As the New England Patriots prepare to take on the New York Giants Thursday night, it brought back vivid memories of the intense regular-season matchup between the rivals 12 years ago for Tom Brady's former backup quarterback.
New England was prepared to rest a majority of its starters ahead of the postseason. But Brady had a different idea and he wasn't about to come out of a back-and-forth game, jeopardizing a perfect season.
Cassel, Brady's backup for four seasons, including '07, joined Tom Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast to discuss that season finale at old Giants Stadium.
"We get into the game and it starts going back-and-forth early and all of a sudden Brady comes over to the sideline, I think at one point in the first quarter, and is like 'I'm not coming out of this [expletive] game,'" Cassel told Curran.
With a perfect season on the line, it's understandable why Brady didn't want to come out. He also threw his 50th touchdown pass of the season - at the time an NFL record - to Randy Moss in the fourth quarter. That TD catch was Moss' 23rd, still an NFL record. The Patriots ended up eking out a 38-35 win, securing a perfect season -- that is until they reached the Super Bowl about a month later, only to lose to the Giants, 17-14.
Click here for the full podcast, the '07 season finale discussion comes at the 32:45 mark.
We know Thursday's game won't have as much on the line as that meeting or their Super Bowl matchups. The Giants (2-3) are struggling, but they'll at least have a shot a ruining what - so far - is another perfect Pats season at 5-0.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.
New England Patriots
Find the latest New England Patriots news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
