The all-time NFL draft game
The 2007 Patriots: 16-0, then 18-1
New England ran the first perfect NFL regular season, 16-0, then lost the Super Bowl to finish 18-1 — the greatest team that never got the ring. Build a roster that finishes the job.
The first 16-0 regular season
The 2007 Patriots became the first team to win all sixteen regular-season games, then won two more in the playoffs to reach 18-0. Tom Brady threw a then-record 50 touchdown passes and won MVP; Randy Moss set the receiving-touchdown record at 23; the team set the single-season scoring record. For eighteen games they looked unbeatable.
The one that got away
Then came Super Bowl XLII. The Giants’ front four lived in the backfield, David Tyree pinned the ball to his helmet on the drive of his life, and Eli Manning hit Plaxico Burress for the winner with 35 seconds left: 17-14, Giants. One game away from 19-0, and it slipped. It remains one of the great what-ifs in sports.
Why perfect is so rare
Only the 1972 Dolphins ever finished a whole season unbeaten. One loss ends it — and the 2007 Patriots are the proof that even a record-setting team can be caught. In this game the same rule holds: the weakest seat drags hardest, and about 1 in 20 boards clears it.
Finish the job yourself
Draft an all-time roster and try to run the full table — the undefeated NFL team challenge, the 1972 Dolphins’ perfect season, or the greatest NFL teams of all time. New here? Read how to play.
Questions people actually ask
What was the 2007 Patriots’ record?
They went 16-0 in the regular season — the first team ever to do it in a 16-game schedule — and won two playoff games to reach 18-0, before losing Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants 17-14. Final record: 18-1.
Why did the 2007 Patriots lose the Super Bowl?
The Giants’ pass rush harassed Tom Brady all night, and David Tyree’s “Helmet Catch” kept the winning drive alive. Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress for the touchdown with 35 seconds left. It’s considered one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets ever.
How good was the 2007 Patriots offense?
Historically great. Tom Brady threw a then-record 50 touchdown passes and was named MVP; Randy Moss caught a record 23 touchdowns; Wes Welker added 112 receptions. They set the single-season scoring record — which makes losing the title sting even more.
Have the Patriots or anyone gone 19-0?
No team has ever finished a full season, playoffs included, unbeaten except the 1972 Dolphins at 17-0. A modern 20-0 — seventeen regular-season games plus three playoff rounds — has never been done. That’s the target in this game.