There’s a lot of names that pop up when I think about the names that have done the most to define Boston sports history. Larry Bird. Bill Russell. Ted Williams. Bobby Orr. Bob Cousy. Mo Lewis. … Mo Lewis?!

Despite never suiting up for the Patriots, and in fact played every one of his 14 NFL seasons for the Pats’ AFC East rival Jets, Lewis is more responsible for the Patriots’ rise from middling status to dynasty than all but a handful of guys. It was Lewis, after all, who laid the infamous (or fortuitous, depending on your perspective) sideline blow on Drew Bledsoe in Week Two of 2001 that sent the Patriots’ all-time leading passer to the bench with internal bleeding.

In comes Tom Brady. Out goes the Patriots’ mediocrity.

But what if that hit hadn’t occurred? Would Brady be just another career backup, and the Patriots just another NFL franchise? Nobody knows what would have happened, but it’s certainly a good possibility. Yeah, most quarterbacks miss some time due to injury at some point, but one or two great starts from Brady in relief wouldn’t have cemented him as the Pats’ starter. It took Bledsoe being sidelined well into the second half of the season for Brady to assert himself as the best quarterback on the roster. Even after Brady led the Pats — who, by the way, entered the season as arguably the most moribund team in the league — into the thick of the playoff hunt, there was considerable talk about Bledsoe reclaiming the spot under center.

The talks began sprouting up again after the AFC championship game, when Bledsoe led the Pats to victory over the Steelers after Brady was sidelined with a sprained ankle — or was it his knee? Does it matter?

Even after the Super Bowl, the Pats’ decision to entrust the starting gig to Brady wasn’t without its controversy. Let’s remember, this was Drew Bledsoe, the one-time No. 1 overall pick and possible Canton inductee, getting supplanted by the skinny nobody sixth-round pick from Michigan.

But, as they say, you can’t deny greatness. Right, Mo?