Tom Brady and Bill Belichick faced criticism after missing the New England Patriots’ celebration marking 25 years since their first Super Bowl triumph as Boston’s Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti questioned why neither man recorded a video message.
New England’s first championship arrived on February 3, 2002, when the Patriots stunned the heavily favored St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI as Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expired secured the franchise’s breakthrough title.
Drake Maye gets the Patriots excited again as Nacho García reports from Gillette Stadium
The Patriots entered as 14-point underdogs after finishing 5-11 the previous season. Ty Law returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown, while Brady connected with David Patten before helping New England withstand a late Rams comeback.
Brady ultimately guided the Patriots into field-goal range with 1:21 remaining and no timeouts. Vinatieri delivered the decisive kick, while the 24-year-old quarterback earned Super Bowl MVP honors and began a remarkable championship partnership with Belichick.
Brady was preparing to call the Seattle Seahawks’ game against the San Francisco 49ers for Fox Sports, while Belichick had just coached North Carolina Tar Heels to a 21-17 road victory in the NCAA.
“No video? No word? Nothing? That's crazy,” Felger said to 98.5 The Sports Hub. “How do you not have a video from Brady? How could they not have asked, and how could he not have done it? Bill, I know. He's an a**hole. He's a complete d**k. Why wouldn't Brady do it?"
Belichick’s absence attracted additional attention because he had appeared in New Jersey the previous week for a celebration of the New York Giants’ 1986 championship season, as he had served as the defensive coordinator during that campaign.
But neither commitment stopped the criticism from gathering momentum as Massarotti argued that distance should not have prevented either man from acknowledging the milestone.
“All it takes is two seconds,” Massarotti added. “Just turn that phone around, film a video, send it off to someone at the Patriots. Once I heard that, it’s like there is no excuse for either of these guys not to at least, just again, turn the phone around, send a video, just say, ‘Hey.’”
Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders suffer blowout defeat to Patriots in Week 5
On the field, 25 years after the season that launched New England’s dynasty, the Patriots delivered a crushing blow to Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders, winning 45-17 at Gillette Stadium as Drake Maye threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score.
Maye completed 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards, spreading the ball around despite the absence of receiver Mack Hollins whilst Pop Douglas caught two touchdowns, while Hunter Henry and Kyle Williams added one apiece.
Rhamondre Stevenson scored on the ground as New England collected a season-high 536 yards as The Patriots also won despite missing starting cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III, moving to 3-2 with a second consecutive victory.
Kirk Cousins completed 19 of 28 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown to Brock Bowers, but Las Vegas struggled to sustain its offense as the Raiders quarterback was sacked three times before rookie Fernando Mendoza entered late in the fourth quarter.