2005 New England Patriots season The 2005 New England Patriots season was the 36th season for the team in the National Football League and 46th season overall . They finished with a 10 – 6 record and the division title before losing in the playoffs to the Denver Broncos . Two weeks after earning a victory in Super Bowl XXXIX , linebacker Tedy Bruschi suffered a stroke and initially planned on missing the entire season ; Bruschi returned to the field against the Buffalo Bills on October 30 . Cornerback Ty Law was released in the offseason , and injuries at cornerback , as well as a season - ending injury to safety Rodney Harrison in Week 3 , forced the Patriots to start a number of players in the secondary early in the season . Overall , injuries caused the Patriots to start 45 different players at one point or another during the season , an NFL record for a division champion ( breaking the record of 42 set by the Patriots in 2003 ) . Beginning the season with a 4 – 4 record , the Patriots lost their first game at home since 2002 against the San Diego Chargers in Week 4 . The team ended the season on a 5 – 1 run to finish 10 – 6 , earning their third straight AFC East title . With the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs , the Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Playoffs but fell to the Denver Broncos on the road in the Divisional Playoffs , committing five turnovers in the game . Offseason . Tedy Bruschi suffers a stroke . On February 16 , 2005 , three days after playing in the 2005 Pro Bowl in Honolulu , Hawaii , linebacker Tedy Bruschi suffered a mild stroke while at his home in North Attleborough , Massachusetts . Bruschi , who awoke to blurred vision and temporary numbness , was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital after a 9 - 1 - 1 call by his wife , Heidi . Without any long - term effects , Bruschi underwent heart surgery to repair a congenital condition in his heart known as an atrial septal defect . Bruschi announced his intentions to sit out the 2005 season on July 20 , while still citing his ongoing health improvement following the stroke . Following this announcement , Bruschi was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list , keeping him inactive for a minimum of six games to begin the 2005 campaign . This is particularly notable , as the Patriots decided to forgo placing Bruschi on the injured reserve list , which would have prohibited him from playing in any 2005 games . With the window left open for his return , Bruschi returned to the practice field on October 19 , during the Patriots ' bye week . Only three months after announcing his plans to sit out the entire season , Bruschi returned to the Patriots for their next game against the Buffalo Bills on October 30 . Bruschi would go on to play the rest of the season , only missing the Patriots ' final game of the regular season as well as their first playoff game due to a leg injury . Staff changes . Bill Belichick lost both of his coordinators following the 2004 season . Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis left to become head coach at the University of Notre Dame , while defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was named head coach of the Cleveland Browns . Belichick only replaced Crennel for the 2005 season , promoting defensive backs coach Eric Mangini to defensive coordinator . Assistant offensive line and tight end s coach Jeff Davidson followed Crennel to Cleveland , and was replaced as tight ends coach by Pete Mangurian and as assistant offensive line coach by offensive coaching assistant Matt Patricia . Also departing was assistant strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul , who was replaced by former Canadian Football League star Harold Nash , and defensive coaching assistant Cory Undlin , who followed Crennel to the Browns as a defensive quality control coach . Undlin was replaced as a defensive coaching assistant by Mike Judge . Former assistant running back s / wide receiver s coach Joel Collier rejoined the staff as an assistant defensive backs coach . In the front office , Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Andy Wasynczuk left the organization to join Harvard Business School . Assistant Director of College Scouting Lionel Vital and Assistant Director of Pro Scouting Keith Kidd also departed ; Vital became a national scout with the Baltimore Ravens , while Kidd joined ESPN . com . Departures . Free agency saw the departure of only one full - time starter from 2004 , offensive guard Joe Andruzzi , who signed with the Cleveland Browns . However , three - time Pro Bowl defensive back Ty Law was released in a salary cap move and would stay in the division , signing with the New York Jets . Veteran linebacker Roman Phifer , who had started on all three of the Patriots ' Super Bowl teams , was also released , along with nose tackle Keith Traylor . Long - time Patriot linebacker Ted Johnson was a surprise departure , retiring on the eve of training camp . Other free agency departures were Adrian Klemm ( Green Bay Packers ) and David Patten ( Washington Redskins ) . Arrivals . Unlike past Patriots offseasons , the 2005 offseason did not bring the arrival of any would - be full - time starters . Linebackers Chad Brown and Monty Beisel started six games together to begin the season , but both were benched in favor of Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi , after returning from his stroke . Veteran quarterback and New England native Doug Flutie returned to the Patriots for the final season of his career , having last played for them in 1989 . In November , facing multiple injuries to their defensive backfield , the Patriots signed veteran defensive back Artrell Hawkins , who would go on to start six games , including both of the Patriots ' playoff games . Other arrivals were Chad Scott , Wesly Mallard , Tim Dwight , Antuan Edwards , Chad Morton , and David Terrell , but only Scott and Dwight finished the season with the Patriots . Free agents or potential free agents Brandon Gorin , Patrick Pass , Stephen Neal , Tom Ashworth , Don Davis , David Givens , Jarvis Green , and Troy Brown ( after being released ) were all re - signed , while Tom Brady , Mike Vrabel , and Green all received long - term contact extensions . Defensive lineman Richard Seymour held out for the first four days of training camp but returned after receiving a raise . Kicker Adam Vinatieri signed and played the full season under his franchise tag tender . On March 4 , the Patriots traded a third - round pick and a fifth - round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals for defensive back Duane Starks and a fifth - round pick in the 2005 draft . Starks started six - straight games for the Patriots before being placed on injured reserve in November . Also , during the preseason , the Patriots traded their fifth - round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns for wide receiver André Davis , who started four games for the Patriots in 2005 after being released and re - signed . Opening training camp roster . As of the Patriots ' first training camp practice at Gillette Stadium on July 29 , they had 79 players signed to their roster , one short of the NFL maximum of 80 players . Richard Seymour did not count against the limit as he held out of the start of training camp and was placed on the Reserve / Did Not Report list . Michael McGrew also did not count against the limit after being waived / injured the day before training camp began . Finally , the Patriots received seven total roster exemptions for the NFL Europe allocations of Ricky Bryant , Kory Chapman , Joel Jacobs , Cedric James , and Grant Steen ( one for each player , plus two bonus exemptions because of the time Chapman and James spent on practice squads in 2004 ) . Regular season results . Week 1 : vs . Oakland Raiders . Coming off their second straight Super Bowl win , the Patriots and Gillette Stadium played host to the extravagant NFL kickoff celebration and the Oakland Raiders . The reality of the new season would hit the Patriots hard on the game ' s first drive , with a long catch by Randy Moss setting up a 2 - yard touchdown catch from Kerry Collins to tight end Courtney Anderson . The Patriots would respond with an Adam Vinatieri field goal , and then take the lead on an 18 - yard touchdown reception by reigning Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch . In the second quarter , Moss tore through the Patriots ' secondary again , this time taking a 73 - yard catch the distance for a touchdown . The Patriots would re - take the lead on the next drive when Brady hit Tim Dwight on a 5 - yard scoring strike . After a Jarvis Green strip - sack of Collins was recovered by Vince Wilfork deep in Raiders ' territory , the Patriots expanded their lead on an 8 - yard Corey Dillon touchdown run . In the fourth quarter , Dillon ran for a 2 - yard touchdown that gave the Patriots a 30 – 14 lead . Following a blocked Josh Miller punt , the Raiders had the ball in Patriots territory and capitalized , with Collins completing a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Anderson . The Patriots then ran out the clock to secure a 30 – 20 opening victory . Week 3 : at Pittsburgh Steelers . In a much - anticipated re - match of the previous season ' s AFC Championship , the Patriots traveled to Heinz Field to face the Steelers . After the Patriots took an early lead on a 4 - yard Corey Dillon touchdown run , the Steelers responded when Ben Roethlisberger connected with Hines Ward on an 85 - yard touchdown catch the very next play . The Steelers took a lead on a Jeff Reed field goal and then recovered a Kevin Faulk fumble deep in Steelers ' territory . Roethlisberger would then hit Antwaan Randle El on a 49 - yard play , but Randle El would unsuccessfully attempt a lateral to Ward at the Patriots ' 11 - yard line , which was recovered by the Patriots . Brady would make a second foray into the Steelers ' red zone late in the first half , but the Patriots would again come up short when Brady ' s pass was tipped and intercepted by the Steelers . The struggles would continue for the Patriots in the third quarter , which Vinatieri missing a field goal before Faulk fumbled for the second time in the game , recovered by the Steelers , who then took a 13 – 7 lead on a field goal . The game then turned in the Patriots ' favor , with Vinatieri hitting a field goal before Brady mounted an 86 - yard scoring drive that ended in Dillon ' s second touchdown of the day , giving the Patriots the lead . Another Vinatieri field goal proved important , as the Steelers tied the game on a 4 - yard Roethlisberger - to - Ward strike with just over a minute remaining . With seconds remaining , the Patriots drove into Steelers territory and Vinatieri ' s 43 - yard field goal attempt was good , sealing a 23 – 20 Patriots victory . The win would prove costly for the Patriots , though , who lost starting tackle Matt Light and safety Rodney Harrison to season - ending injuries . Week 9 : vs . Indianapolis Colts . The undefeated Colts and quarterback Peyton Manning traveled to Foxboro looking for their first win there since 1995 . In the spotlight of Monday Night Football , the Patriots defense proved not able to control the Colts offense as they had done in a 20 – 3 showing in the last matchup between the two teams ; Manning and Marvin Harrison connected on a 48 - yard catch on the game ' s second play , which was followed by a 1 - yard touchdown grab by Harrison . Tom Brady and the Patriots responded by mounting a long drive that ended in a 16 - yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch . The Patriots defense though , proved ineffective at stopping the Colts on third down , giving up a 17 - play drive that ended in a 2 - yard touchdown run by Edgerrin James . On their next drive , a Mike Vrabel inteception of Manning gave the Patriots good field position , only to be squandered by a Corey Dillon fumble at the Colts ' 18 - yard line . To close the first half , Manning led the Colts on another scoring drive , connecting with Reggie Wayne on a 10 - yard touchdown pass . The Colts ' offense continued to dominate in the second half , taking a 28 – 7 lead after Dominic Rhodes ended an 11 - play drive with a 4 - yard touchdown run . Brady responded with a 31 - yard touchdown pass to Daniel Graham , but the Colts ' offense kept scoring , adding two Mike Vanderjagt field goals into the fourth quarter ; the first came after the Patriots unsuccessfully tried to catch the Colts off - guard with an on - side kick . Down 20 points , Brady mounted another scoring drive , this time hitting Troy Brown on a 19 - yard touchdown strike to cut the Colts ' lead to 34 – 21 . The Colts would come right back to crush the Patriots ' hopes of a comeback , with Manning hitting Harrison on a 30 - yard touchdown pass . Veteran Doug Flutie replaced Brady in the game ' s final minutes as the Colts came out of Foxboro with a decisive 40 – 21 victory . Postseason results . Wild Card Round vs . Jacksonville Jaguars . The three - time Super Bowl champion Patriots , who for the first time in their previous three playoff trips would have to win three games to advance to the Super Bowl , defeated the Jaguars 28 – 3 . Linebacker Willie McGinest set NFL playoff records for sacks in a game ( 4 . 5 , 1 sack ahead of the old record held by Richard Dent and Rich Milot ) and career postseason sacks ( 16 , two ahead of the old record held by Bruce Smith ) , while quarterback Tom Brady threw for 201 yards and three touchdown passes . In the first half , the Jaguars recorded four sacks and held New England to 126 yards , while the Patriots defense recorded two sacks , gave up only 115 yards , and didn ' t allow a first down until 9 : 40 remained in the second period . Neither team could score in the first quarter , but early in the second , New England receiver Tim Dwight returned Chris Hanson ' s 46 - yard punt 27 yards to the Jaguars 37 - yard line . Two 4 - yard runs by Corey Dillon and an 18 - yard burst from Kevin Faulk then moved the ball to the 11 - yard line , and Brady capped off the drive with an 11 - yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown . On Jacksonville ' s ensuing possession , Jimmy Smith ' s 19 - yard reception his team a first down for the first time in the game and moved the ball to the Patriots 44 - yard line . But on the next play , a tackle from safety Eugene Wilson caused Alvin Pearman to fumble the ball , and defensive lineman Richard Seymour recovered it . However , the Patriots could not take advantage of the turnover ; Jacksonville managed to force a punt and then drove into scoring range for the first time in the game . Quarterback Byron Leftwich completed five passes for 59 yards on the drive , and Josh Scobee finished it with a 36 - yard field goal , cutting their deficit to 7 – 3 . After the kickoff , Faulk ' s 21 - yard reception moved the ball to midfield and gave the Patriots a chance to increase their lead before halftime , but receiver Deion Branch dropped a pass from Brady at the Jaguars 10 - yard line with 19 seconds left . After forcing Jacksonville to punt on the opening drive of the second half , Brady led the Patriots 81 - yards in 12 plays . On the 11th play , they nearly turned the ball over when tight end Benjamin Watson fumbled the ball on the Jaguars 5 - yard line , but receiver André Davis recovered the ball , and Brady threw a 3 - yard touchdown pass to David Givens on the next play . Then after forcing a punt , Brady threw a short pass to Watson who broke several tackles en route to a 63 - yard score , increasing New England ' s lead to 21 – 3 . After the kickoff , Leftwich led his team to the Patriots 32 - yard line , but on the first play of the fourth quarter , defensive back Asante Samuel intercepted Leftwich ' s pass and took off for a 73 - yard touchdown return , making the score 28 – 3 . After that , Jacksonville mounted two more drives , but could not come away with any points . First they drove to the Patriots 8 - yard line . But on third down and 2 , McGinest sacked Leftwich for a 15 - yard loss and Scobee missed a 41 - yard field goal attempt on the next play . Then after forcing a punt , they drove to the Patriots 6 - yard line , but ended up turning the ball over downs with 5 minutes left in the game . This game also marked three career playoff records : Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick set records for 10 straight postseason victories , eclipsing Vince Lombardi ' s run with the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s . Divisional Round at Denver Broncos . The Broncos converted four out of five turnovers into 24 points as they eliminated the two - time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots , 27 – 13 , and won their first playoff game since defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII . This game also ended New England ' s league - record ten - game postseason winning streak and gave quarterback Tom Brady his first ever postseason loss . Early in the second quarter , the Broncos drove to the Patriots 3 - yard line , only to turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth down and 1 on New England ' s 3 - yard line . Then after forcing a punt , Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer threw a pass that was intercepted by Asante Samuel . On the next play , Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a 51 - yard completion to Andre Davis setting up Adam Vinatieri ' s 40 - yard field goal to give New England a 3 – 0 lead . With New England leading 3 – 0 with less than two minutes left in the first half , Broncos linebacker Ian Gold recovered a fumble from Kevin Faulk on the Patriots 40 - yard line . After that , a pass interference penalty on Samuel moved the ball to the 1 - yard line , and then Mike Anderson scored a 1 - yard touchdown run on the next play . On the ensuing kickoff , Ellis Hobbs fumbled that and kicker Todd Sauerbrun recovered the ball on the Patriots 39 - yard line , setting up kicker Jason Elam ' s 50 - yard field goal to give Denver a 10 – 3 halftime lead . Early in the third quarter , the Patriots drove 58 yards in 11 plays and scored with a 32 - yard field goal from Vinatieri , cutting their deficit to 10 – 6 . With less than a minute to go in the third quarter , New England reached the Denver 5 - yard line . However , Brady was intercepted for the first time in the playoffs since Super Bowl XXXVIII . The interception was returned by Champ Bailey for 101 yards before New England tight end Benjamin Watson knocked the ball out of bounds at the New England 1 - yard line . The Patriots challenged whether the ball was actually knocked through and out of the end zone ( which would have been a touchback and given the Patriots the ball at their own 20 - yard line ) , but the original call stood . Mike Anderson then ran for another one - yard touchdown on the next play to increase Denver ' s lead , 17 – 6 . Then on New England ' s next drive , the usually accurate Vinatieri missed a 42 - yard field goal , his first in 21 field goal attempts in the playoffs . Later in the fourth quarter , Troy Brown muffed a Denver punt and the Broncos recovered it on New England ' s 15 - yard line , setting up Rod Smith ' s four - yard touchdown pass from Plummer . With 8 : 33 left in the game , Brady completed a 73 - yard pass to Deion Branch and then followed it up with a 4 - yard touchdown pass to David Givens , cutting the score to 24 – 13 . But on the Broncos ensuing possession , Plummer ' s 42 - yard completion to Smith set up another Elam field goal . Denver then all but clinched the game when safety John Lynch intercepted a Brady pass with less than 3 minutes remaining . Brady finished the game completing 20 out of 36 passes for 341 yards , one touchdown , and two interceptions , but lost his first NFL postseason game . Also , Patriots head coach Bill Belichick lost his first postseason game since taking over the team in 2000 . Branch caught 8 passes for 153 yards , while Rod Smith caught 6 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown . Awards and honors . Numerous players were the recipients of awards for their performances in the 2005 regular season : Pro Bowl selections . Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and defensive end Richard Seymour were both named to the AFC team in the 2006 Pro Bowl . Neither participated in the game due to injuries .