Sometimes you don’t have to win a championship to be special. Sometimes you can be near-perfect and scandal-ridden. This is the story of the 2007 New England Patriots, who began the year under a cloud of controversy that followed them on their historic run through an undefeated regular season that fell just painfully short of immortality. The details surrounding Spygate seem ludicrous and stunning well over a decade later. But it was also a year when Tom Brady took a leap that no one saw coming, a star wide receiver was reborn, and the execution of one of the greatest trades ever - only to see it come to a shocking end, and the Patriots have no one but themselves to blame. The 2007 New England Patriots. Perfection denied.

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