Meaningful moments from 'The Dynasty: New England Patriots' Episode 1: Backup Plan

The day is officially here. 

Apple TV+ released the first two episodes of their new 10-episode documentary on the Patriots dynasty on Friday. 

Key team members were interviewed, detailing their highest moments on the team while diving deeper into some things that went wrong. 

But of course, the show starts with one of the craziest seasons in Patriots history. 

Here are the meaningful moments from "The Dynasty: New England Patriots" Episode 1: Backup Plan

Robert Kraft is Introduced

It all began on Jan. 21, 1994, when Kraft was announced as the new owner of the New England Patriots. Having been a fan of the team for so long, he knew the pressure was on to deliver a change. Especially with how bad the team had been for so long. 

"The old Patriots, they shouldn’t even be in the league," comedian Bill Burr said. "Like that’s how I felt.

Fans Love Drew Bledsoe

Drew Bledsoe was thought to be the man who could lead this team to the promised land. And Kraft rewarded him generously for that. 

"I realized he was the man to carry us forward," Kraft said. "And I gave him a $103 million contract to be the face of the franchise."

And the fans were certainly in favor.  

"We hadn't lost hope because we had Drew Bledsoe," one fan said. 

"He was our savior," another stated.

Drew Bledsoe Goes Down 

On Sept. 23, 2001, Drew Bledsoe went down in the Patriots game against the New York Jets. And it was clear that the quarterback was in pain.

"That was really scary," Kraft said. "He was like a son to me.” 

Ty Law felt the same way 

“Our team was shocked because that was the face of the team. That was our leader," the former cornerback explained. "That was the $100 million quarterback. And he’s down.”

The quarterback was rushed to the hospital, forcing the team to play without their star. And it was clear that the injury was serious the minute he was rushed through the doors of the emergency room. 

“When Drew Bledsoe came to the emergency room, I had grave concerns. He had partially cut one of his arteries," Dr. David Berger, a surgeon at Mass. General Hospital said. "So we saw that the lung cavity was completely filling up with blood. Untreated, he probably would have died.”

Tom Brady Steps Up

With Bledsoe out, it was Tom Brady's turn to step up. And Bill Belichick made it clear that there was barely any room for error. 

“In Pro Football, nobody is entitled to anything, nobody gets anything" Belichick said. "You have to go out there and work for it and perform at a level at which you earn it. Each week, we all have to prove ourselves competitively to each other and to our teammates.” 

But Brady didn't back down from the challenge. 

Tom gathered us around and I remember thinking, ‘Aw look at the kid. He’s trying,' Tedy Bruschi said. "For anyone that says, ‘oh yeah. We knew Tom was going to lead us to victory.’ That’s bullsh**. I mean come on. This guy’s never done anything for us before.”

Bledsoe Returns

After 51 days, Bledsoe was cleared to play. So the first call he made was to Belichick. 

"I remember I called Belichick and I was like, ‘I got clearance. Ready to go,’ Bledsoe explained. "His response was just, ‘Okay. Get back here and we’ll see how it goes.’"

"I thought he would be a little more excited that I got clearance than he seemed to be on the phone,” he added. "That was the first indication that I had that maybe this isn’t playing out where I just get to go back and start playing again."

Belichick was apprehensive to put Bledsoe right back into the starting role after he hadn't played in so long. And he was coming off a serious injury. 

So it was Brady who kept the start. But Bledsoe refused to accept that, referring to that role as "my job.”

Even Robert Kraft wasn't a fan of this decision by Belichick, but he couldn't overrule the head coach. That wasn't how things were supposed to work. 

Tom Brady struggles against Rams

On Nov 18, 2001, Brady threw two bad interceptions in the Patriots' loss to the Rams. 

And Kraft had an honest take on what he had seen from the team in that moment. 

“Watching that game, I felt like Bill had let us down," Kraft said. "I had people on my case, how bad my judgment was for not starting a guy like Drew Bledsoe.”

But the ending statement from Kraft set up the documentary perfectly. 

"Bill and I, we were under pressure," he explained. "And the decisions that we were about to make were going to determine the future of football in New England for the next 20 years.”