Patriots' Super Bowl Loss Could Signal End of an Era

The superstition in the National Football League regarding the "Super Bowl Hangover" - the unfortunate losing seasons that teams defeated in the Super Bowl seem to suffer the year after their momentus loss - has a new twist and a greater meaning with the absurd finale to last year's Super Bowl XLII and the first time the presence of the hangover has plagued a "Dynasty" team.

The inspired and miraculous Cinderella story of the New York Giants' playoff run has been popularly chronicled; Sports Illustrated even published a featured aritcle regarding David Tyree's singular and unforgettable catch that even the members of the Giants team referred to as unbelieveable. But the ever-quiet and business-like Patriots and their magical 2007 season has lost virtually all publicity since their epic downfall last February. However, if one examines some of the finer points of the New England Patriots' fate, it may prove to explain why the AFC has taken such an unexpected turn this season.

Since the Ravens demolished the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV (2000) - and the perennial playoff-contender Giants finished their 2001 campaign with a meager 7-9 record - there has loomed a bewildering psychological cloud over every Super Bowl loser. The once proud Oakland Raiders haven't won more than five games per season since their dismantling in Super Bowl XXXVII to Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Andy Reid's Eagles had winning seasons through three consecutive losses in the NFC Championship Game (2001-2003) before they finally made it to Super Bowl XXXIX, lost, and then had an unfortunate 6-10 record the next year. The Greatest Show on Turf - returning to its dominant Super Bowl form in 2001 - was handed a loss by the New England Patriots and their second-string surprise Tom Brady, who has since become a terror to defenses, a proud owner of three Super Bowl rings, an NFL MVP, and captain of the greatest statistical offense in NFL history. Taking a look at where St. Louis is today, the hangover surely remains. The only team to have a winning season following a Super Bowl loss is the Seattle Seahawks and their 9-7 2006 campaign that ended with a loss to the eventual Super Bowl losing Chicago Bears. But even in Seattle, with the downturn of Shaun Alexander and the semi-retirement of Mike Holmgren, Seattle too has not been the same.

The point is that the New England Patriots, the team to beat in the NFL most every year of this decade, was considered the Dynasty of our time. Reporters and fans held them up along with the 60's Packers, the 70's Steelers, the 80's 49ers, and the 90's Cowboys. The Patriots (along with the Colts) made the AFC the conference-to-beat as well, with 6 of the last 7 Super Bowl winners an AFC team from 2000-2006.

But when the serendipitous New York Giants crushed the Patriots' hopes for the first undefeated sixteen-game season in history, it was the first time that a Dynasty team lost a Super Bowl. The Lombardi Packers won Super Bowls I + II, the Noll Steelers won Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, + XIV, the Walsh 49ers won Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, + XXIV, and the Johnson Cowboys won Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, + XXX. None of those teams went to the Super Bowl and lost in the time of their dominance.

So what does this mean to the Patriots' future?

The question of the Super Bowl Hangover would probably have been squandered all together had Tom Brady not had a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 against the Chiefs. A second-effort hit below the knee from safety Bernard Pollard tore ligaments in Brady's knee as he stood in the pocket; it removed Brady from the game and from the season where the all-powerful Patriots would prove without a doubt that they were still the best team in the NFL.

Not since Brady filled-in for Bledsoe has New England seen a change at quarterback - and Brady raised the bar so high and took the Patriots so far, there's no way that Matt Cassel can be expected to do the same. Cassel is a smart quarterback and will learn much as the season goes on, but a run to the Super Bowl seems unlikely.

But it's not just the Patriots that have had a strange season. Peyton Manning hasn't been the same since his knee injury, having constant miscues with receivers and struggling behind a wounded offensive line; the Colts are lucky to be 2-2, thanks to a heroic late field goal against Minnesota in Week 2 and three turnovers in the final 5:00 against the Texans last week. The Chargers' seasons always start slow and this year is no exception - but it does seem that it's possible LaDainian Tomlinson is past the best of his days and that the window to a championship closed in Foxborough last year.

So while the three teams to beat in the AFC are struggling through injuries, misfortune, and mediocrity, the Buffalo Bills have roared to a surprise 4-1, the Tennessee Titans remain undefeated going into the bye-week with the help of Kerry Collins and a tough defense, and the Denver Broncos have built a juggernaut offense and gotten lucky enough against San Diego and New Orleans to go 4-1 and sit atop the AFC West.

Thus the question is raised: whatever happens this season, what about next season when Tom Brady, the face of the NFL, returns to take the reins of the potent passing attack and solid running game that has led New England to greatness?

If you look at the seasons quarterbacks have had following knee injuries as grave as the one Brady has suffered, the chances of Brady returning to form seems unlikely. The most recent example is Daunte Culpepper, who after an unheralded but titanic 2004 season, suffered a knee injury that mired his play to the extent that he got booted from Minnesota, floated around the league, and has now retired early. If Brady has a similar fate, the Patriots may not see another Super Bowl for a long time.

So what happens now? Now that the conferences seem in check and every week there is a set of wild surprise upsets?

If this truly is the end of an era, we're looking at an entirely new power-structure beginning. Any team from the Chiefs to the Falcons could emerge as the next great dynasty in football. It will be bewildering and thrilling to see. And let it  be noted that the New York Giants are a resounding 4-0 and could possibly be the best team in the NFL right now.

At 3-1 and still a potent force, the chances of the Patriots earning a playoff-berth are good. But they are just as good as that of the Bills, the Jets, the Broncos, the Chargers, the Colts, the Jaguars, the Titans, the Steelers, and the Ravens. But the season is young. We'll see how they fare next week in San Diego against a Chargers team that needs a strong win.