The start of NFL preseason was delayed by a lockout. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

The fans returned in earnest. The games seemed unusually dramatic. The star players were still larger-than-life.

And now, the 2011 season comes to an end when the New England Patriots and New York Giants meet in a Super Bowl rematch.

But before the curtains are drawn, it might be best to look back and see how the Patriots, who had been eliminated from the playoffs at home in each of the previous two seasons, got this far.

Sept. 12, at Miami

Patriots 38, Dolphins 24

This game merely set the tone for the rest of the regular season: the New England defense was going to give up a lot of yards; the Patriots offense was going to gain even more.

Tom Brady threw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker in the fourth quarter that gave the Patriots a 38-17 lead. That was the 12th time in NFL history a player had scored a 99-yard touchdown from scrimmage. The Patriots totaled 622 yards, setting a team record.

Sept. 18, at Foxborough

Patriots 35, Chargers 21

Brady nearly matched his opening effort with 423 passing yards and three touchdown passes. But it was defensive tackle Vince Wilfork who made the biggest headlines.

The Patriots led 17-7, with San Diego driving to the Patriots 29. Then, Wilfork reached up to intercept a Philip Rivers pass and returned it 28 yards, setting up a Stephen Gostkowski field goal.

The Patriots forced four turnovers, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Sept. 25, at Orchard Park, N.Y.

Bills 34, Patriots 31

The Patriots led 21-0 in the second quarter, 21-10 at the half, and 24-17 entering the fourth quarter.

Then, everything fell apart as the Bills rallied behind a defense that intercepted Brady four times, including a 27-yard touchdown return by cornerback Drayton Florence that gave the Bills the lead, 31-24.

Brady, who threw for 387 yards to set an NFL record for passing yards over a three-game stretch (1,257), came back with a touchdown pass to Welker to tie it. But the Bills got a last-second 28-yard field goal by Ryan Lindell to win it.

Oct. 2, at Oakland

Patriots 31, Raiders 19

The Patriots finally got some balance to their offense, rushing for 183 yards while Brady passed for 226. Rookie Stevan Ridley led the way with 97 yards rushing and a touchdown, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 75 yards and a score.

The Patriots trailed early in the second quarter but scored 17 consecutive points. Green-Ellis scored on a 1-yard run and Ridley had a 33-yard touchdown run.

Oct. 9, at Foxborough

Patriots 30, Jets 21

This was power football at its best.

Green-Ellis rushed for a career-high 136 yards and scored on two 3-yard touchdown runs to spur the Patriots, who once again let the Jets do all the pregame talking.

The win gave the Patriots control of the AFC East, as the loss was the third in a row for the Jets.

Oct. 16, at Foxborough

Patriots 20, Cowboys 16

The lesson after this one: never leave Brady time on the clock.

Dallas appeared to be in control, leading 16-13 late in the fourth quarter with the ball. But the Patriots defense forced a three-and-out as the Cowboys went conservative, giving Brady the ball with 2:31 left.

All he did was drive the Patriots 80 yards in 10 plays, the final one an 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds remaining. Brady was 8 of 9 for 78 yards on the winning drive, bringing the Patriots back for a fourth-quarter victory for the 32nd time in his career.

It wasn’t the prettiest win – the Patriots lost two fumbles and Brady was intercepted twice – but it was the 20th consecutive regular-season win at Gillette.

Oct. 30, at Pittsburgh

Steelers 25, Patriots 17

Early on the Patriots had no answer for Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Heath Miller. Whenever the Steelers needed a big play, those two hooked up for it. The Steelers had a huge edge in time of possession: 39:22 to New England’s 20:38, keeping Brady and Co., on the sidelines.

Pittsburgh never trailed, but the Patriots defense fought through to keep it close. With his team trailing 23-10, Brady led the Patriots on a 10-play drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Hernandez. But Brett Keisel sacked Brady and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety, ending New England’s comeback bid.

Nov. 6, at Foxborough

Giants 24, Patriots 20

Eli Manning essentially replayed the final minutes of the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII upset of the Patriots, beating New England again.

Brady’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski with 1:36 left gave New England a 20-17 lead.

But Manning drove the Giants 80 yards in just over a minute, hitting Jake Ballard for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left.

Brady threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, but was also sacked twice and intercepted twice.

It was only the third time since the start of the 2003 season that the Patriots suffered back-to-back losses. New England hasn’t lost since.

Nov. 13, at East Rutherford, N.J.

Patriots 37, Jets 16

Just when everyone was ready to throw dirt on the pile, the Patriots responded with their most impressive win of the season.

Brady was phenomenal. Given time to pass – he wasn’t sacked – Brady picked the Jets apart for 329 yards and three touchdowns – two to Gronkowski.

Mark Sanchez, meanwhile, was sacked five times and intercepted twice, both by linebacker Rob Ninkovich.

The win gave the Patriots a two-game lead over the Jets in the AFC East.

Nov. 21, at Foxborough

Patriots 34, Chiefs 3

After the Chiefs took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter, the Patriots dominated.

Brady threw two more touchdown passes to Gronkowski. Green-Ellis rushed for 81 yards. The defense intercepted three passes. All in all, a good Monday night at Gillette Stadium.

Nov. 27, at Philadelphia

Patriots 38, Eagles 20

Once again the Patriots fell behind early, trailing 10-0 in the first quarter.

But New England scored 38 of the next 41 points to surge ahead. Green-Ellis rushed for two touchdowns. Welker caught two touchdown passes. Deion Branch caught six passes for 125 yards. Brady threw for 361 yards and had a quarterback rating of 134.6.

The Eagles’ last score came in the final minute to make the score look somewhat respectable.
Dec. 4, at Foxborough

The rivalry lacked a little something this year with no Peyton Manning. But Dan Orlovsky nearly brought the Colts back from a 28-point deficit.

Brady completed 30 passes, missing on just seven, for 353 yards and two touchdowns, both to Gronkowski. Gronkowski also scored on a 2-yard run – a swing pass that was ruled a lateral – to give the Patriots a 31-3 lead with 4:13 left in the third quarter. He became the first Patriots tight end to rush for a touchdown.

Dec. 11, at Washington

Patriots 34, Redskins 27

The game was much closer than anyone anticipated from the Redskins, who were 4-8 going into the game.

Twice the Redskins came back to tie the game in the third quarter. Brady’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Welker with 4:26 left in the third provided the game’s final points.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo sealed the win when he intercepted a tipped pass at the New England 9 with 20 seconds remaining.

Dec. 18, at Denver

Patriots 41, Broncos 23

The Broncos gained 167 rushing yards in the first quarter to open a 13-7 lead. They would have only 85 rushing yards the rest of the game as the Patriots defense adjusted and forced the game into Tim Tebow’s hands.

He couldn’t match Brady, who threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Tebow was sacked four times for 53 yards in losses.

Dec. 24, at Foxborough

Patriots 27, Dolphins 24

The Patriots trailed 17-0 at the half as their early-game struggles continued.

This time, the offense geared up in the second half. Brady completed 20 of 27 passes for 217 yards in the second half. He also scored on two 1-yard runs, the first tying the game at 17, the second providing the winning margin.

Welker caught 12 passes for 138 yards, burning his former team again.

Jan. 1,  at Foxborough

Patriots 49, Bills 21

This time the Patriots spotted an opponent 21 points as Buffalo opened a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
Brady completed 23 passes over the final three quarters, three for touchdowns. He threw for 338 yards, finishing with 5,235 passing yards on the season – second-most all-time behind Drew Brees, who also set the record this year.

Welker finished the season with a league-leading 122 receptions – making him the second player in NFL history with two 120-plus catch seasons.

Gronkowski set an NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end (1,327).

Jan. 14, at Foxborough

AFC divisional playoff

Patriots 45, Broncos 10

Tebowmania came to a crashing halt as Brady put on a record-setting passing performance.

All Brady did was throw for 363 yards and six touchdowns, tying an NFL playoff record. Five of those came in the first half, three to Gronkowski, who tied the NFL playoff record for touchdown receptions in a game.

The Broncos fell out of this one quickly. Trailing 7-0, they drove to the New England 37, where Tebow was sacked by the unheralded Ninkovich. Tebow fumbled, the Patriots’ Brandon Spikes recovered, and New England went in to score again.

The Pats also threw a new wrinkle at the Broncos: Tight end Hernandez lined up in the backfield and led the team with 61 yards rushing.

The defense stepped up and sacked Tebow five times.

Jan. 22, at Foxborough

AFC championship game

Patriots 23, Ravens 20

Brady struggled in this one, throwing two interceptions and missing several wide-open receivers.

But the defense stood tall, especially in the fourth quarter with the Patriots holding onto their 23-20 lead.

First, Spikes made a one-handed interception of a Joe Flacco pass to stop one Ravens’ drive.

Then rookie cornerback Sterling Moore stripped wide receiver Lee Evans of the ball in the end zone after it appeared he had been beaten for a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.

The Patriots escaped when Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt with 11 seconds left.

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH

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