The Patriots were continuing their up and down season. They lost 10-3 to the Jets at home and lost their franchise quarterback for an indefinite amount of time. The Colts were being viewed as the greatest offense every assembled after putting up 87 points over the first two weeks of the season. With Tom Brady acting as game manager and with a running attack that put up 177 yards, the Patriots blasted the Colts 44-13.

The following week wasn’t as kind to New England. The team lost to Miami by nearly three touchdowns, and Tom Brady looked like an inexperienced rookie on the field. This sunk the Pats’ record to one win, three losses.

The Chargers came into Foxboro at 3-1 after a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns the week before. The last thing the Patriots wanted on their hands is an angry team. A team which had rookie and soon to be Fantasy Football stud LaDanian Tomlinson in the backfield and local sports hero Doug Flutie at the helm.

It didn’t seem like the Pats would win this game, and odds makers certainly didn’t seem to think so either. However, it was always fun to watch football anyway. To everyone’s surprise, this was a monumental game, as it marked the beginning of a new era: the Tom Brady era.

This game was a true showdown in every sense of the word. Each team seemed to alternate touchdowns or field goals, but somehow the Chargers found themselves up 10 points later in the game. It really looked like things were over, but we decided to stay for kicks.

What a good decision it was to stay! The Patriots capped off an amazing comeback with a touchdown pass to Jermaine Wiggins that tied the game. Brady looked like an experienced veteran out there, fully confident in his abilities.

This game was forced to an overtime period, and Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field, nearly all the way down. This put them in perfect position to kick a game winning field goal, which Adam Vinatieri reliably did. The crowd was ecstatic.

For real, indeed. Brady finished the game 33 for 54 for 364 yards and 2 TDs. He was now putting up Bledsoesque numbers. There was something different about Brady, he seemed so calm in the pocket and didn’t make the Bledsoesque blunders. On October 14th, 2001, Tom Brady came into his own and has never looked back. And I was there.

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