1993 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League ' s 1993 season with a record of five wins and eleven losses , and finished fourth in the AFC East division . Season summary . Amid year - long rumors that the team would move to St . Louis and become the Stallions ( even to the point of a team logo being unveiled and hats being printed ) , the Patriots ran through the year , the first for coach Bill Parcells , who ' d been a linebackers coach in Foxboro in 1980 under Ron Erhardt . The Patriots drafted Drew Bledsoe as the # 1 pick and he was named starter . The Patriots lost their first four games , even after forcing overtime against the Lions and seeing a last - minute field goal attempt against Seattle bounce off the crossbar , and Bledsoe was injured , Scott Secules was named the starting quarterback and won the game with two touchdowns passing and one rushing in the team ' s 23 – 21 win over the Cardinals . Scott Secules was then benched the next game and would remained benched . Drew Bledsoe started for the Patriots then lost seven straight before eking out a 7 – 2 win against the Bengals in the last occurrence to date of a team scoring only a safety in a game . This win led to a 20 – 17 win over the Cleveland Browns coached by Parcells ' longtime assistant Bill Belichick and a 38 – 0 massacre of the Indianapolis Colts in brutal windchill . The season ended on January 2 , 1994 with many in the sellout crowd at Foxboro Stadium believing it would be the final ever game for the New England Patriots before moving to St . Louis ; unknown to most , though , was that stadium owner Robert Kraft was working to force the selling of the team to him , and his control of the team ' s lease ensured no move could take place until 2002 at the earliest . The season finale itself became on of the most dramatic games in the club ' s history . The Patriots were hosting the Dolphins , who ' d fallen to 9 – 6 with starter Dan Marino out for the year after Week Five and needing a win to make the playoffs . The Patriots led 10 – 7 at halftime and twice stopped the Dolphins on downs , but early in the third a Bledsoe fumble led to a Dolphins field goal . A blocked punt by the Dolphins ' Darrell Malone led to a touchdown by Scott Mitchell to Mark Ingram . The game lead tied or changed five times in the fourth quarter . In the fourth the Dolphins completed a drive ending in a Terry Kirby touchdown run , this despite Andre Tippett ' s sack of Mitchell for a ten - yard loss – it was the 100th career sack for the future Hall Of Fame linebacker . In the final 3 : 40 Bledsoe drove the Patriots down to a Ben Coates touchdown catch , but the Dolphins forced overtime on a Pete Stoyanovich field goal . In the overtime the Dolphins punted after Chris Slade forced a fumble , then Bledsoe was picked off by J . B . Brown before the Dolphins had to punt again . Vincent Brisby caught a ten - yard pass but fumbled ; teammate Leonard Russell recovered the ball and ran 22 yards ; Bledsoe then absorbed a Dolphins blitz and launched a 36 - yard touchdown to Michael Timpson , ending a wild 33 – 27 Patriots win and finishing their season at 5 – 11 , but with four straight wins to close it out . Several weeks later owner James Orthwein completed sale of the team to Robert Kraft .