Warm Weather December Games Have Been Known to Trip Up Pats
Over the past decade, the Patriots have been one of the best teams once the month of December rolls around, as their ability to thrive in cold temperatures puts them at an advantage over their opponents.
But what about on the road in warmer climates than the frigid conditions of Gillette Stadium?
The Patriots will face that test this week having traveled from playing on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field to sunny San Diego, where the temperature could in the 70s on Sunday.
That drastic difference may have been one of the reasons the Patriots decided to spend the week in California to train, rather than return to Foxborough, where it will be significantly colder, then travel back to San Diego and not have time to adjust to the change.
Playing on the road in a warm climate in December certainly didn’t help the Pats last season. They went to Miami on Dec. 15 and fell to the Dolphins 24-20 in a loss that ultimately ended up costing them the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and home field in the AFC title game. The title game loss to the Broncos could have gone much differently had it been held in Foxborough and not in the Mile High City.
The Pats made two trips to Florida in 2012 – to Miami on Dec. 2 and to Jacksonville on Dec. 23 – and were able to win both games by identical 23-16 margins. But while they easily handled the Dolphins, the Pats had to come back from down 10-0 against the lowly Jaguars in order to win a game that certainly didn’t look like it would be that difficult.
The Pats opened the month of December in Miami in 2009 and led by scores of 14-0 and 21-10, but allowed 12 straight points to end the game as the Dolphins emerged victorious. The Pats were easily knocked out of the playoffs that season when the Ravens battered them 33-14 at Gillette Stadium in the opening round.
Flashback to 2005, when the Pats, who were then two-time defending Super Bowl champions, played three warm weather games in December. They went 2-1, but their one loss was a doozy: 21-0 at the hands of the Dolphins, with Tom Brady throwing for a mere 78 yards in one of his worst performances as a pro.
Even in the midst of winning three Super Bowls in four seasons, the Pats still struggled in December warm weather games. Before beating the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, the 2004 Patriots dropped a Dec. 20 matchup in Miami, blowing a 28-17 lead with 3:59 to play when the Dolphins scored two touchdowns in the final 2:07 to steal a win from the eventual champs.
All that being said, the Patriots have shown they are still a near lock in games when the calendar turns its final month, going 45-7 in December since Brady took over as quarterback in 2001 (not counting 2008 when he was injured).
But they have been known to trip up in warm weather games on occasion during the holiday season. That can’t happen on Sunday if the Patriots hope to ensure that the AFC’s road to the Super Bowl will run through Foxborough.
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