The New England Patriots dynasty eventually became so dominant that its beginning can feel inevitable in retrospect.
It was anything but that.
Before six Super Bowl championships, before Tom Brady became the most decorated quarterback in NFL history and before New England became the league’s defining franchise for nearly two decades, Adam Vinatieri had to keep the whole thing alive in a snowstorm.
Vinatieri will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame today, as part of the Class of 2026.
The honor follows a 24-year career in which he became the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and made a league-record 599 field goals.
Those numbers explain why Vinatieri is headed to Canton.
His place in Patriots history can be explained with two show-stopping kicks from one postseason.
Vinatieri Saved Patriots’ Season Before First Super Bowl
GettyFOXBORO, MA – JANUARY 19: Field kicker Adam Vinatieri (L) of the New England Patriots celebrates after making a field goal in overtime against the Oakland Raiders in their AFC playoff game for a 16-13 win 19 January 2002 at Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
New England trailed the Raiders 13-10 late in its AFC divisional-round game on Jan. 19, 2002, with snow covering the field at Foxboro Stadium.
After an overturned fumble call involving Brady extended the Patriots’ season, the offense moved into field-goal range.
Vinatieri came out for a 45-yard attempt with 27 seconds remaining, and the conditions made the kick look close to impossible.
“You can’t get any tougher than that kick,” Belichick said afterward, via Patriots’ game recap.
Current Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who was on the field that night, offered another reminder this week of how absurd the attempt looked.
“I struggled to run on that field that day,” Vrabel told reporters Friday while recalling his former teammate.
Vinatieri drove the ball through the snow and over the crossbar to tie the game. He then made a 23-yard field goal in overtime to send New England to the AFC Championship Game.
Years later, Vinatieri called the 45-yarder the toughest kick of his career, citing the four inches of snow and poor footing.
If it misses, there is no trip to Pittsburgh the following week.
There is no upset of the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
The first championship of the Brady-Belichick era never happens, at least not that season.
The Patriots’ dynasty had to survive before it could begin.
Vinatieri Finished What Brady Started in Super Bowl XXXVI
GettyNew England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri celebrates his game-winning field goal in the second half 03 February, 2002 of Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17 for the NFL championship. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo by STAN HONDA / AFP) (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images)
Two weeks passed, and the Patriots again put their season on Vinatieri’s foot.
The Rams erased a 17-3 deficit and tied Super Bowl XXXVI with 1:30 remaining.
John Madden famously suggested New England should play for overtime, but Brady instead led the offense down the field without a timeout.
The drive reached the Rams’ 30-yard line before Brady spiked the ball with seven seconds left. Vinatieri came on and drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-17 victory.
It was the first Super Bowl championship in Patriots history.
And what followed turned the breakthrough into an era.
Vinatieri delivered another game-winner two years later, hitting a 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
He won three championships with New England before leaving for the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, where he added a fourth ring.
He finished his career with NFL records for points, field goals made and postseason points, among other marks.
His legacy is harder to reduce to a stat for New England
Brady became the face of the dynasty. And Belichick built it.
However, Vinatieri made sure it lived long enough to become one.
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