Pats Pulpit
Our offseason countdown concludes with the Number One Patriots Moment of 2024!
July 4th. The greatest day on the American calendar. It represents the day that our tiny nation, just a few scattered colonies on the east coast of this great continent, declared independence from oppression and the right to live their lives they way they wanted, free from tyranny.
And while my independence from this countdown of the Top 10 Patriots Moments of 2024 is dwarfed by what would transpire in the years following 1776, I’m quite happy to be free from it. Last season sucked. So I’m very happy to be kicking off the best long weekend of the year by closing it out in style.
But first, for the last time, the list so far:
10. Jerod Mayo out, Mike Vrabel in.
9. Drake Maye hits Austin Hooper for a 38-yard TD on 4th-and-15 against the Miami Dolphins.
8. Joey Slye nails a 63-yard field goal to close out the half against the San Francisco 49ers.
7. A free play gets DeMario Douglas into the end zone vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
6. A nine-sack day helps list the Patriots over the Chicago Bears.
5. A late 70-yard touchdown drive hands the Jets their fifth consecutive loss, and the Patriots their second win.
4. The Patriots stun the Bengals on opening weekend.
3. Drake Maye’s throws his first touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte against the Texans.
2. Drake Maye hits Rhamondre Stevenson in the end zone with no time left on the clock to tie the game against the Titans.
At Number One, we have what I’m guessing will be the only thing any of us will actually remember about the 2024 Patriots season.
For the vast majority of the 21st Century, Draft Day wasn’t much to celebrate around New England. The Patriots were almost always picking at the very tail end of the round, which meant that any of the big names and hot prospects were long gone by the time their turn rolled around. On the off chance that there was still a highly-touted player still on the board, you could count on Bill Belichick to trade out of the first round, acquire more picks, and then draft a DB in the 2nd round instead. It wasn’t an overly entertaining viewing experience, and as all the fans of the other teams in the NFL celebrated their new quarterback or stud receiver, most Patriots fans were performing a Google search to learn about a kid whose name they didn’t even know prior to the NFL Draft. The tradeoff for an unsexy April was a deep playoff run and six Lombardi Trophies, so nobody complained all that much.
However, all good things must come to an end, and following a disastrous 2023 season which saw the Patriots without a quarterback or a head coach for the first time in forever, New England sat with the third overall pick in the 2024...
