1994: Marino Passes for 473 Yards & 5 TDs as Dolphins Defeat Patriots

The Miami Dolphins had QB Dan Marino (pictured above) back behind center as they hosted the New England Patriots in a season-opening game on September 4, 1994. After ten years of highly-productive, and often record-setting, passing while remaining injury free, Marino had been lost to a ruptured Achilles tendon five games into the ’93 season.

Head Coach Don Shula’s team had initially weathered the loss of Marino well and was at 9-2 before losing five straight games to close out the season and miss the playoffs at 9-7. The receiving corps, led by WR Irving Fryar, was capable while the running attack was mediocre, with RB Terry Kirby more productive as a receiver out of the backfield. However, it was key injuries on the defensive side that ultimately sank the Dolphins, and improvement was anticipated.

New England was coming off of a 5-11 record in its first year under Head Coach Bill Parcells, but after five straight losing seasons there was reason for optimism. QB Drew Bledsoe had a year of action under his belt, TE Ben Coates emerged as an outstanding receiver, and the defense, led by MLB Vincent Brown, was much better. 

There were 69,613 fans in attendance at Joe Robbie Stadium and there was a heavy downpour an hour before kickoff that turned the baseball infield portion of the field into a muddy mess. The game started off quietly enough as the Patriots went three-and-out on their first possession and Dan Marino misfired on his first two passes before Miami moved to the New England 39. However, in attempting to convert a fourth-and-one play, Terry Kirby fumbled and FS Myron Guyton recovered for the Patriots.

New England drove 59 yards in 11 plays. Drew Bledsoe started off with a completion to RB Leroy Thompson for 20 yards and, after the loss of a yard on a running play, connected with WR Michael Timpson for 12 yards. It was RB Marion Butts carrying most of the load from there as the Patriots kept the ball on the ground and FB Kevin Turner gained the last yard for a touchdown. Matt Bahr added the extra point and the home team was ahead by 7-0.

The Dolphins responded with a long series that stretched into the second quarter. Marino completed six passes along the way, four of them to Kirby, but after reaching the New England six his throw intended for FB Keith Byars was intercepted by LB Dwayne Sabb.

The teams exchanged punts before the Patriots advanced into Miami territory, fueled by a 28-yard Bledsoe-to-Timpson pass play. Bledsoe had two more completions before being picked off in the end zone by CB Troy Vincent. Three plays later, Marino fired a pass to WR Mark Ingram for a 64-yard touchdown. Pete Stoyanovich booted the point after and the score was tied.

The Patriots responded with a scoring drive of eight plays that covered 68 yards. Bledsoe had four pass completions, the two biggest to TE Ben Coates for 26 yards and Turner for 19, to reach the Miami two and from there he tossed a TD pass to Coates. Bahr again converted to put the visitors up by seven with 2:15 left in the first half.

There was still time for Marino to pass the Dolphins into scoring position and, on the final play of the half, Stoyanovich kicked a 42-yard field goal and the New England lead was 14-10 at halftime.

A short Miami series to start the third quarter ended with a punt but, on their second play, the Patriots came through with a big one as Bledsoe (pictured at left) threw to Coates for a 62-yard touchdown. Bahr’s conversion stretched the New England lead to 21-10.

The teams again traded punts before the Dolphins, striking quickly, got back on the board. Taking over from their 39, Marino went long to WR Irving Fryar for 40 yards to the New England 21. A run for five yards that was followed by a holding penalty and then an incomplete pass had the home team facing third-and-15. Marino then connected with TE Keith Jackson for a TD from 26 yards out. Kirby dove into the end zone for a two-point conversion (the first in team history) and the New England lead was cut to 21-18.

FS Gene Atkins intercepted a Bledsoe pass on the next series to give the ball back to the Dolphins, but a fumble by Marino on the next play gave the ball back to the Patriots at the Miami 24. Five plays later, Bledsoe connected with Timpson for a five-yard touchdown and, with Bahr’s extra point, the visitors were ahead by ten at 28-18. Helped along by a pass interference penalty, the Dolphins responded with another long Marino TD pass, this time to Fryar for 54 yards. Stoyanovich’s kick made it a three-point game at 28-25.

The Patriots had the ball for the remainder of the period and punted to start the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Kirby took a handoff and then tossed the ball back to Marino on a flea-flicker that resulted in another scoring pass to a wide-open Fryar, this time covering 50 yards. Stoyanovich converted and the Dolphins had their first lead of the day at 32-28.

New England was far from finished and advanced 67 yards in seven plays. Bledsoe completed a pass to WR Vincent Brisby for six yards to convert a third-and-six situation at midfield and WR Ray Crittenden put the Patriots back in front with a leaping catch in the corner of the end zone of a Bledsoe pass for a 23-yard touchdown. Bahr’s successful conversion made the score 35-32 with 10:12 left to play.

Following an exchange of punts, the Dolphins took over on their 20 with 8:50 remaining on the clock. Marino passed to Kirby for 21 yards on a third-and-12 play and, shortly thereafter facing third-and-seven, he connected with WR Scott Miller for 18 yards. Four plays later, and facing fourth-and-five, Marino correctly surmised that the Patriots were in single coverage and threw to Fryar for a 35-yard touchdown. Stoyanovich’s PAT put Miami ahead by four points.

Bledsoe came out throwing following the ensuing kickoff and hit Thompson for eight yards and Brisby for 19 to reach the New England 47. The next two passes fell incomplete before Coates caught a pass for a 23-yard gain, but the tight end fumbled when hit by Atkins at the end and SS Michael Stewart recovered for the Dolphins at the Miami 26 to nail down the 39-35 win.

Both teams piled up yards, with the Dolphins compiling the most (525 to 472), although New England led in first downs (25 to 21) and time of possession (32:42 to 27:18). Each club turned the ball over three times.

Dan Marino showed that he was back in good form as he completed 23 of 42 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns while giving up one interception. Irving Fryar (pictured above) had a huge performance with 211 yards on his five catches that included three touchdowns. Mark Ingram contributed 87 yards and a TD on his three receptions and Terry Kirby, who rushed for 56 yards on 19 carries, also caught 7 passes for 61 yards.

For the Patriots, Drew Bledsoe was successful on 32 of 51 throws for 421 yards and four TDs while being intercepted twice. Ben Coates topped the receivers by catching 8 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Marion Butts led the miniscule running attack with 25 yards on 15 attempts, closely followed by Leroy Thompson’s six carries for 22 yards.

“Dan is back,” said Miami’s Coach Shula. “All week I’ve never seen him more intense than he’s been this week. This game probably meant as much as any he has played in for a while.”

The Dolphins won four of their first five games on the way to a 10-6 record and first place in the AFC East. They defeated Kansas City in the Wild Card playoff round before losing a close contest to the Chargers at the Divisional level. New England also went 10-6, losing both of its games to Miami to thus finish second in the division, and qualified for the postseason as a Wild Card entry. The Patriots lost to Cleveland in the Wild Card round.

As the opening game foreshadowed, both quarterbacks had productive passing seasons. Dan Marino finished second in the NFL in pass attempts (615), completions (385), and yards (4453) and third in touchdown passes (30) and passer rating (89.2, best in the AFC). It was the emergent Drew Bledsoe placing first in attempts (691), completions (400), and yards (4555), although also interceptions (27), which were two more than his touchdown passing total (25). Both were chosen to the Pro Bowl (the eighth such honor for Marino, the first for Bledsoe).

Likewise, the game’s top receivers remained productive all year. Irving Fryar, whose 211 yards against the Patriots were his career high, caught 73 passes for 1270 yards, both totals exceeding any of the previous ten years of his career, and seven TDs. Ben Coates topped the AFC with 86 pass receptions, for 1174 yards and seven scores. Like Marino and Bledsoe, both were Pro Bowl selections.

Highlighted Year: Ben Coates, 1994

Tight End, New England Patriots

Age: 25

4^th season in pro football & with Patriots

College: Livingstone

Height: 6’5”   Weight: 245

Prelude:

Coming out of a small college, Coates was chosen by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL draft. He backed up TE Marv Cook for two seasons, catching a total of 30 passes, before breaking out in 1993 with 53 catches for 659 yards (12.4 avg.) and eight touchdowns.

1994 Season Summary

Appeared and started in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 96 [4, 1^st in AFC]

Most receptions, game – 12 (for 119 yds.) at Indianapolis 11/27

Yards – 1174 [10]

Most yards, game – 161 (on 8 catches) at Miami 9/4

Average gain – 12.2

TDs – 7 [11, tied with four others]

100-yard receiving games – 5

Rushing

Attempts – 1

Yards – 0

TDs – 0

Scoring

TDs – 7

Points – 42

Postseason: 1 G (AFC Wild Card playoff at Cleveland)

Pass receptions – 6

Pass receiving yards – 79

Average yards per reception – 13.2

Pass Receiving TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News

1^st team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly

Pro Bowl

Patriots went 10-6 to finish second in the AFC East while leading the NFL in passing yards (4444) and qualified for the postseason as a Wild Card. Lost AFC Wild Card playoff to Cleveland Browns (20-13).

Aftermath:

The 1994 season, in which Coates set a then-NFL record for receptions by a tight end, was the first of five straight in which he was chosen to the Pro Bowl. In ’95, he caught 84 passes for 915 yards (10.9 avg.) and six TDs and was again a consensus first-team All-NFL selection. Coates was part of the 1996 AFC Championship team, with 6 receptions for 67 yards and a TD in the Super Bowl loss to Green Bay, and continued to be a capable receiver, although his blocking was not at the same level. With his production dropping to 32 catches for 370 yards in ’99, he was released by the Patriots and played one last season in 2000 as a reserve with the Baltimore Ravens. Overall, Coates caught 499 passes for 5555 yards (11.1 avg.) and 50 touchdowns, with 490 for 5471 yards and all of the TDs coming with New England. He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection twice, received second-team All-league or All-AFC honors after two other seasons, and was selected to the Pro Bowl five times.

--

Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1995: Browns Defeat Patriots in AFC Wild Card Playoff Game

Two teams that had not recently been to the postseason, the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots, met in an AFC Wild Card game on January 1, 1995. The Browns had endured four straight losing seasons since last making it to the playoffs in 1989, and New England had also gone through some rough times after their last appearance in 1986.

Cleveland was in its fourth year under Head Coach Bill Belichick and placed second in the AFC Central with an 11-5 record, qualifying for the playoffs as a Wild Card. Eighth-year QB Vinny Testaverde (pictured above) was proving more successful in Cleveland than he had been in six seasons with Tampa Bay, but was still prone to throw too many interceptions, and FB Leroy Hoard was coming off a Pro Bowl season. But it was the defense, which gave up the fewest points in the NFL in ’94 (204), that was the key to the team’s success. The line contained Pro Bowlers in DE Rob Burnett and DT Michael Dean Perry while two ex-Giants, Pepper Johnson and Carl Banks, performed ably at linebacker and FS Eric Turner was a consensus first-team All-Pro.  

The Patriots were in their second year under Head Coach Bill Parcells, who had previously guided the Giants to two NFL titles. Second-year QB Drew Bledsoe was named to the Pro Bowl after passing for 4555 yards and 25 TDs, although he also tossed 27 interceptions. He had an outstanding target in All-Pro TE Ben Coates. The running game was problematic, where RB Marion Butts averaged only 2.9 yards per carry and was being benched against the Browns in favor of Corey Croom, a faster back but one who did not have any carries during the regular season. The defense steadily improved over the course of the season and led the league in takeaways (40). New England had won its last seven games to finish out the regular season after getting off to a 3-6 start and that resulted in a final tally of 10-6 and a second place finish in the AFC East.

There were 77,452 fans in attendance at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium in a light drizzle that turned to snow. Following a punt by the Patriots, the Browns drove 74 yards in 10 plays on their first possession. Vinny Testaverde completed a pass to WR Michael Jackson for 27 yards in a third-and-five situation and also had tosses to WR Derrick Alexander for 23 yards and Jackson again for 12. Matt Stover kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the home team the early 3-0 lead.

On New England’s second play following the kickoff, Drew Bledsoe’s pass was intercepted by safety Louis Riddick. With his 16-yard return, the Browns had the ball at the New England 33, but they were unable to advance from there and punted.

The teams exchanged punts into the second quarter until the Patriots put together a 60-yard drive in nine plays. Bledsoe  (pictured below) completed a pass to WR Vincent Brisby for 18 yards on a second-and-ten play and, facing third-and-ten at the Cleveland 31, he connected with TE Ben Coates, also for 18 yards. A completion to RB Leroy Thompson resulted in a 13-yard touchdown and, with Matt Bahr adding the extra point, New England was in front by 7-3.

The Browns responded with a scoring drive of their own that went 51 yards in seven plays, helped by a short kickoff that TE Brian Kinchen returned 24 yards. Testaverde carried twice for 14 yards and threw to Jackson for 18 yards and Jackson for 11 to set up a five-yard completion for a TD to WR Mark Carrier. Matt Stover’s conversion put Cleveland ahead by three points.

New England came back with a long 16-play, 71-yard series that was helped along when, dropping into punt formation on fourth-and-ten at the Cleveland 43, punter Pat O’Neill instead threw to safety Corwin Brown for a pickup of 21 yards. Bledsoe completed three passes in all and RB Corey Croom twice converted third downs with short runs. The possession finally stalled at the four yard line and Bahr kicked a 23-yard field goal with 34 seconds remaining in the first half. In the remaining time, Testaverde completed a pass to Jackson for 36 yards and the Browns reached the New England 32 before Stover attempted a 50-yard field goal that was blocked by DE Mike Pitts. The halftime score remained tied at 10-10.

Opening the third quarter, the Browns advanced to the New England 24 before RB Eric Metcalf fumbled and Pitts recovered for the Patriots. A short possession resulted in a punt and Cleveland, starting from its own 21, drove 79 yards in 10 plays. Testaverde completed four passes, the longest to RB Leroy Hoard for 25 yards, and Hoard ran for a 10-yard touchdown to cap the drive. Stover added the extra point and the Browns were ahead by 17-10.

As the game headed into the fourth quarter, the teams traded punts until Pepper Johnson picked off a Bledsoe pass to give Cleveland the ball at the New England 31. The Browns came up empty, however, as three plays gained nothing and Stover’s 49-yard field goal attempt was wide to the right.

The home team got the ball back two plays later when Bledsoe’s pass bounced off of FB Kevin Turner and was picked off by Eric Turner, who returned it 28 yards to the New England 36. Hoard and RB Earnest Byner chipped away on the ground and Testaverde completed a pass to TE Frank Hartley for 12 yards. This time the possession yielded results as Stover booted a 21-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-10 with 3:36 remaining in regulation.

Bledsoe came out passing on the next series and connected on his first three throws to pick up 35 yards to the Cleveland 43. He completed two more and ran for three yards to convert a third down, and a throw to Brisby on a fourth-and-five play gained 12 yards. The drive stalled at the 15 and Bahr kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it a seven-point contest.

There was hope for the Patriots when the second try for an onside kick was successful (the first went out of bounds), but after completing two short passes to reach the New England 48, Bledsoe missed on his last four. The Browns held on to win by a final score of 20-13. 

Cleveland led in total yards (379 to 303) and first downs (22 to 20), controlling the ball for 21 of the last 30 minutes. 125 of the yards for the Browns came on the ground, to just 57 for New England, and the Patriots were hurt by three turnovers, to one suffered by Cleveland.

In his first postseason game, Vinny Testaverde completed 20 of 30 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, and gave up no interceptions. Michael Jackson had 7 catches for 122 yards and Derrick Alexander contributed 5 receptions for 69 yards. Leroy Hoard (pictured at right) rushed for 66 yards on 17 carries that included a TD and also had a 25-yard pass reception.

For the Patriots, Drew Bledsoe, who was sacked only once but took many hits, was successful on just 21 of 50 throws for 235 yards and a TD while tossing three interceptions. Most significantly, he was 10-of-26 for 96 yards and gave up all of the interceptions in the second half. Vincent Brisby and Ben Coates each caught six passes, for 83 and 79 yards, respectively. Corey Croom gained 35 yards on 9 rushing attempts while Leroy Thompson, who rushed for 16 yards on four carries, had 33 yards on four pass receptions that included a score.

“This was the biggest game of my career, and next week will be even bigger,” said Vinny Testaverde. “I am satisfied with the way I played and with the way the team played.”

“The turnovers obviously killed us,” summed up Drew Bledsoe.

The Browns came back down to earth the next week as they were thrashed by the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional playoff round. With expectations high for 1995, Cleveland dropped to 5-11 in a season in which owner Art Modell announced that the franchise would move to Baltimore. Bill Belichick was dismissed but would become head coach of the Patriots in 2000, with far greater success. The franchise that became the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl that same season, but Cleveland had broken all ties with that team and, in 1999, became host to a new Cleveland Browns club that inherited the history as well as the name. New England, meanwhile, dropped to 6-10 in 1995 but won the AFC Championship in ’96 in what was the last season with Bill Parcells at the helm.

1998: Last-Play TD Gives Patriots Win Over Bills

The New England Patriots were 6-5 and fighting to stay in the playoff hunt as they hosted the division-rival Buffalo Bills on November 29, 1998. To add to New England’s concerns, QB Drew Bledsoe (pictured above) was playing with a splint on his throwing hand due to a broken finger suffered the previous week, when he had still managed to toss a late scoring pass to pull out a win. Prior to that, Head Coach Pete Carroll’s team had lost four of five games, but the offense was helped by the return from injury of WR Terry Glenn.

Buffalo, coached by Wade Phillips, was 7-4 and had beaten the Patriots at home two weeks earlier. Diminutive QB Doug Flutie, former Boston College star and CFL legend, replaced Rob Johnson, the young quarterback the team had swung a deal with Jacksonville to obtain, with good results. WR Eric Moulds was a big-play talent across from 34-year-old WR Andre Reed and, with RB Thurman Thomas entering the twilight of his great career, RB Antowain Smith emerged as a productive starter. DE Bruce Smith was still a key player on the defensive line, along with NT Ted Washington.

There were 58,304 fans in attendance at Foxboro Stadium. Buffalo had the first possession and Doug Flutie completed his first three passes, but the drive stalled at the New England 45 and the Bills punted. They got the ball back in short order when CB Thomas Smith intercepted a pass by Drew Bledsoe at the Buffalo 12. Flutie completed a throw to Eric Moulds for 33 yards and the long series finally ended at the New England 17 where the Bills came up empty when Steve Christie missed a 35-yard field goal attempt.

The teams exchanged punts as the game headed into the second quarter. The Patriots then put together a 66-yard drive in eight plays. Bledsoe threw to Terry Glenn for 15 and 33 yards and TE Ben Coates for 12 to reach the Buffalo nine. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the one, and after two carries by RB Robert Edwards netted a loss of a yard, Bledsoe passed to him for a two-yard touchdown. Adam Vinatieri added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

Once again the Bills had to punt following their next possession, and once again the Patriots drove to a score. This time it took them seven plays to advance 53 yards, having gotten a 30-yard punt return from CB Chris Canty to give them good starting field position. Bledsoe completed five passes, with gains of 12 yards to Glenn, 13 to Coates, and finally a 12-yard TD throw to RB Derrick Cullors. Vinatieri kicked the point after to expand the New England lead to 14-0.

 Down by two touchdowns, the Bills got a break on the next series when the Patriots were flagged for pass interference on a third-and-10 play that picked up 26 yards. Antowain Smith followed up with three runs that totaled 22 yards to the New England 38. A Flutie pass and another run by Smith picked up another ten yards, but that was it and Christie came on to kick a 34-yard field goal.

With 1:16 remaining in the first half, the Patriots responded with Bledsoe completing three straight short passes. However, a third-down sack forced a punt and the Bills, starting from their 37 with the clock now down to 18 seconds, got a 55-yard gain on a pass from Flutie to WR Kevin Williams. Christie kicked a 26-yard field goal on the last play before halftime and the score stood at 14-6 at the game’s midpoint.

Following a punt by the Patriots to finish off the first series of the third quarter, Buffalo struck quickly when Flutie (pictured at left) connected with Moulds for an 84-yard touchdown. The pass for a two-point conversion failed, but the visitors were now only two points behind.

Short Bledsoe passes and the running of Edwards moved the Patriots down the field on the next possession, and Vinatieri booted a 44-yard field goal to expand New England’s lead to 17-12. But the Bills came back with another score of their own on a series in which Flutie completed passes to Andre Reed for 23 yards and Moulds for 17. With a second-and-goal at the four, they were unable to reach the end zone, but Christie kicked a 22-yard field goal to again narrow the margin to two points at 17-15.

As the contest entered the fourth quarter, the Patriots again had to punt and Buffalo put together a long, penalty-filled drive of 67 yards. A defensive holding penalty converted a third-and-16 situation and an illegal-use-of-hands call turned a third-and-four play into a first down. Flutie completed four passes, one to Williams to convert yet another third and long that picked up 22 yards, although an apparent 23-yard completion to Reed was called back for holding. Finally, Flutie threw to Reed for a touchdown from four yards out and, while the two-point conversion attempt again failed, the Bills were in front by 21-17.

The Patriots came up empty on their next series when Vinatieri missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. After Buffalo’s next possession resulted in a punt just after the two-minute warning, New England started off at its 18 and had no remaining timeouts. Bledsoe completed four of five passes, two of them to Coates, as the Patriots advanced to the Buffalo 37. However, the drive stalled there until, on fourth-and-nine, a pass lofted toward Glenn in the end zone was incomplete but Buffalo was called for pass interference. The ball was moved to the one, much to the fury of the Bills. With no time left on the clock, Bledsoe connected with Coates for a touchdown and, with the angry Bills having already departed for the locker room, Vinatieri ran for an unopposed two-point conversion rather than kicking. The Patriots came away with a dramatic 25-21 win.

Buffalo had a sizable lead in total yards (428 to 259) and time of possession (34:01 to 24:59), although New England had the edge in first downs (24 to 23). The Bills also recorded four sacks, to one by the Patriots, and New England suffered the only turnover. But Buffalo was penalized 12 times, at a cost of 107 yards, which in the end proved fatal, while the Patriots drew 9 flags for 80 yards.

Drew Bledsoe completed 28 of 43 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns while giving up one interception. Ben Coates (pictured at right) had 10 catches for 70 yards and the game-winning TD and Terry Glenn gained 104 yards on 8 receptions. Robert Edwards led New England in rushing with 40 yards on 13 carries.

For the Bills, Doug Flutie was successful on 21 of 39 throws for 339 yards and two TDs and no interceptions. He also ran for 30 yards on five carries. Eric Moulds caught 8 passes for 177 yards and the long touchdown. Kevin Williams contributed 74 yards on his four receptions and Andre Reed accounted for 53 yards and a TD on his four. Antowain Smith rushed for 58 yards on 21 attempts.

“We were robbed,” said SS Henry Jones, who was called for the crucial pass interference penalty at the end. “Terry Glenn jumped for the ball, but no one even grabbed him.”

“Well, [the officials] gave them the game, they might as well give them the extra point,” added Coach Phillips, also making reference to the unopposed two-point conversion at the end.

“He [Jones] wasn’t playing the ball, but he did make contact with the receiver,” countered referee Walt Coleman. “That’s pass interference.”

The win tied the Patriots with the Bills as they remained in the playoff mix, but they split their last two contests, including a loss to the division-winning Jets in the finale, to finish fourth in the AFC East at 9-7. It was still enough to make it in to the postseason with the last Wild Card spot and they lost to Jacksonville in the first round. Buffalo was third with a 10-6 record and lost to Miami, the second-place team, in the Wild Card playoff.

Drew Bledsoe, who missed the last two games and the playoff loss due to injury, ended up passing for 3633 yards and 20 touchdowns. Ben Coates led the team with 67 pass receptions, for 668 yards (10.0 avg.) and six TDs. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the fifth straight year.

Doug Flutie and Eric Moulds were also selected to the Pro Bowl. The 36-year-old Flutie threw for 2711 yards and 20 touchdowns and ran for another 248 yards while the team went 7-3 with him as the starting quarterback. Moulds (pictured below) averaged 20.4 yards on his 67 catches for an AFC-leading 1368 yards with nine TDs.

1994: Drew Bledsoe Completes 45 of 70 passes to Overcome Vikings

The fans at Foxboro Stadium on November 13, 1994 were treated to a passing frenzy as the New England Patriots (3-6) faced the visiting Minnesota Vikings (7-2). 22-year-old Drew Bledsoe, in his second year in the league, was rapidly developing into a very effective quarterback. On this day, he was facing off against Warren Moon, just a few days short of his 38th birthday, the veteran signal caller who was now in his first year with the Vikings.

In the first half, it looked as though Moon would win the showdown as he passed for 234 yards, including a 65-yard TD to WR Qadray Ismail, as the Vikings rolled to a 20-0 lead; the Patriots finally scored on the last play of the half as Matt Bahr connected on a 38-yard field goal.

New England utilized the no-huddle offense in the second half to good effect. Bledsoe completed a 31-yard TD pass to WR Ray Crittenden in the third quarter to cut the Minnesota lead in half, and in the fourth quarter he led the Patriots on an 87-yard drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown strike to RB Leroy Thompson. A 56-yard drive set up the game-tying field goal by Bahr with 14 seconds left.

New England received the kickoff in overtime and went 67 yards in a game-winning drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bledsoe to FB Kevin Turner. In the second half and overtime periods alone, Bledsoe filled the air with 53 passes, completing 37 of them for 354 yards and three TDs.

Overall, Bledsoe set NFL records both for passing attempts (70) and completions (45) in a game, totaling 426 yards with the three touchdowns and, perhaps most remarkably, no interceptions. With Warren Moon completing 26 of 42 passes for 349 yards and a TD, both teams combined for the most passes attempted (112) and completed (71) in a game.

Three New England receivers reached double figures, Leroy Thompson topping the list with 11 for 74 yards. TE Ben Coates also accumulated 74 yards on his 10 receptions, while WR Michael Timpson caught 10 passes and led the team with 113 yards. Not surprisingly, the Patriots ran the ball just 12 times (for 42 yards), but they were not a strong running team in ’94, ranking at the bottom of the NFL with a yards per carry average of just 2.8.

The game marked a turning point for the Patriots – they won their remaining six games to finish at 10-6, good enough for second place in the AFC East and a wild card spot in the postseason. They lost to Cleveland in the first round. The Vikings split the rest of their games and also ended up at 10-6, winning the NFC Central title and also losing in the first round of the playoffs to Chicago.

Drew Bledsoe led the league in four passing categories: attempts (691), completions (400), yards (4555), and, on the downside, interceptions (27), all of which were career highs. He was selected to the first of his four Pro Bowl appearances – impressive for just a second-year quarterback. His favorite receiver, Ben Coates, led the AFC with 96 receptions (for 1174 yards); Timpson nearly joined him as a thousand-yard receiver with 941 yards on 74 catches.

Warren Moon lost on this day, but as his statistics indicate, he had another solid season in his Hall of Fame career, passing for over 4000 yards (4264) for the third of four times.