The 2002 season was the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

' 33rd in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), their 43rd overall and their third under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

. They finished with a 9–7 record, good enough for second in the division but not a playoff berth. It was their first season at their new home field,

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...

, which replaced the adjacent

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England Pa ...

. Following their victory in

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

seven months earlier, the Patriots played their first game in the new

in the NFL's primetime

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

opener against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, a win for the Patriots. After an additional two wins to begin the season, including a 44–7 road win against the division rival

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, the team lost five of its next seven games, allowing an average of 137 rushing yards a game during that span. In the final week of the season, the Patriots defeated the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

on an overtime

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest kick ...

field goal to give both teams a 9–7 record. A few hours later, the Jets, who defeated the Patriots the week prior, also finished with a 9–7 record with a win over the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Due to their record against common opponents, after the Jets won the tiebreaker for the division title, both the Patriots and Dolphins were eliminated from the playoff contention. The 2002 season was the last time that the Patriots failed to win at least 10 games during the regular season until the 2020 season. It also marked the only season when

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

started over half of the regular season games that the team failed to win their division or make the playoffs, and until 2022 the only time that Brady lost three consecutive games.

Offseason

2002 NFL Draft

Staff

Final roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 2: at New York Jets

Week 3: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 4: at San Diego Chargers

Week 5: at Miami Dolphins

Week 6: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 9: at Buffalo Bills

Week 10: at Chicago Bears

Week 11: at Oakland Raiders

Week 12: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 13: at Detroit Lions

Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 15: at Tennessee Titans

Week 16: vs. New York Jets

Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins

Standings

Notes and references

External links

Season page on Pro Football ReferenceNew England Patriots Super Bowl History
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 New England Patriots Season

New England Patriots seasons

21st century in Foxborough, Massachusetts