1999 New England Patriots season

Offseason

1999 NFL draft

Main article: 1999 NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Staff

Schedule

Standings

Notable games

• September 12 at New York Jets: The Jets lost quarterback Vinny Testaverde in the second quarter when he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, and backup Tom Tupa (a former Patriots punter) was put in; regular backup Rick Mirer was listed as emergency quarterback and was not eligible to enter the game until the fourth quarter. The Patriots rallied from down 16–10 at the half with 17 points scored in the third quarter, but the Jets stormed back themselves with two touchdowns on a Tupa throw to Fred Baxter and a Bryan Cox interception return; both times the Jets went for two-point conversions but failed. Mirer was put in late in the fourth and a throw was deflected by Ty Law and recovered by Chris Slade. Drew Bledsoe completed key first downs to Terry Glenn and Troy Brown, setting up the game-winning Adam Vinatieri field goal of a 30–28 Patriots win. Kevin Faulk made his Patriots debut in this game, rushing ten times for 17 yards and catching one pass for eight yards.

• September 19 vs. Indianapolis Colts: The Patriots committed 15 penalties eating up 135 yards and trailed 28–7 at halftime in Peyton Manning's second career trip to Foxboro. But Bledsoe answered with touchdowns to Terry Allen and Ben Coates to tie the game late in the fourth; the two Coates scores came off a Marcus Pollard fumble and a Manning three and out forced by Ty Law. Edgerrin James was then stripped by Tebucky Jones, setting up the game winning Vinatieri field goal of a 31–28 Patriots comeback. Coates's fourth quarter scores turned out to be the last of his career.

• October 3 at Cleveland Browns: The Patriots trailed the Browns 6-7 at halftime with only two field goals. The Browns only score being a Kevin Johnson 64 yard touchdown reception from Tim Couch. Bledsoe amassed 393 yards passing and a 54 yard touchdown pass to Terry Glenn having a career day breaking a team record with 13 receptions and 214 receiving yards. Terry Allen also scored on a 3 yard touchdown run.

• October 10 at Kansas City Chiefs: Trailing 7–3 at the half, the Chiefs behind Elvis Grbac scored 13 points in the second half. The Patriots scored in the fourth on a Shawn Jefferson touchdown catch, then in the final minute the Patriots stormed down field, but a 32-yard Vinatieri field goal try on the final play bounced off the right upright, securing a 16–14 Chiefs win.

• October 17 vs. Miami Dolphins: Dan Marino was injured after throwing an interception returned by Andy Katzenmoyer for a 57-yard touchdown and was replaced by future Patriots backup quarterback Damon Huard. Huard was picked off by Ty Law for a 27-yard touchdown, but from there, the Dolphins clawed back into contention and Huard won the game in the final seconds on a short touchdown toss to Stanley Pritchett and a 31–30 Dolphins win.

• October 24 vs. Denver Broncos: The Patriots defeated the Broncos for the first time since 1980 after going 0–11 lifetime against John Elway. Both teams rushed for 133 yards while Brian Griese of the Broncos threw for 309 yards compared to a modest 192 passing yards for Drew Bledsoe. Kevin Faulk scored on a 15-yard rushing touchdown as the Patriots rushed to a 24–13 third-quarter lead and sweated out a Broncos rally to win 24–23; the margin of victory turned out to be set by a missed 59-yard field goal try by Jason Elam.

• October 31 at Arizona Cardinals: The Patriots mopped the floor of Sun Devil Stadium as Bledsoe threw four touchdowns in a 27–3 runaway. The win, however, proved costly, for Ben Coates was held without a catch for the second time that season, a fact Coates took the media during the ensuing bye week to considerable effect. The game marked a fatal turning point to the Patriots season as Coates' public protest soured his relationship with Bledsoe and coach Pete Carroll; the Patriots fell from 6–2 to finish a dismal 8–8; Coates for his part had only sixteen catches the remainder of the season before he was let go and joined the Baltimore Ravens.

• December 5 vs. Dallas Cowboys: The Patriots entered this game on a three-game losing streak and having never beaten the Cowboys in their history; this was the eighth career meeting between the two clubs. Both Patriot slumps ended as the two defenses kept offense to a premium; Troy Aikman and Drew Bledsoe combined for just 336 passing yards; it was the Patriots ground game that took over to the tune of 116 rushing yards led by Terry Allen's 53 yards and a touchdown in a 13–6 Patriots win. Rookie Kevin Faulk had his most productive game of the season with 36 rushing yards and three catches for 43 yards.

Final roster

Notes

References

References

1. Mcmillan, Jean. (May 1, 1999). "Pats call off Hartford move". [[The Standard-Times (New Bedford)]].
2. "Edwards Misses 1999 Season".
3. (January 3, 2000). "Pats fire Pete Carroll". [[Sports Illustrated]].
4. (May 2, 2000). "Patriots fire Grier". [[The Standard-Times (New Bedford)]].
5. "Draft pick received in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks for the Patriots' 1999 first-round pick, 1997 third-round pick, and 1997 sixth-round pick.".
6. "Patriots.com summary".
7. "Draft pick received in a trade from the Detroit Lions for the Patriots' 1999 second-round pick and 1999 fourth-round pick.".
8. "Draft pick received in a trade from the Minnesota Vikings for Jimmy Hitchcock in 1998.".
9. "Draft pick received in a trade from the Baltimore Ravens for Lovett Purnell.".