Adam Vinatieri and the Patriots soared to new heights with their win in the "Snow Bowl" (AP)

FOXBORO — It was arguably one of the most important games in NFL history and certainly the turning point for the Patriots franchise.

The snow began falling late in the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002. It didn’t stop until well after Adam Vinatieri‘s third field goal of the night split the uprights on New England’s first possession of overtime, sending the Patriots onto Pittsburgh and the AFC championship in Pittsburgh the next week.

That was 10 years ago and Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the game that propelled Bill Belichick and Tom Brady on their way to careers that will someday be recognized with busts in Canton.

But on Thursday morning, when Belichick was asked about one of the most important games of his career, he just stopped briefly to recognize it before insisting all of the team’s focus is on making sure they’re prepared to capture the franchise’s seventh AFC championship.

“It was a great game, it was a great night and of course a lot of fond memories but [we’re] really just trying to get on to Baltimore,” Belichick said. “We’ve had a lot of big wins in the past, we’ve had a lot of great games, we’ve lost games. Right now none of those really I think have too much impact on what’s going on this week. We’re really trying to keep our sights focused on Sunday’s game. It’s a one-game season, we’ve worked all year for that. We’ve worked hard for the last six months to put ourselves in that position and now it’s time for us to go out there and do our best with it. With all due respect to other games, other teams, other situations, it’s really not the forefront now.”

So, it came as no surprise earlier when Belichick was asked by an out-of-town reporter whether offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien‘s role has changed this week and whether he’ll make a good head coach at Penn State.

“We’re definitely all focused on the game with Baltimore and that’s what our team is preparing for,” Belichick said. “He’s done what we’ve asked him to do last week and this week and hopefully we’ll be able to play well on Sunday.”