A quarter century ago...
Something hung in the air that evening at Old Foxborough Stadium on September 23rd, 2001. The New England Patriots hosted the New York Jets for a Week 2 divisional matchup, but it was so much more than that.
A national tragedy was still on everyone's mind, and the last thing anyone wanted was for second-year head coach Bill Belictocould get the team topromisedomised land. Starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe had signed a massive 10-year, $103 million deal back in March, but on that night, everything changed.
NFL's First Week Back After 9/11
A week and a half prior, the tragic events of September 11th had taken place. Leaving the country in mourning. 9/11 fell on a Tuesday; the NFL postponed its slate of games for that weekend out of respect for the country's climate at the time.
September 23rd saw the return of NFL games as a way to help Americans focus on what they love most, even with heavy hearts. The Patriots hosted the Jets, and for the first and probably only time, the New York Jets were welcomed with cheers from New England fans as they entered the field.
That proved the country's temperature at the time was bigger than a football game.
Drew Bledsoe Almost Died Due to Injury
The second-to-last thing the Patriots franchise wanted to see happen to Bledsoe was him getting injured after signing a historic deal to make him the QB of the future in New England.
The absolute last thing was having his injury almost take his life. On a scramble that led to a run, Bledsoe took a legal hit near the sideline that, early reports stated, punctured his lung from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. He was rushed to a nearby hospital. It was later stated he sheared a blood vessel in the chest, causing internal bleeding.
Approximately 3 liters of blood pooled in his chest cavity (about a quarter of his total blood volume). Bledsoe reported years later that if he had never gone to the hospital and had just gone home, there was a chance he could have died that night. Bledsoe had apparently lost consciousness in the ambulance. Doctors at Mass General ended up inserting a chest tube and draining the blood and recycling/infusing it back into his body.
As unfortunate as that is, a near-death experience would pave the way for the Patriots organization going forward.
Second-Year QB Tom Brady Enters the Game
If you're a college football connoisseur, you've probably heard of Tom Brady's heroics at Michigan in the late 1990s. But at that point, he was just the 199th pick in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft. All that was expected of him was to be a developmental pick, and maybe even be traded away down the road.
Brady entered the game after Bledsoe's exit. You'd never think we'd be talking about him the way we do today after this game was over. The Jets won in a low-scoring bout, 10-3. Brady went 5 of 10 for 46 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions (plus 1 rush for 9 yards). Nothing amazing, nothing bad, though, given the circumstances.
The second-year quarterback tried to rally the Patriots late to tie the game up. He got the offense to the Jets' 29-yard line before time ran out.
What came after all of that? Well, you know the story. It's been well documented. Brady started the next few weeks and got on a hot streak. Bledsoe was cleared to play, but he would never be the starter in New England again.
The rest is history because a dynasty was built from a game with high drama on an early fall September evening in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Patriots Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Patriots. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.
