As a wise man once said, it takes two to make a thing go right, and that's certainly been the case with the Patriots as there have been plenty of duos over the course of the team's history that didn't just make things go right, but great. Football is the ultimate team sport and while it takes a full unit of 11 players working together to consistently win games, here's our Valentine's Day collection of best Patriots twosomes that have had a lasting impact for the franchise.
Brady & Gronk
You knew Tom Brady would be on this list but the hard part is assigning him just one partner. It's tough to pick someone other than Rob Gronkowski, as no one topped Gronk's 620 catches for 9,275 yards and 93 touchdowns in 141 career games with playing with Brady. Brady to Gronk was instant magic when Gronkowski arrived in 2010 and the big tight end went one to be a key target over the next decade, playing a critical part in two of New England's titles while also picking up a third ring while out injured in 2016. Gronk recorded a touchdown in Super Bowl 49 and made the key catch to set up the winning touchdown against the Rams in Super Bowl 53, and there were plenty of other unforgettable plays sprinkled before and between. No other duo in Patriots history was more deadly, especially in big games.
Jules & Dola
The Patriots were going through an offensive transition in 2013 and few realized that Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola would emerge as two key players who would combine to lead the Patriots to four Super Bowl appearances and three wins. Best buds off the field, Edelman and Amendola's most famous on-field connection came in the 2014 AFC Divisional Round when Amendola hit Edelman for a game-tying touchdown in the third quarter on a double-pass play that sent the Gillette Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Though similar players, Jules and Dola both had their own special moments individually, but none as memorable as when they were doing it together and giving defenses too much to deal with inside. The Super Bowl 49 on-field celebration pictures are some of the best from the Patriots championships.
Vrabes & Willie Mac
The Patriots won their first three Super Bowls powered by an elite unit of linebackers who always seemed to come through with big plays in the biggest games. Mike Vrabel and Willie McGinest were perhaps the most notable edge players during those years, forming a deadly duo for opposing quarterbacks as bookend edge players. Both big and tough football players, the future Patriots Hall of Famers Vrabel and McGinest didn't just make big plays, they were part of establishing New England's championship culture. When the game was on the line, one of these two was bound to come through with a big play.
Moss & Welker
2007 was an unforgettable season and no two players played a bigger part in New England's record-setting fall than the combination of Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Moss had 1,493 receiving yards and set an NFL record with 23 touchdown receptions while Welker contributed 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns as the Patriots offense laid waste to the rest of the NFL. Moss and Welker would play three-plus seasons together and form a complementary pair that threatened every inch of the field. They both played wide receiver but their games couldn't have been more different. Their immense production was not one of the differences.
Bledsoe & Coates
Drew Bledsoe and Ben Coates were the first Brady and Gronk, as the duo racked up 50 touchdown connections over their nine years together in the 1990s. Their performance would culminate with an unfortunate loss in Super Bowl 31 to the Packers, with Coates grabbing six catches for 67 yards and the only post-season touchdown of his career. When it comes to the 90's Pats there wasn't a better duo than Bledsoe and Coates. Coates was equal parts safety blanket and wrecking ball, as his physical play was a defining feature of the pre-dynasty days.
Bill & Ernie
Bill Belichick and Ernie Adams' connection goes all the way back to Phillips Andover in 1970 and Adams remained one of Belichick's most trusted assistants through the entirety of his career with the Patriots. A football savant with a direct line to the head coach, Adams was pivotal to the Patriots preparation, charting out possible plays and approaches that opponents could take, while providing Belichick with an extra set of trusted eyes in all scenarios. Adams was the perfect consigliere to Belichick, a mysterious genius who knew the game inside and out, and the duo had unprecedented success together in the NFL, a long ways from their early chats as schoolboys over 50 years ago.
Light & Seymour
Who knows if the Patriots would've won their first Super Bowl title if they didn't nail their first two draft picks in 2001 with two future Patriots Hall of Famers, Richard Seymour and Matt Light. This duo, as a defensive end and a left tackle, spent plenty of time going up against each other in practice, and that competition paid off for both. Seymour and Light stepped right in, not just as starters, but as impact players, and played key roles in New England's three titles as well their undefeated regular season in 2007. Seymour earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after his dominant career, becoming the second Patriot from the early-2000's to punch his ticket to Canton.
Gil & Gino
From 1972-1978, then 1990-2011, Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti served as the Patriots radio broadcast team and their accounts of the team's championship seasons are a key part of the team's history. If you grew up around New England, the sound of Gil and Gino on your radio captured the spirit of the Patriots, as they went from the worst team in the NFL in the early 1990s to the best team just a decade later. Santos and Cappelletti were the voices that narrated that decade-long journey from the bottom to the top. When the Pats finally won their first championship, there was no one better to announce the game than Gil and Gino. Their famous game calls remain an indelible part of the team's history.
Devin & Jason
Now here's a duo that biologically must make it, as twins Devin and Jason McCourty both played for the Patriots from 2018-2020 and won a title together. Both members of the secondary, Devin held things down on the back end of the defense while Jason used his versatility in a variety of coverage roles that included cornerback and safety. The McCourty's are the only set of twins in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl and certainly one of the New England Patriots' best duos.
Lawyer & Ty
Along with McGinest and Tedy Bruschi, the early leaders of the Patriots burgeoning dynasty were defenders Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy; a shutdown corner and a hard-hitting safety who helped the Patriots get to their second Super Bowl in 1996, before winning their first championship five years later. They were the stalwarts in the secondary around which Bill Belichick built a dynastic defense, with Law finally landing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. Milloy's departure in 2003 was a tough pill to swallow, but it came after he and Law had already played major roles in establishing New England as one of the NFL's model franchises.
