again and came out on the losing end of what is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. The Patriots ended the season at 18–1, becoming one of only three teams in NFL history to finish their season (including postseason) 18–1.