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Playoff loss may signal end of Patriots' run

Playoff loss may signal end of Patriots' run

In the southeast corner of Gillette Stadium hang three giant blue banners, proudly displaying the logos from the Patriots’ three Super Bowl titles between the 2001 and 2004 seasons. At the other end, in the northwest corner, hangs a giant red “16-0” — a reminder of the most recent Super Bowl season in 2007.

Between them Sunday lay the wreckage of a game unlike anything the occupants of this building had ever seen before. When the Ravens were done dominating a frozen field with a 33-14 AFC wild-card victory, the proud Patriots, team of the just-completed decade, were left to absorb the significance of a historic failure.