Belichick's Greatest Hits No. 14: Doug Flutie's Dropkick

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This one won't have the historical impact that some of the choices to follow. Not by a long shot. But it's nevertheless classic Belichick. And did have an effect on the 2005 season in a small way.

The date was New Year's Day, 2006. Barstool was still just a free twice-monthly print edition, delivered to bars and newspaper boxes in an Astrovan by a future multi-millionaire. The Patriots were officially a dynasty, with three titles in four years and having competed the best back-to-back seasons in NFL history. And as they faced the Dolphins in the final game of the regular season, they had very little to play for.

But not nothing. As I'll get into later. 

They had clinched the AFC East, but didn't have a bye week in the playoffs. And their playoff seeding was yet to be determined. With all that in mind, Belichick pulled his starters early. Tom Brady attempted just eight passes. And Matt Cassel came off the bench on the first possession of the 2nd quarter. On the day, the Pats would gain only 55 yards on 28 rushing attempts (a pitiful 1.96 average, or less than the distance they'd have gained if Cassel tripped over his cleat laces), and just 259 yards of total offense.

Then with 6:15 to go, Cassel led his offense to a touchdown that made it 25-19 Miami. Then Belichick decided it was time to make history. He trotted 43 year old third string QB Doug Flutie out for what looked like a weird formation for an unnecessary 2-point try. Miami's Nick Saban was as confused as anyone and burned a time out trying to sort it out. 

What no one who wasn't a member of the Patriots roster or staff could've seen coming was this:

Like Kevin Harlan said, the dropkick hadn't been seen in the NFL since the leather helmet days. And maybe because Flutie played in that era, he appreciated this being the last play he'd ever make in a career that spanned 20 seasons:

It was classic Belichick. He honored not only a veteran player who deserved it. But also one of the great football history buffs of all time found a way to honor the legacy of the game. Moreover, he did it without any hint of disrespecting his opponent with some gimmick or cheapening the game, because the coach on the other sideline just happened to be his football conjoined twin who loves this stuff almost as much as he does. 

And just to put a ribbon on this one, the game wasn't meaningless because it became clear at the end what Belichick's intentions were all along. He wanted to lose in order to get a more advantageous playoff seed. The loss meant the Patriots hosted Jacksonville in the Wild Card round, a team they always matched up well against. A win would've meant they'd draw the Steelers, who lost a tiebreaker to Cincinnati, but were still an 11-5 team and serious a threat. 

How much of a threat? They ended up winning on the road at Cincinnati in the Wild Card, then at No. 1 seed Indianapolis, handing Peyton Manning yet another of his many postseason one-and-dones.

It just so happened that they Pats scored on their final play to make it a 28-26 game. But Belichick did not let that little bit of success screw up his master plan. On the 2-point conversion try that could've sent the game into overtime, Cassel threw a pass that pretty much sailed over the lighthouse behind the end zone, thus holding onto the coveted lower seed. 

So we'll always remember this one for Flutie's throwback moment. But it ranks this high on this countdown because it's another example of Belichick's galaxy brain at work.