Schedule Game summaries Week 1: at Buffalo Bills Following the release of
Lawyer Milloy, the Patriots met the Bills in Buffalo, and Milloy was there after signing a deal with the Bills.
Drew Bledsoe threw for one touchdown while
Tom Brady was picked off four times; in the second quarter defensive lineman
Sam Adams (whose
namesake father played for the Patriots alongside
John Hannah) ran an interception back for a 37-yard touchdown. A still from Adams' run was used for the cover of
Sports Illustrated. Brady was also sacked twice, once by Milloy, in a 31–0 Bills rout. This would be the last time the Patriots would hold a sub-.500 record until 145 games later, when they were 1–2 after their first three games of the
2012 season, and it was also their last regular season-opening loss until
2014. This was also their last shutout loss until week 14 of the 2006 season, and their last loss against the Bills until 2011, a fifteen-game streak which is the longest in the Bills-Patriots rivalry. It is Brady's worst loss by margin of defeat as a Patriot.
Week 2: at Philadelphia Eagles Behind 30 completions in 44 attempts for 247 yards and three touchdowns (two to
Christian Fauria and one to
Deion Branch),
Tom Brady led the Patriots to their first win of the season over the Eagles.
Donovan McNabb was hammered by the Patriots defense, limited to just 18 completions in 46 throws; he was picked off twice (
Tedy Bruschi ran back an interception for an 18-yard touchdown) and sacked eight times. The Patriots came into the late-afternoon game after hearing
ESPN's NFL pregame show where analyst
Tom Jackson stated outright "They hate their coach", even though no effort at verification on the part of Jackson had ever been made.
Bill Belichick was incensed by the comment and refused to speak to anyone connected with ESPN outside of
Chris Berman (a friend of Belichick's) for years after.
Week 3: vs. New York Jets The Patriots' home opener came against an injury-shot Jets squad;
Chad Pennington had been injured in the preseason and former Jets starter
Vinny Testaverde had to take over. It was the Jets' first game against New England since a 44–7 Patriots victory in September 2002. Like in the 2002 matchup, the Patriots shut down New York's running game, holding them to 65 yards, 53 of them from former Patriot
Curtis Martin.
Kevin Faulk and
Antowain Smith rushed for 134 yards,
Tom Brady threw for 181 yards, but until the final five minutes of the third quarter, it was a battle of field goals — tied at 9 until Brady ran in a one-yard score. At the start of the fourth quarter, rookie
Asante Samuel picked off Testaverde and ran back a 55-yard touchdown. Vinny would connect with
Wayne Chrebet two minutes later, but the remaining thirteen minutes went scoreless as the Patriots took the win 23–16.
Week 4: at Washington Redskins Steve Spurrier became the last NFL coach to defeat the Patriots until
Halloween 2004 as the Redskins raced to a 20–3 lead in the third quarter.
Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal try for the first time in the year, and
Tom Brady was picked off twice in Washington's red zone.
Ladell Betts and
Rock Cartwright ran in touchdowns as the Redskins ground game (led by
Trung Canidate's 70 yards) ate up 119 yards. It was enough to hold off two late Brady touchdowns in a 20–17 Patriots loss. This would be the Patriots last loss to Washington until
2023.
Week 5: vs. Tennessee Titans The Patriots began a 21-game winning streak while hosting the Titans, who had beaten the Patriots
the previous December. Nursing the shoulder injury incurred in the 2002 game against the Titans that had flamed up again, Brady threw for a comparatively modest 219 yards and a 58-yard score to
Troy Brown. The game lead changed seven times as
Steve McNair threw for 360 yards and rushed in two touchdowns, Patriots running backs
Antowain Smith and
Mike Cloud rushed for 153 yards and three scores, and rookie
Bethel Johnson ran back a fourth-quarter kick 71 yards, setting up Cloud's second touchdown. The decisive score came when McNair was picked off by a hobbling
Ty Law for a 65-yard touchdown — McNair threw to
Tyrone Calico (who had a 60-yard touchdown called back when he was ruled out of bounds inside the 5-yard line), but Calico slipped to the ground just as Law jumped into his route — and a 38–30 Patriots triumph. Fans cheering for the
Red Sox–Oakland A's playoff game concurrent with Tennessee's scoring drives caused a stir on the sidelines and in the CBS and
Patriots radio broadcast booths.
Week 6: vs. New York Giants In a rainstorm that postponed Game Four of the
2003 ALCS later that night, the Patriots hosted the
New York Giants. The first throw by
Kerry Collins was batted in the air and intercepted, leading to a Patriots field goal attempt that missed. Later,
Tiki Barber was hit and fumbled to
Matt Chatham, who ran in a 30-yard touchdown. Collins was picked off four times as the Patriots grounded out a 17–6 win.
Week 7: at Miami Dolphins Battling the Dolphins for the division lead, the Patriots erased a 13–6 gap with a Brady touchdown pass to
David Givens in the third. The Dolphins marched downfield late in the fourth; during this drive, a
Ricky Williams first down run was protested by the Patriots who felt Williams' knee touched the dirt infield at
Pro Player Stadium, but the challenge was denied. The Dolphins attempted a 35-yard field goal at the two-minute warning, but the kick was blocked by
Richard Seymour. The Dolphins smothered the Patriots' final drive attempt (the decisive play came when former Patriot
Terrell Buckley stopped
Kevin Faulk for a four-yard loss) and the game went to overtime. Controversy ensued on the coin flip for overtime; referee
Gerald Austin used a
silver dollar; the coin came up Lady Columbia (which is "heads" on a silver dollar) but Patriot captains Brady and Seymour protested that it came up "tails." The Dolphins drove downfield but missed another 35-yard field goal try, in part because
Olindo Mare could not plant his foot on the infield dirt, which was still in place because of the
Florida Marlins' run towards their 2003 World Series victory. After forcing a Patriots punt,
Jay Fiedler was hit by
Tedy Bruschi and lobbed a 60-yard pass which was picked off at the Patriots 18-yard line by
Tyrone Poole. Brady then ended the game with a spectacular 82-yard touchdown strike to
Troy Brown and a 19–13 final.
Week 8: vs. Cleveland Browns Despite 367 yards of offense, the Patriots could only muster three
Adam Vinatieri field goals, with his fifth miss of the season added in. The Patriots' defense limited the Browns to 203 yards of offense while
Ty Law picked off
Kelly Holcomb for Law's second interception of the season. Holcomb was also sacked three times as the Browns limped home after a 9–3 Patriots win. During the game, an apparent Browns fumble was overturned based on
the rule immortalized in New England’s 2001 game vs the Raiders.
Week 9: at Denver Broncos The Patriots made their only appearance on
Monday Night Football of the season in this matchup against the Broncos, who had beaten the Patriots in 13 of the two teams' 15 previous meetings. The Broncos held a 24–23 lead in the fourth with backup quarterback
Danny Kanell starting and despite injuries to receiver
Ed McCaffrey and kicker
Jason Elam. Backed up to their one-yard line, the Patriots were forced to punt, but with so little room to work, they snapped the ball through the endzone for a
deliberate safety. On the ensuing free kick, the Patriots pinned the Broncos near their own goal line and forced a Denver punt. In the final two minutes, the Patriots drove downfield, and
Tom Brady fired an 18-yard touchdown strike to
David Givens. Kanell threw a long pass that was intercepted by rookie
Asante Samuel with seven seconds left, securing a 30–26 Patriots win.
Week 11: vs. Dallas Cowboys For only the second time in their history, the Patriots defeated the Cowboys. Both teams entered the
Sunday Night Football contest at 7–2, and the game was the first showdown between
Bill Belichick and former Patriots coach
Bill Parcells. The Cowboys gained only 291 yards of offense, but the Patriots were limited to 268 yards; three
Quincy Carter interceptions (two by
Ty Law) proved decisive. The Patriots managed two
Adam Vinatieri field goals and a two-yard
Antowain Smith touchdown marred by a blocked PAT. With a 12–0 win, the Patriots continued their winning streak from the end of September.
Week 12: at Houston Texans Facing their future defensive coach
Dom Capers, the Patriots made their first trip to Houston since 1988's 31–6 loss to
the Oilers at the
Astrodome. The Patriots led 10–3 at the half, but
Adam Vinatieri missed a 38-yard field goal try at the end of the half, his first miss inside a dome in his career.
Tony Banks erupted for three second-half touchdowns as the Texans' defense bullied the Patriots into a fumble (recovered by
Jay Foreman) and a
Tom Brady INT. Trailing 20–13 in the final minutes of regulation, the Patriots drove downfield; at the Texans' 4-yard line, Brady was chased out of the pocket and threw a pass caught in the endzone in mid-air by
Daniel Graham. In overtime, a 37-yard Vinatieri field goal try was blocked by
Ramon Walker, but the Texans were forced to punt. Late in overtime the Texans'
Marlon McCree picked off Brady at his 5-yard line, but a holding penalty nullified the turnover, and Vinatieri kicked the game-winner with 41 seconds left in overtime and a 23–20 Patriots win. The game marked the last time New England would trail in any 2003 contest until
Super Bowl XXXVIII (which also took place in Houston).
Week 13: at Indianapolis Colts Though
Tom Brady had faced
Peyton Manning twice coming in, this game marked the true beginning of
the most celebrated quarterback rivalry in NFL history. The game was the Patriots' first meeting with the Colts since 2002 divisional realignment put the Colts into the new
AFC South after 32 seasons with the Pats in the
AFC East. The two teams stood at 9–2, the latest in a season two teams with nine wins had met. The Patriots raced to a 17–3 second-quarter lead behind scores by
Mike Cloud and
Dedric Ward. Following a
Peyton Manning touchdown to
Marcus Pollard with 12 seconds left in the first half,
Bethel Johnson ran back the ensuing kick 92 yards for a touchdown. But the Patriot's 31–10 runaway following another Cloud touchdown became an epic shootout as two Brady interceptions gave the Colts touchdown drives, and they tied the game at 31 at 4:39 of the fourth. Another monster Johnson kick return set up a Brady to
Deion Branch touchdown, but after a
Kevin Faulk fumble and ensuing
Mike Vanderjagt field goal the score stood at 38–34 Patriots. A short
Ken Walter punt led to a Colts drive to the Patriot's goal line in the final minute. A heroic goal-line stand led by
Willie McGinest and
Ted Washington stopped the Colts from scoring and the win left several Patriots visibly shaken.
Rodney Harrison noted afterward that he'd "never seen anything like this." The two teams combined for 582 yards of offense.
Week 14: vs. Miami Dolphins The Dolphins traveled to Foxboro to face the Patriots at the tail end of
a snowstorm that dumped well over a foot of snow on the area. The only scoring of the first three quarters came late in the first quarter, when
Adam Vinatieri hit a 29-yard field goal to put the Patriots ahead. With both offenses struggling, the Patriots missed a chance to open a wider lead when Vinatieri missed a 54-yard field goal at the end of the first half. The Dolphins threatened the Patriots offensively for the first time in the game late in the third quarter, advancing to the Patriots' 10-yard line before
Rodney Harrison strip-sacked
Jay Fiedler, with
Mike Vrabel recovering the fumble for the Patriots (and embarrassing Dolphins rookie TE
Randy McMichael, who had talked trash about the Patriots before the game but blew his blocking assignment against Harrison on this play). In the fourth quarter, punter
Brooks Barnard (replacing
Ken Walter, who had been cut a week after poor punts against the
Colts), would pin the Dolphins at their own 4-yard line. Fiedler's first pass was intercepted by
Tedy Bruschi and returned five yards for a touchdown. The play became notable more for the fans' celebration afterward, as they would throw the fallen snow in the air in a form of "snow fireworks." At the two-minute warning, Brady would pooch-punt and pin the Dolphins at their own 1-yard line; Fiedler was sacked a few plays later for a safety that sealed a 12–0 Patriots victory and the division title.
Week 15: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars In a mild snowstorm, the Patriots faced the Jaguars for the first time since Jacksonville's
1998 playoff win over New England. The Patriots' defense allowed their first touchdown at home since week five when late in the fourth quarter
Kevin Johnson caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from future
Tom Brady offensive coach
Byron Leftwich. The game was ultimately unaffected, as two
Tom Brady touchdown throws, an
Antowain Smith rushing score, and two Vinatieri field goals were enough for a 27–13 Patriots win.
Week 16: at New York Jets In bitter cold the 12–2 Patriots faced a grinder against the 6–8 Jets, who were coming off a 6–0 shutout of
Pittsburgh the week before; the Patriots were also facing
Chad Pennington for the first time since a 30–17 Jets win in 2002. The Patriots picked off Pennington right away, setting up
David Givens' 35-yard score not even one minute into the game. Pennington tied the game on a one-yard run late in the first quarter, but early in the second, he was picked off by
Willie McGinest at his own 15 and McGinest scored. Givens caught another touchdown pass in the third quarter, but the score was only 21–16 after a second Pennington rushing score and a missed two-point try. Pennington was then picked off for the fifth time late in the fourth, finishing an ugly 21–16 Patriots win. The win moved New England to 13–2 before a rematch against the Bills in the season finale.
Week 17: vs. Buffalo Bills The regular season finale saw the Patriots hosting the same Bills that blanked them 31–0 in September. Revenge drove the Patriots as
Tom Brady threw four touchdowns, all in the first half, and despite an ugly hit in the legs by
Lawyer Milloy in the second quarter.
Adam Vinatieri missed a third-quarter field goal but connected from 24 yards out in the fourth.
Drew Bledsoe never got on track and was pulled in the fourth quarter for
Travis Brown, who got to the Patriots redzone at the end of the fourth quarter but was intercepted in the endzone by
Larry Izzo. The Patriots' 31–0 win bookended the season.
Standings Division Standings breakdown ==Postseason==