NFL 01/07 18:00 18 [25] NY Jets v NE Patriots [30] L 17-3
NFL 12/31 18:00 17 [30] NE Patriots v BUF Bills [8] L 21-27
NFL 12/25 01:15 16 [16] NE Patriots v DEN Broncos [11] W 26-23
NFL 12/17 18:00 15 [9] KC Chiefs v NE Patriots [31] L 27-17
NFL 12/08 01:15 14 [31] NE Patriots v PIT Steelers [10] W 21-18
NFL 12/03 18:00 13 [13] LA Chargers v NE Patriots [16] L 6-0
NFL 11/26 18:00 12 [30] NE Patriots v NY Giants [29] L 7-10
NFL 11/12 14:30 10 [19] IND Colts v NE Patriots [30] L 10-6
NFL 11/05 18:00 9 [25] WAS Commanders v NE Patriots [28] L 20-17
NFL 10/29 17:00 8 [27] NE Patriots v MIA Dolphins [7] L 17-31
NFL 10/22 17:00 7 [7] BUF Bills v NE Patriots [29] W 25-29
NFL 10/15 20:05 6 [28] NE Patriots v LV Raiders [23] L 17-21
NFL 10/08 17:00 5 [20] NO Saints v NE Patriots [27] L 34-0
NFL 10/01 20:25 4 [24] NE Patriots v DAL Cowboys [10] L 3-38
NFL 09/24 17:00 3 [28] NE Patriots v NY Jets [17] W 15-10
NFL 09/18 00:20 2 [5] MIA Dolphins v NE Patriots [23] L 24-17
NFL 09/10 20:25 1 [8] PHI Eagles v NE Patriots [8] L 25-20
NFL Preseason 08/26 00:15 - NE Patriots v TEN Titans L 7-23
NFL Preseason 08/20 00:00 - NE Patriots v GB Packers W Postponed
NFL Preseason 08/10 23:00 - HOU Texans v NE Patriots L 20-9
NFL 01/08 18:00 1 [18] NE Patriots v BUF Bills [3] L 23-35
NFL 01/01 18:00 1 [11] MIA Dolphins v NE Patriots [20] W 21-23
NFL 12/24 18:00 1 [1] CIN Bengals v NE Patriots [3] L 22-18
NFL 12/18 21:05 - [13] NE Patriots v LV Raiders [23] L 24-30
NFL 12/13 01:15 1 [16] NE Patriots v ARZ Cardinals [27] W 27-13
NFL 12/02 01:15 1 [5] BUF Bills v NE Patriots [15] L 24-10
NFL 11/25 01:20 1 [14] NE Patriots v MIN Vikings [3] L 26-33
NFL 11/20 18:00 1 [2] NY Jets v NE Patriots [4] W 3-10
NFL 11/06 18:00 1 [18] IND Colts v NE Patriots [16] W 3-26
NFL 10/30 17:00 1 [22] NE Patriots v NY Jets [7] W 22-17

Wikipedia - New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are tied for the third most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.

Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston, including Fenway park from 1963 to 1969 until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium. The team began utilizing Gillette Stadium for home games the same year.

The Patriots hold the records for most Super Bowl wins (6, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers), appearances (11), and losses (5, tied with the Denver Broncos). Generally unsuccessful prior to the 21st century, the franchise enjoyed a period of dominance under head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady from 2001 to 2019. The Brady–Belichick era, regarded as one of the greatest sports dynasties, would see the Patriots claim nearly every major Super Bowl record. Other NFL records held by the franchise include the most playoff wins (37), the most wins in a 10-year period (126 from 2003 to 2012), the longest winning streak of regular season and playoff games (21 from October 2003 to October 2004), the most consecutive winning seasons (19 from 2001 to 2019), the most consecutive conference championship appearances (8 from 2011 to 2018), the most consecutive division titles (11 from 2009 to 2019), the only undefeated 16-game regular season (2007), and the highest postseason winning percentage (.638).

History

Brief summary

Billy Sullivan, a Massachusetts native, brought professional football back to the state after a nearly eleven-year absence by founding the Patriots in 1959. His 27-year tenure of ownership did not come without controversy, however.
The Patriots were named after the colonists who rebelled against British control during the Revolutionary War, which was locally relevant due to the colony of Massachusetts playing a pivotal role in American independence. (Image: Minute Man statue in Concord, Massachusetts)

On November 16, 1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL). The following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football team's official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the "Boston Patriots", with "Patriots" referring to the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation, which heavily involved the then-colony of Massachusetts. Immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the "Pat Patriot" logo.

The Patriots never had a regular home stadium in the AFL. Nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park (shared with baseball's Boston Red Sox), and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. The 1963 season saw the franchise's first playoff win over Buffalo to clinch the division. They subsequently lost the AFL championship game to the San Diego Chargers 51–10. They did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years.

When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference (AFC) East division, where they still play. The following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots, after the state of Massachusetts. The name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22, 1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England.

During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success under head coach Chuck Fairbanks, earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976 – as a wild card team – and in 1978 – as AFC East champions. They lost in the first round both times. Under his successor, Ron Erhardt, the team finished one game out of the playoffs his first two years. The next coach, Ron Meyer, led the team to the playoffs in the strike-shortened 1982 season, and despite not having a losing record during his career, he was fired in 1984 due to poor relationships with players and management. Hall-of-Fame player Raymond Berry was hired as his replacement, and in 1985, he brought the team to its first AFC Championship and a berth in Super Bowl XX, which they lost to the Chicago Bears 46–10. Following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. Berry left the team following a disappointing 1989 season, and his replacement Rod Rust only lasted one season, 1990, during which the Patriots went 1–15. During the late 1980s and early 1990s they changed ownership several times, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992. Though Orthwein's period as owner was short and controversial, he did oversee major changes to the team, first with the hiring of former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells in 1993. Orthwein and his marketing team then defied Patriots fans' overwhelming preference and commissioned the NFL to develop a new visual identity and logo, and changed their primary colors from the traditional red, white and blue to blue and silver for the team uniforms. Orthwein intended to move the team to his native St. Louis (where it would have been renamed as the St. Louis Stallions), but instead sold the team in 1994 for $175 million to Boston paper magnate Robert Kraft, who had bought the Patriots' then-home, Foxboro Stadium, out of bankruptcy in 1988.

Continuing on as head coach under Kraft's ownership, Parcells would bring the Patriots to two playoff appearances, including Super Bowl XXXI (following the 1996 season), which they lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 35–21. Pete Carroll, Parcells's successor, would also take the team to the playoffs twice in 1997 and 1998 before being dismissed as head coach after the 1999 season.

QB Tom Brady and HC Bill Belichick were the pillars of the Patriots dynasty throughout the 2000s and 2010s. During that period (2001–2019), they led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances, winning six, as well as accumulating numerous franchise and league records. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest QB of all time, with Belichick widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time. Together, they are universally known as one of the greatest QB-HC tandems of all time.
TE Rob Gronkowski, widely regarded as one of the greatest TEs of all time, was a staple of the 2010s offenses. Nicknamed "Gronk", he holds many franchise and league records, including an NFL-record most total and receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a single season (18 total, 17 receiving), as well as most receiving touchdowns (79) in Patriots history.

In 2000 the Patriots hired head coach Bill Belichick, who had served as defensive coordinator under Parcells including during Super Bowl XXXI. Their new home field, Gillette Stadium, opened in 2002 to replace the aging Foxboro Stadium. Long-time starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who was the franchise's star throughout the 1990s, went down with a sheared blood vessel in his chest in a week two match-up in 2001 against the rival New York Jets. Backup quarterback Tom Brady, drafted by the Patriots in sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft, became the starting quarterback. Brady's successful play led to Bledsoe never getting his job back as a starter, and would serve as the franchise's starting quarterback for the next 18 years. Under Belichick and Brady, the Patriots became one of the most consistently dominant teams in the NFL, with many describing the team as a "dynasty". Within the first few seasons of the 21st century, the team won three Super Bowls in four seasons (2001, 2003, and 2004), over the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. The Patriots finished the 2007 regular season with a perfect 16–0 record, becoming only the fourth team in league history to go undefeated in the regular season, and the only one since the league expanded its regular season schedule to 16 games. After advancing to Super Bowl XLII, the team's fourth Super Bowl in seven years, the Patriots were upset by the Giants to end their bid for a 19–0 season. With the loss, the Patriots ended the year at 18–1, becoming only one of three teams to go 18–1 along with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears. However, both the Bears and 49ers lost their only game during the regular season, and both would win their respective Super Bowl.

The Patriots returned to the Super Bowl in 2011 but lost again to the Giants, 21–17. In 2014, the Patriots reached a record-tying eighth Super Bowl, where they defeated the defending champion Seattle Seahawks by a score of 28–24 to win Super Bowl XLIX for their fourth title. After Seattle had driven the ball to New England's 1-yard line with under a minute to go, New England rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler made a critical interception on Seattle's final offensive play that helped to seal the victory. New England became the first team to reach nine Super Bowls in the 2016–17 playoffs and faced the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Losing 28–3 midway through the third quarter, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. In the first overtime in Super Bowl history, the Patriots won the coin toss and scored a touchdown to claim their fifth Super Bowl victory. The Patriots extended their record to ten Super Bowl appearances in the 2017–18 playoffs but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. The Patriots returned to the championship game for a third consecutive season in Super Bowl LIII, where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3 to win their sixth Super Bowl, tying them with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowl victories in NFL history.

Following a disappointing 2019 season, in which the team lost in the first round of the playoffs, and in which the long-time Brady–Belichick partnership was strained due to Brady wanting to have more input in organizational decisions, Brady left for free agency and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To replace him, the Patriots signed veteran quarterback Cam Newton. The 2020 season, the team miss the playoffs with their first losing record, 7–9, in two decades, the team drafted Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, and released Newton after naming Jones the starting quarterback just prior to the team's first game of the 2021 season. Jones led the team to their first playoff berth without Brady since 1998, but they would lose 47–17 to the division rival Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round.

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team was founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots and played their home games at Fenway Park until 1968, when they moved to Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Patriots have a storied history, having won six Super Bowl championships (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, and LIII) and 11 conference championships. They are known for their successful and innovative coaching staff, led by head coach Bill Belichick, who has been with the team since 2000.

The team's star quarterback, Tom Brady, played for the Patriots from 2000 to 2019 and led the team to many of their Super Bowl victories. The Patriots are also known for their strong defense, which has been a key factor in their success over the years.

The team's colors are navy blue, red, and silver, and their logo features a flying Elvis. The Patriots have a loyal fan base and play their home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, which has a seating capacity of over 65,000.