1994 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League ' s 1994 season with a record of ten wins and six losses , and finished tied for first in the AFC East division . The team ' s 35th season in football , 1994 marked the debut of Robert Kraft as team owner . A long - time season - ticket holder , Kraft has steadily built up a business empire to where in the late 1980s he was able to purchase the land around Sullivan Stadium and then the stadium itself – which he renamed " Foxboro Stadium " – and thus got control of the lease the team held with the stadium . This gave him a level of control over the team that new owners Victor Kiam and James Orthwein underestimated , to where in January 1994 Orthwein sold the team to Kraft , for nearly $ 200 million . The selling of the team to Kraft led to an explosion of ticket sales , to where all home games were sold out well before the season began , a string of home sellouts that continued into 2011 . The team responded to new ownership by rallying from a 3 – 6 record to finish 10 – 6 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1986 and only the seventh time in the team ' s history . The game that started the run was a 26 – 20 overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings . As part of the NFL ' s 75th anniversary celebration the Patriots wore throwback uniforms in games against the Cincinnati Bengals , Green Bay Packers , and New York Jets ; the uniforms dated to the team ' s AFL days and marked the return of the Pat Patriot logo in the second season the team sported the more streamlined " Flying Elvis " look . The debut game of Robert Kraft as team owner . Drew Bledsoe and Dan Marino put on a passing clinic , combining for 894 passing yards and nine touchdowns ( two caught by Ben Coates of the Patriots and three snared by Irving Fryar of the Dolphins ) . The game was Marino ' s first game back from a ruptured Achilles tendon . The Dolphins won 39 – 35 after the Patriots failed to convert a touchdown in the Dolphins red zone in the final minute ; Ben Coates nearly fumbled the ball to the Dolphins on the drive . The debut home game under Kraft ' s ownership , the Patriots rallied from down 35 – 21 in the fourth quarter as a Michael Timpson touchdown catch and Marion Butts rushing score tied the game , but Steve Christie ' s 32 - yard field goal won the game for Buffalo 38 – 35 . The Patriots debuted their throwback uniforms and helmets , returning the Pat Patriot logo after it was retired following the 1992 season . David Klingler of the Bengals threw two touchdowns to Carl Pickens and Steve Broussard ran in two scores for the Bengals , but Klingler was sacked seven times and the Patriots behind Drew Bledsoe ' s 365 passing yards to Michael Timpson ( 233 yards with a 34 - yard touchdown catch ) and Ben Coates , two Marion Butts touchdown runs , and four Matt Bahr field goals overcame the Bengals for a 31 – 28 win , the Patriots ' first under Robert Kraft ownership . Both teams sported throwback uniforms , with the Packers in yellow and brown and the Patriots wearing the white road version of their AFL - era uniforms with Pat Patriot logo . The Packers stormed to a 10 – 0 halftime lead but two Vincent Brisby touchdown catches and a last - minute Matt Bahr field goal rallied the Patriots to a 17 – 16 win . Drew Bledsoe threw two touchdowns in the second quarter for a 17 – 7 Patriots lead but the Raiders rallied behind three Bledsoe INTs ( the first run back for a score by Terry McDaniel ) and two Jeff Hostetler touchdowns ( one on the ground ) to win 21 – 17 . In what tuned out to be a playoff preview , Bill Parcells faced his former defensive assistant Bill Belichick and the 6 – 2 Browns . Belichick ' s defense harassed Drew Bledsoe all game , forcing four interceptions and limiting the Patriots to just two Matt Bahr field goals while Leroy Hoard rushed for 123 yards and caught a one - yard Mark Rypien touchdown pass . The 13 – 6 loss dropped the Patriots to 3 – 6 . Former Oilers quarterback Warren Moon led the Vikings to a 20 – 3 halftime lead , but in the third Bill Parcells abandoned his gameplan and went to a no - huddle attack . Drew Bledsoe threw touchdowns to Ray Crittenden and Leroy Thompson , the Patriots defense shut down the Vikings , and Matt Bahr kicked the tying field goal with 14 seconds left in regulation . On the coin toss for overtime Patriots captain Vincent Brown protested the Vikings team captain ' s call because he called after the coin landed on the ground . The Patriots won the re - toss and Bledsoe led the Patriots down field and lobbed a 32 - yard touchdown toss to Kevin Turner . The 26 – 20 win ended a four - game losing streak . Moon threw for 349 yards while Bledsoe ( 426 yards ) set NFL single - game records with 70 throws and 45 completions . The rejuvenated Patriots raced to a 13 – 3 second - quarter lead as Leroy Thompson caught a 27 - yard touchdown from Drew Bledsoe in the first quarter to go with two Matt Bahr field goals , but the Chargers scored after Bahr ' s second field goal as Andre Coleman ran back the ensuing kick 80 yards for a touchdown . The Patriots finally put the game away in the fourth on a one - yard Marion Butts score and another Bahr field goal , offsetting a Tony Martin touchdown catch from Stan Humphries . One week after the epic " Fake Spike " meltdown against the Miami Dolphins the Jets ' season - ending losing streak continued while the Patriots ended a three - game losing streak to the Jets with a 24 – 13 win in Foxboro Stadium . The Jets led 13 – 10 in the third quarter but the Patriots pinned Boomer Esiason at his own goalline , then Ricky Reynolds ran back an interception for a touchdown . A Leroy Thompson touchdown in the fourth quarter finished off the Jets as Esiason ended with just 16 completions for 40 throws . The loss was Jets coach Pete Carroll ' s last trip to Foxboro until he became Patriots head coach in 1997 . The Patriots fell behind 17 – 3 in the second quarter , then scored 38 unanswered points for a 41 – 17 rout . The win knocked the Bills out of the playoffs after four straight Super Bowl trips . Needing a win to make the playoffs , the Patriots overtook the Bears 13 – 3 , for their seventh consecutive win and ending their regular season at 10 – 6 . It was their first playoff appearance since 1986 and first double - digit win season since that year as well . After seven dramatic victories in a row , the Patriots fell flat in a 20 – 13 loss in their first playoff game since 1986 . Drew Bledsoe was picked off three times despite a game - tying rally in the second quarter ; he threw the ball 50 times but completed just 22 passes . Leroy Hoard and Earnest Byner totalled 96 rushing yards , outrushing the entire Patriots offensive backfield ( 57 yards ) . The win was the first in a playoff game for Browns head coach Bill Belichick who would become the Patriots head coach in 2000 .