Doug Saffir

This is the weekly look at the New England Patriots upcoming game. Each week will provide a new format of preview, so stay on your toes. Photo credit: Times Union

The cool air at Mile High Stadium has never been friendly to Bill Belichick and his golden boy Tom Brady. The fact of the matter is, any time they make the trip to Denver, they are terrible.

It has come in different forms (turnovers on offense or crumbling on defense), but their poor play was the one constant as they  stumbled their way to a 1-6 record against the Broncos (0-4 at Mile High) since Brady took over in 2001.

As the Patriots prepare for yet another trip to the dreaded land of thin air and, more recently, Tebowing, we will take the opportunity to run through their history of failure against this AFC West enemy.

• Week 7, October 28, 2001 – New England 20 @ Denver 31: After taking over for the injured Drew Bledsoe, Brady has been efficient before this matchup. In the fourth quarter alone, he threw four interceptions, helping the Broncos to their 12th win in 14 games against the Patriots since 1984.
• Week 8, October 27, 2002 – Denver 24 @ New England 16: Less than a calendar year later, the Denver defense put in the extra effort to fly roughly four hours before roughing Brady up. This time it was to the tune of five sacks and an embarrassing home loss for the Patriots.
• Week 6, October 16, 2005 – New England 20 @ Denver 28: Something about these October games has been bad luck. New England gave up several big plays and fell into a 25 point hole before staging a comeback that came up short. This loss would begin a string of three losses over the next calendar year.
• AFC Divisional Playoffs, January 14, 2006 – New England 13 @ Denver 27: This game became one of the more memorable matchups between Brady and the Broncos. Unfortunately, none of the memories attached to it are good ones. Champ Bailey took an interception 100 yards before getting knocked out at the one yard line.  His pick was one of five turnovers that ended the Patriots’ hopes for three straight Super Bowl titles.
• Week 3, September 24, 2006 – Denver 17 @ New England 7: Yet another home loss and the third defeat at the hands of Denver in a 12-month period. The Bronco defense was again the driving force, allowing one touchdown in the fourth quarter (the first they allowed all season) and holding the Patriots’ ground attack to 50 yards total.
• Week 7, October 20, 2008 – Denver 7 @ New England 41: The lone bright spot in this somber list had nothing to do with Brady, believe it or not. Matt Cassell led the assault with an efficient 18-24, 185 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Sammy Morris backed him up with 138 rushing yards and one touchdown in the first half before leaving with an injury (New England put up 257 rushing yards on the day). Special teams and defense both contributed with a 44-yard Wes Welker punt return and 5 forced turnovers, respectively. A complete team effort to get the win.
• Week 5, October 11, 2009 – New England 17 @ Denver 20 (OT): Brady is back! And New England is back to losing… The Patriots did not score a single time in the second half and crumbled on defense as the Broncos put together a 98-yard drive in the fourth quarter to tie the game and force over time. A Matt Prater field goal in the extra period iced the win and kept Brady winless against Denver.

There you have it folks, a begrudgingly complete outline of the Broncos-Patriots “rivalry” in the Brady-Belichick era. New England can only hope for better results this week against the shockingly successful new quarterback in Denver, Tim Tebow. Of course, based on history, Brady and his boys are going to need some sort of miracle. Oh, wait… nevermind.