Global InformationList of New England Patriots seasons information
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston town of Foxborough, Massachusetts. They play in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. Originally called the Boston Patriots, the team was founded as one of eight charter members of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 under the ownership of Billy Sullivan.[1] The team became part of the NFL when the two leagues merged in 1970. The following year, they moved from Boston to nearby Foxborough, and changed their name to the New England Patriots.[2]
The modern NFL championship game, the Super Bowl, was founded in the 1966 season; the first four were contested between the champions of the AFL and the NFL.[3] After the merger, the Super Bowl became the united league's championship. The Patriots made the 1963 AFL Championship Game, but struggled severely in the early years of the united league, not making the postseason until 1976. After a stretch of only one losing season in 13 years, including a Super Bowl appearance against a champion Bears outfit, the Patriots reached a nadir between 1989 and 1993 when they won only 19 of 80 games.
During Bill Belichick's tenure as the team's head coach from 2000 to 2023, the Patriots won six Super Bowls, nine AFC Championship Games, and sixteen AFC East titles, earning an overall regular season record of 266–121.[4] Tom Brady, who was the team's quarterback from 2000 until 2019, was awarded the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP)[5][6] three times, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player four times (he later won another Super Bowl MVP with the Buccaneers); he is one of only five players named Super Bowl MVP more than once, and the only one named more than three times.[7]
The Patriots have won six Super Bowl championships (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, and LIII). They also played in and lost Super Bowls XX, XXXI, XLII, XLVI, and LII. During the 2007 regular season, the Patriots became the only NFL team in history to win 16 games, and the first since the 1972 Miami Dolphins (in a 14-game season) to complete the regular campaign undefeated.[8] Belichick's Patriots are one of only two teams to win three Super Bowls in four years (the other being the Dallas Cowboys from 1993 to 1996).[9]
Overall, the Patriots have made 27 playoff appearances, one of which was before the merger. Since the merger, they have played fifteen AFC Championship Games, winning eleven of them to advance to the Super Bowl.[10] In the Patriots' 58-year history, they have an overall regular season record of 500 wins, 391 losses, and 9 ties, plus an overall postseason record of 37 wins and 20 losses. In the 2018 NFL season, the Patriots reached their 11th Super Bowl, breaking their own record for most Super Bowl appearances by any organization of all time.[11] The Patriots had 19 consecutive winning seasons from 2001–2019, the 2nd-longest streak in NFL history, behind the Dallas Cowboys' record of 20.[12]
- ^ Litsky, Billy (February 24, 1998). "Billy Sullivan, 86, Founder Of Football Patriots, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (September 13, 2009). "Boston: Home of the Patriots once again". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ Cross, B. Duane (January 22, 2001). "The AFL: A Football Legacy". CNN Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
- ^ "Bill Belichick Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
2007MVPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
2010MVPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Super Bowl History". National Football League. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ "Patriots Beat Giants 38–35 to Become First Undefeated NFL Team in 35 Years". FOX News. December 30, 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ "Patriots Win Third Super Bowl in Four Years". FOX News. February 7, 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
- ^ "2006 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ "Super Bowl Standings". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on January 21, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
- ^ Patriots Stumble Keeps Cowboys Record Intact, Dallas Cowboys, January 12, 2021, archived from the original on 11 March 2024, retrieved 29 February 2024