The 2007 season was the New England Patriots' 38th in the National Football League (NFL), their 48th overall and their eighth under head coach Bill Belichick. Starting quarterback Tom Brady won his first NFL MVP award, throwing a then-record 50 passing touchdowns. Newly acquired All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss joined the Patriots in a trade, after a lackluster stint with the Oakland Raiders, and caught an NFL-record 23 receiving touchdowns. The 2007 Patriots are widely considered one of the greatest NFL teams of all time.
The Patriots improved on their 12–4 record from 2006 and won the AFC East for the sixth time in seven years by winning all 16 of their games. They became the eighth team in NFL history to finish a regular season undefeated, the first to do so since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the fourth to finish undefeated and untied. The Patriots were also the first team with a perfect regular season since the NFL expanded its schedule to sixteen games in 1978, and when the NFL expanded to a seventeen game schedule in 2021, they became the only NFL team ever to complete a 16-game season undefeated. Thus, they broke the record for victories in a single regular season that had been shared by the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers, who each finished with a record of 15–1. The 1984 49ers and 1985 Bears would win Super Bowl XIX and Super Bowl XX respectively, and the 1998 Vikings and 2004 Steelers would lose their conference championship games. The 2007 Patriots are the only team in NFL history to complete a 16-game regular season undefeated because the NFL switched to a 17-game schedule in . As of today, they are also the most recent NFL team to complete a regular season undefeated. The 2007 Patriots compiled a point differential of +315, the highest in NFL history.
The focal part in the Patriots’ success this season was their offense, setting numerous records. They set the record for most points scored in a season at the time at 589, and lead the league in passing yards and total touchdowns at 4,859 and 75 respectively. The 2007 Patriots are also one of the five teams in NFL history to score 30 or more points in 12 or more games in a single season,Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, requiring Points For >= 30, sorted by most games in season matching criteria. and scored 40 or more points 4 times, which included a season high 56 points scored against the Buffalo Bills in week 11.
The Patriots entered the playoffs as the heavy favorites to win Super Bowl XLII. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 in the Divisional Round, and the San Diego Chargers 21-12 in the AFC Championship Game to make it to the Super Bowl and improve their record to 18-0 (regular season and postseason combined). However, they failed to complete their perfect season as they were upset by the Eli Manning-led New York Giants by a final score of 17-14, ending their hopes of becoming the first undefeated and untied team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl since their division rival Miami Dolphins did it in 1972, and the first to do it under a 16-game format.
Despite this loss, the 2007 Patriots are still regarded as one of the best teams in NFL history, with NFL Films ranking them as the 7th-greatest team of all time in 2019.
Season summary 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 tie for the NFL lead in receptions with T. J. Houshmandzadeh in 2007 while Moss would set an NFL regular season record with 23 touchdown catches (part of his 98 receptions). The season began with controversy, when Patriot head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots organization 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. This came to be referred to in the media as "Spygate". Early in the season, the Patriots won their first two games by identical scores of 38–14, and followed up the next game with a score of 38–7. Despite the media scrutiny, the Patriots continued to gain momentum, winning mid-season games by scores such as 49–28, 52–7, and 56–10, as quarterback Tom Brady emphasized 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 won 12 games in which they surpassed the 30-point mark, four games in which they surpassed the 40-point mark and two in which they surpassed the 50-point mark.
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 that a team had clinched a division title by their eleventh game. In the regular season finale, facing the New York Giants, 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 single-season 23 touchdown reception 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 (589) and point differential (+315)
With the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Patriots first defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31–20, then the 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, whom they had already defeated in the regular season finale, 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 a scrambling Eli Manning combined with an acrobatic 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.The others were the Super Bowl XIX champion 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the Super Bowl XX champion 1985 Chicago Bears. The NFL Network named the 2007 Patriots the #1 team on their list of “Top 10 Teams That Didn't Win A Super Bowl.”
Offseason Death of Marquise Hill On the evening of May 27, 2007, 24-year-old defensive end Marquise Hill and his friend, Ashley Blazio, fell off a jet ski in Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans. Neither of them wore personal flotation or tracking devices. According to Hill's agent, who spoke with Blazio, Hill "ended up saving her life, keeping her calm until she could grab onto a buoy." Blazio was rescued and sent to Tulane Medical Center. Coast Guard units searched the area. Hill's body was found by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries around 2:15 PM CDT on May 28.
Hill's funeral, paid for by the team, was attended by many members of the Patriots team and staff, as well as by Hill's former coach Nick Saban.
For the 2007 season, all members of the Patriots wore a black No. 91 decal on the backs of their helmets. A friend of Hill's since high school, fellow Patriots defensive lineman Jarvis Green supported Hill's fiancée Inell Benn and son Ma’Shy financially following Hill's death. Green also wore Hill's old shoulder pads for the Patriots’ October 14 game against the Cowboys, which Benn attended.
Staff changes Unlike previous offseasons, head coach Bill Belichick’s 2007 coaching staff remained generally unchanged. Wide receivers coach Brian Daboll left to become the quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets and was replaced by Director of Pro Personnel Nick Caserio. Former Duke University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien was also hired as an offensive assistant. A former special teams contributor for the Patriots, linebacker Don Davis retired and joined the coaching staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Offensive coaching assistant Mike Judge also joined Harvard University as a wide receivers coach.
Departures Free agency saw the departure of two 2006 starters for the Patriots: tight end Daniel Graham signed with the Denver Broncos, and linebacker Tully Banta-Cain signed with the San Francisco 49ers, while running back Corey Dillon, the Patriots’ leading rusher in 2006, asked to be released; the Patriots released him on March 2. Safety Tebucky Jones was also released early in the offseason. Another departure came when punter Todd Sauerbrun signed with the Denver Broncos. When Sauerbrun was signed by the Patriots in December 2006, he agreed to a right of first refusal, meaning that the Patriots could match any offer by any other team made in the subsequent offseason. When the unrestricted free agent signing period came, the Broncos tendered Sauerbrun, and the Patriots exercised their right and matched the offer. However, the Broncos argued that the Patriots had not filed the proper documents required for that right, and ordered a hearing before an NFL special master. The Broncos won this hearing and Sauerbrun was allowed to sign with the Broncos. After spending all of training camp with the team, veteran punter Josh Miller was released on August 16.
Arrivals In the first week of free agency, the Patriots traded their second- and seventh-round picks in the 2007 NFL draft to the Miami Dolphins for wide receiver Wes Welker. A restricted free agent, Welker signed a five-year contract with the Patriots to complete the trade.
During the second day of the draft, the Patriots added yet another wide receiver, this time trading a fourth-round draft pick (which the Patriots acquired the day before from the San Francisco 49ers with the 49ers’ 2008 first-round pick in exchange for the Patriots’ original 2007 first-round pick) to the Oakland Raiders for Randy Moss, who agreed to take a pay cut of over US$6 million.
The offseason also brought the arrival of seven unrestricted free agents to the Patriots. On offense, the Patriots added running back Sammy Morris, tight end Kyle Brady, as well as wide receivers Donté Stallworth and Kelley Washington. On defense, they added Pro Bowl linebacker Adalius Thomas and cornerbacks Tory James and Eddie Jackson.
Free agents or potential free agents Heath Evans, Billy Yates, Larry Izzo, Rashad Baker, Gene Mruczkowski, Junior Seau, Randall Gay, Troy Brown, and Vinny Testaverde were all re-signed. Defensive end Ty Warren also received a long-term contract extension.