The New England Patriots will return to the Super Bowl as AFC Champions for the third time in four years when they face the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on Feb. 6. The Patriots enter the game hoping to accomplish a feat that only one team in NFL history has ever achieved – three Super Bowl victories in a four-year span.
New England will take the field against Philadelphia just three days after the third anniversary of the first Super Bowl championship in team history. In the three seasons since their triumph in Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, the Patriots have maintained their winning tradition. In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the Patriots compiled matching 14-2 records, becoming just the third franchise in NFL history to compile back-to-back seasons of 14 or more wins. Along the way, New England established the all-time professional football record with 21 consecutive victories and followed its 2003 championship campaign (a 17-2 season that ranks among the finest ever) by matching the best regular-season record by a defending Super Bowl champion (14-2). In Super Bowl XXXIX, the 2004 Patriots will try to once again use their trademark grit and determination to power their way back to the top of the National Football League.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: Super Bowl XXXIX will be broadcast to a national audience on the Fox Network. The game can be seen in Boston on WFXT-TV Channel 25. Joe Buck will handle the play-by-play duties, while Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth will provide analysis. Pam Oliver and Chris Myers will contribute reports from the sidelines.
RADIO: WBCN 104.1 FM is the flagship station for the Patriots Rock Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 28th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. Santos and Cappelletti are celebrating their 21st season as a broadcast tandem.
NATIONAL RADIO: Super Bowl XXXIX will be broadcast to a national audience by Westwood One/CBS Radio. Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason will call all of the action from Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville. Bonnie Bernstein and John Dockery will report from the sidelines.
POSTSEASON WINNING STREAK
The Patriots have won eight consecutive playoff games, establishing the second longest playoff winning streak in NFL history. New England is one victory shy of tying the all-time record of nine straight playoff wins, accomplished by Green Bay from 1961-67. Four teams are tied for the third longest playoff win streak: Pittsburgh (1974-76), San Francisco (1988-90), Dallas (1992-94) and Denver (1997-98).
SUPER PERFORMANCES
The Patriots will play in their fifth Super Bowl, joining five other teams (San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Washington and Miami) as five-time Super Bowl participants. Only two teams in NFL history have participated in more Super Bowls than the Patriots: Dallas (8 times) and Denver (6 times).
