The
New England Patriots, commonly called the "
Pats", is a professional
football team based in the
Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of
Foxborough, Massachusetts at
Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the
East Division of the
American Football Conference (AFC) in the
National Football League (NFL). The team changed its name from the original
Boston Patriots after
relocating to Foxborough in 1971, although Foxborough is a suburb of Boston, 22 miles (35 km) away.
An original member of the
American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the
1970 merger of those leagues. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in
Super Bowl XX in January
1986, losing to the
Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in
Super Bowl XXXI in January
1997, losing to the
Green Bay Packers.
In the 2000s, the Patriots became one of the most successful teams in NFL history. They are in second with seven appearances in a Super Bowl (the
Pittsburgh Steelers and
Dallas Cowboys each have 8), and have the most appearances in the last 25 years. Between 2001–2010, the Patriots set a record for most wins in a decade (126, different from conventionally bounded decades, 2000–2009, 1990–1999, etc; this record references any ten-year stretch; 2nd is the 1984–1993 San Francisco 49ers, with 120 wins). Between
2001 and
2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the
Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (
Super Bowl XXXVI,
XXXVIII, and
XXXIX), and the eighth (and as of the present time, the last team to date) to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the
New York Giants in
Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their
2007 season. Under
quarterback Tom Brady and head coach
Bill Belichick, the Patriots have also compiled the longest
winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history, a 21-game streak from October
2003–October
2004.
Franchise history
"Pat Patriot" logo, used through 1992.
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 "Boston Patriots". Immediately thereafter,
The Boston Globe artist Phil Bissell developed the "Pat Patriot" logo.
[1]
The Patriots' time in the AFL saw them struggle most years as they never had a regular home stadium.
Nickerson Field,
Harvard Stadium,
Fenway Park, and
Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They did play in one
AFL championship game, following the
1963 season. They lost to the
San Diego Chargers 51–10. They would not appear again in an AFL or NFL
post-season game for another 13 years.
[1]
When the NFL and AFL
merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the
AFC East division, where they still play today. The following year, the Patriots moved to a
new stadium in
Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots. The name was rejected by the NFL and on March 23, 1971, the team officially announced they would become the New England Patriots.
During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success, 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. In 1985, they returned to the playoffs, and made it all the way to
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. The team would not make the playoffs again for eight more years. During the 1990 season, the Patriots went 1-15. They changed ownership three times, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by
Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to
James Orthwein in 1992. Orthwein intended to move the team to his native
St. Louis, Missouri, but sold the team two years later to current owner
Robert Kraft in 1994.
[1]
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. Also a change was made that same year to the Patriots uniforms, changing their primary colors from their traditional red and white to blue and silver, and introducing a new logo.
[2] Parcells would bring the Patriots to two playoff appearances, including
Super Bowl XXXI, 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 & 1998 before being dismissed as head coach after the 1999 season.
[1]
The Patriots' current coach Bill Belichick was hired in 2000, and a new home field,
Gillette Stadium was opened in
2002. Under Belichick, the team won three Super Bowls in four years, and 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.
[1] After advancing to
Super Bowl XLII, the team's fourth Super Bowl in seven years, the Patriots were defeated 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. Those teams, however, won the Super Bowl.
Season-by-season records
- This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Patriots. For the full season-by-season franchise results, see List of New England Patriots seasons.
Records
All-Time Patriots Leaders
| Leader | Player | Record Number | Years on Patriots |
|---|
| Passing | Tom Brady | 39,979 passing yards | 2000–present |
| Rushing | Sam Cunningham | 5,453 rushing yards | 1973–1982 |
| Receiving | Stanley Morgan | 10,352 receiving yards | 1977–1989 |
| Coaching Wins | Bill Belichick | 139 wins | 2000–present |
Rivalries
The Patriots have maintained a
rivalry with the
New York Jets, who have also been members of the
AFC East since its inception in 1970. Prior to that, both teams competed in the
American Football League since both teams' foundings in 1960. The rivalry between the Jets and Patriots has escalated since 1996, when Patriots head coach
Bill Parcells left the Patriots under controversy to become the head coach of the Jets. Four years later, Parcells' assistant, Bill Belichick, resigned the day he was named the Jets' head coach to become the head coach of the Patriots. Six years after that,
Eric Mangini, an assistant under Belichick, became the head coach of the Jets.
Meanwhile, the rise of quarterbacks
Tom Brady and
Peyton Manning in the early 2000s led to an increased rivalry between Manning's
Indianapolis Colts and Brady's Patriots. The teams met three times in four years (2003, 2004, 2006) in the playoffs, with the winner going on to win that season's
Super Bowl each time.
Other rivalries over the years have included divisional foes in the
Buffalo Bills and
Miami Dolphins, and within the last decade the
Pittsburgh Steelers whom the Patriots defeated for the AFC Championship in 2001 and 2004 and the
San Diego Chargers whom the Patriots defeated in the 2006 AFC Divisional and 2007 AFC Championship. Some older rivals that have cooled over the years include the
Denver Broncos and the
Oakland Raiders.
Strategy
Under head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have employed specific on-field and off-field strategies. On the field, the Patriots have typically utilized an "Erhardt-Perkins" offense and a "Fairbanks-Bullough"
3–4 defense, referred to commonly as a 2-gap 3–4 defensive system.
[11] Their philosophy in making personnel decisions and in game planning has focused on the "team" concept,
[12] stressing preparation, strong work ethic, versatility,
[13] and lack of individual ego.
[14] This approach, which led to three Super Bowl victories under Belichick, was analyzed in the 2004 book
Patriot Reign.
When owner Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, he did so for $175 million. Since then, the Patriots have sold out every home game in both
Foxboro Stadium and
Gillette Stadium.
[citation needed] By 2009, the value of the franchise had increased by over $1 billion, to a
Forbes magazine estimated value of $1.361 billion, third highest in the NFL.
[15][16][17] As of July 2011
[update], the Patriots are the sixth most valuable sports franchise in world according to
Forbes magazine.
[18]
Stadium
Since 2002, the Patriots' home stadium has been
Gillette Stadium, a $350 million facility privately financed by Kraft. It houses all administrative offices for the team and its owning entity,
The Kraft Group, as well as the Kraft-owned
Major League Soccer team, the
New England Revolution. The field, which was originally natural grass, was replaced with a
FieldTurf surface during the 2006 season. The area around the stadium was developed, beginning in 2007, into a $375 million "lifestyle and entertainment center" called
Patriot Place.
Prior to 2002, the Patriots played in
Foxboro Stadium dating back to 1971, the team's second year in the NFL after the AFL-NFL merger. During the team's days in the
American Football League, the
Boston Patriots were hosted by a number of fields in or around Boston.
