It's an image ingrained in the mind of every Patriots fan.
Sept. 7, 2008, Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Tom Brady crumpled on the turf, clutching his knee, two ligaments in his knee torn after a low hit by Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. A season over before it began.
More than three years later, Brady and the Patriotswill face the Chiefs on Monday night. It will mark the first meeting between the teams since the injury, something the quarterback was reminded of during a conference call with Kansas City-area reporters this week.
"I know, I know," he said, according to the Boston Herald. "That was a very -- you know, we played them to open the season. Obviously, getting hurt the first game was a bummer for me, but I'm glad our team won. I mean, they gave us all we could handle that day. Every time we've played the Chiefs, it's been a great game."
The Patriots indeed won that matchup, 17-10, but the game remains the nadir in the quarterback's Hall of Fame career.
"It sucks to be injured," he said. "There's nobody that goes through a football season and doesn't get injured -- you just hope it isn't really a permanent injury."
Though they missed the playoffs that season, the Patriots still managed to win 11 games without their franchise quarterback. Somewhere, Jim Caldwell hangs his head in shame.
