Patriots Then, Patriots Now

This Week in 1776, Week 7

I bet the New England Patriots thought it would be cool to win the Super Bowl in 2026 with those sweet USA250 patches on their jerseys, but guess what? You got beat by a Jets QB on the biggest stage imaginable. (I laugh, but I’m a Colts fan, so do what you must.)

Anyway, 250 years before Drake Maye got bodied seventeen ways to Super Bowl Sunday, Boston was also getting mogged by a 6’2” unit with a bit of rust in his beard: back then it was George Washington, keeping Beantown good and sieged, although he wanted to keep the Brits from finding out that he was actually low on powder.

On February 8th, 1776, a sloop called Macaroni sailed into Connecticut with around four tons of gunpowder, which Washington then sent around to various points to fortify the Army, securing his grip on Boston.

Three days later on February 11th, Washington surveyed the artillery south of the city (along with Henry Knox, who would one day be Secretary of War). The intel he gathered would become applicable in March when…well, let’s hold off on that, no spoilers.

Up north around Valentine’s Day, Major General Charles Lee worked on similar fortifications around New York and the Continental Army generally busied itself with these actions over the coming days. The spring thaw was coming, and with it, both sides would be able to resume aggressive action. The Patriots wanted to be in the best position possible to fend off what was at the the time the most powerful army in the world.

But much like Mike Vrabel’s team, this New England offense’s best days were behind it. They might sneak in a few points here and there, but the Continentals had God and Washington on their side.

Anyway, that’s it for this week.