TEAM NOTES
- Kraft earns 22nd winning season in his 25th year as owner
- Patriots now have 33rd winning season, second only to Pittsburgh (35)
- Patriots earn 18th consecutive winning season
- Brady ties for all-time leader in touchdown passes (regular season and postseason)
- Brady reaches 1,000-yards rushing
- Patriots run streak to 11 straight wins at home
ROBERT KRAFT HAS 22 WINING SEASONS IN 25 YEARS OF OWNERSHIP
With the Patriots 9th victory this season the team solidified a winning record in 2018. It is the 22nd time in Robert Kraft's 25 seasons of ownership that the Patriots have finished the season with at least nine victories or above .500 for the season.
PATRIOTS EARN 33rd WINNING SEASON SINCE 1970; SECOND-MOST SINCE THE MERGER
The Patriots have 33 seasons in which the team has finished above .500 since the 1970 merger, second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers (35).
MOST WINNING SEASONS (ABOVE .500) SINCE THE 1970 MERGER
Pittsburgh 35
New England 33
Dallas 32
Miami 30
Denver 29
Minnesota 29
San Francisco 26
ANNUAL ACHIEVEMENT – PATRIOTS EARN 18TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON
The win over the Vikings improved the Patriots record to 9-3. The Patriots have won more than half of their games for 18 consecutive seasons; the first team to win more than half of their games in 18 straight seasons since free agency began in 1993 and the most consecutive winning seasons since the 1970 merger. Additionally, the Patriots are the only team in the NFL to have recorded nine or more wins in each of the last 18 seasons.
MOST CONSECUTIVE WINNING SEASONS (SINCE 1970 MERGER)
New England (2001-18) 18
San Francisco (1983-98) 16
Dallas (1970-85) 16
Oakland (1970-80) 11
MOST CONSECUTIVE WINNING SEASONS ALL-TIME
Dallas (1966-85) 20
New England (2001-18) 18
San Francisco (1983-98) 16
Oakland (1965-80) 16
Chicago (1930-44) 15
Green Bay (1934-47) 14
Cleveland (1957-69) 13
MOST SEASONS OF 9+ WINS SINCE 2001
New England 18
Indianapolis 12
Green Bay 12
Pittsburgh 12
Philadelphia 11
Seattle 11
Baltimore 10
PATRIOTS ARE THE BEST FROM DECEMBER THROUGH THE END OF THE SEASON SINCE 1994
Since Robert Kraft purchased the franchise in 1994, the New England Patriots own the NFL's best record from December through the end of the regular season. The Patriots improved to 32-4 in the month of December at Gillette Stadium.
PATRIOTS DID NOT ALLOW A SACK FOR SECOND STRAIGHT GAME; FOURTH TIME IN 2018
The Patriots did not allow a sack for the second straight game and for the fourth time in 2018, tied with New Orleans for second-most in the NFL this season. Indianapolis has not allowed a sack in five games in 2018.
PATRIOTS WIN 11TH STRAIGHT AT HOME GAME
The Patriots won their 11th straight regular season game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots are 6-0 at Gillette Stadium so far in 2018.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
BELICHICK LEADS PATRIOTS TO 18TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON
Bill Belichick has now led the Patriots to 18 straight winning seasons. Belichick has the second-most consecutive winning season all time, trailing only Tom Landry with 20.
BELICHICK IS GOOD IN DECEMBER
Bill Belichick is 65-13 (.833) in December with New England, the best record in December among head coaches with one team in NFL history (min. 25 games). George Seifert is second (27-6, .818).
BRADY TIES MARK FOR MOST OVERALL TOUCHDOWNS
Brady tied the record for most overall touchdowns (including the postseason) with his 24-yard touchdown pass to WR Josh Gordon in the third quarter. He now has 579 total touchdowns, which is tied with Peyton Manning. He is now tied with Brett Favre for third all-time with 508 career regular season touchdowns.
BRADY REMAINS UNDEFEATED AGAINST MINNESOTA
Minnesota is one of five NFL teams that Tom Brady has an undefeated regular-season record against. Brady improved to a 5-0 record against the Vikings.
BRADY HAS MOST INTER-CONFERENCE WINS SINCE 1970
Tom Brady has the wins win in inter-conference games since 1970 with 52 career wins.
MOST WINS IN INTERCONFERENCE GAMES SINCE 1970
Tom Brady 52
Peyton Manning 46
Brett Favre 43
Ben Roethlisberger 38
Dan Marino 37
BRADY IS GOOD IN DECEMBER
Brady is 59-11 (.843) in December, the second-best winning percentage in December among quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with at least 20 starts. Roger Staubach is first (17-3, .850). Brady's 59 December wins are the most in NFL history, followed by the 52 by Brett Favre and the 49 by Peyton Manning. Brady is 31-4 all-time in December at Gillette stadium.
BRADY GOES OVER 300 YARDS
Tom Brady threw for over 300 yards for the fourth time this season after finishing with 311 yards. He is third all-time with 86 career 300-yard games. The Patriots are 72-14 when he goes over 300 yards.
Most 300-yard Games in NFL History
Drew Brees 114
Peyton Manning 93
Tom Brady 86
Dan Marino 63
BRADY REACHES 1,000 YARDS IN THE MOST AMOUNT OF GAMES
Tom Brady reached 1,000 yards rushing on a 5-yard run in the first quarter in his 265th game, the most games in NFL history that it has taken a player to reach the milestone. Before Brady, YA Tittle held the record. Tittle reached 1,000 yards rushing in his 161st NFL game. Tittle then fell below 1,000 yards in the same game and finished his NFL career with 999 yards rushing. He joins Steve Grogan (2,176) as the only Patriots quarterbacks with over 1,000 rushing yards. Brady has lost 234 yards on 227 times when he has taken a knee.
Most Rushing Yards By Patriots Quarterbacks
Steve Grogan 2,176
Tom Brady 1,000
Babe Parilli 949
WHITE ON RECORD-SETTING PACE
RB James White has 74 receptions in 2018 and is on pace to finish the season with 99 receptions. Eight NFL running backs have finished a season with 90 or more receptions.
WHITE NEARING TEAM MARK FOR MOST RECEPTIONS IN A SEASON BY A RUNNING BACK.
White set a single-season career high with his 74 receptions so far in 2018. His previous best was the 60 receptions he had in 2016. He needs four receptions to set the team record for most receptions by a running back in a season.
WHITE HAS SECOND-MOST RECEIVING YARDS
White had 92 yards receiving against Minnesota, second to the 115 receiving yards he had vs. Philadelphia on Dec. 6, 2015. He has a career-best, 659 yards receiving so far in 2018 and needs 26 receiving yards to set the team record . The Patriots record for most receiving yards by a running back is 684 by Tony Collins in 1986
FB JAMES DEVELIN SCORES TWO TOUCHDOWNS;
HAD STREAK OF THREE RUSHING ATTEMPTS THAT RESULTED IN THREE TOUCHDOWNS
FB James Develin scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter for his first two-touchdown game. He had a streak of three straight rushing attempts that resulted in three touchdowns with a 1-yard touchdowns run at Tennessee on Nov. 11. He added two more rushes against Minnesota, one that converted a third-and-one situation in the fourth quarter.
HARMON IS CLUTCH IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
DB Duron Harmon has 11 interceptions in the fourth quarter, including the postseason, since 2013 after his fourth quarter interception in the end zone against Minnesota. It was his sixth interception in the end zone overall.
LINEUP NOTES
RB REX BURKHEAD RETURNS TO ACTION
RB Rex Burkhead returned to action after being activated to the 53-man roster after a stint on injured reserve. It was his first game back since playing at Detroit on Sept. 23. He finished with 7 rushes for 20 yards and caught 2 passes for 21 yards.
DB NATE EBNER RETURNS TO ACTION
DB Nate Ebner returned to action after missing one game due to injury.
ROOKIE DB J.C. JACKSON MAKES FIRST NFL START
Rookie DB J.C. Jackson made his first NFL start when the Patriots opened in the nickel defense.
