House That Hank Built
Fansided

Super Bowl: Comparing Atlanta Braves Run in 90s to New England Patriots

By Jake Mastroianni

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 20: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots reacts after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime during the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Patriots defeated the Chiefs 37-31. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 20: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots reacts after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime during the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Patriots defeated the Chiefs 37-31. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New England Patriots are in the middle of an amazing streak of success reaching another Super Bowl. We look at how that compares to the Atlanta Braves in the 90s and early 2000s.

On Sunday the New England Patriots will make their third straight Super Bowl appearance after winning their division for the 10th straight year. That’s only four short of what the Atlanta Braves did from 1991-2005.

Now, the obvious difference between these two great runs will be the championships. The Atlanta Braves only won one World Series during their 14-year dynasty, while the Patriots will be trying to win their sixth since 2001.

But I could make the argument that it’s much harder to win a World Series than a Super Bowl, and I would be right.

Still, what the New England Patriots have done in the last 18 years is amazing.

The Atlanta Braves had a similar run in the 90s and early 2000s winning 14 straight division titles and competing in five World Series from 1991-1999.

During that stretch, the Braves also appeared in nine championship series. By comparison, the Patriots have been to 13 AFC Championship games from 2001-2018.

More from Tomahawk Take

While the New England Patriots don’t have the consecutive division title streak that the Braves had — yet — they have won their division in 16 of the last 18 years.

That to me shows just how amazing the Braves streak really was. To me, it’s a lot easier to win a division in the NFL when you have a quarterback like Tom Brady — and when you play in a weak division like the Patriots do.

While football is certainly a team game, one player can win you a game, and the Patriots have that one player in Brady.

When you compare that to baseball, it’s just not possible, otherwise Mike Trout would have the Angels in the World Series every year.

But the Atlanta Braves were able to sustain that success over 14 years despite the difficulties of doing so in baseball. And yes:  they did have four Hall of Fame players on their team for the majority of that run (and five if you include Andruw Jones, which I do).

That’s to take nothing away from what the Patriots have done. What they have done over nearly two decades is beyond amazing and will likely never be done again.

Braves Rumors: One Last Mock Trade Proposal for J.T. Realmuto. dark. Next

But as the Patriots play for another Super Bowl on Sunday, don’t lose sight of just how incredible the Braves run was from 1991-2005.

Home/Braves News