text: They became only the eighth team in NFL history to finish a regular season undefeated, and first to do so since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, as well as only the fourth to finish undefeated and untied. The Patriots were also the first team with a perfect regular season since the NFL expanded its schedule to sixteen games in 1978. Thus, they broke the record for victories in a single regular season that had been shared by the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers, who each finished with a record of 15–1. The 1984 49ers and 1985 Bears would win Super Bowl XIX and Super Bowl XX respectively, and the 1998 Vikings and 2004 Steelers would lose their conference championship games. The 2007 Patriots are the only team in NFL history to complete a 16-game regular season undefeated, as the NFL switched to a 17-game schedule in .
  In Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants defeated the Patriots 17–14 in an upset. With the loss, the Patriots were not able to join the 1984 49ers and 1985 Bears as Super Bowl champions, failing to go 19–0 and claim their fourth Super Bowl victory. Despite this loss, the 2007 Patriots are still regarded as one of the greatest teams in NFL history, with NFL Films ranking them as the 7th-greatest team of all time in 2019.