TEAM NOTES
- Patriots off to 8-0 record for 3rd time in team history
- Patriots have six non-offensive touchdowns in 2019
- Patriots extend mark to 13 straight wins dating back to 2018, including the postseason
- Patriots win 17th straight regular season home game
- Patriots guaranteed to finish at least .500 for 19th straight season
- Bill Belichick becomes third NFL head coach to win 300
8-0 START TO THE SEASON
The Patriots are off to an 8-0 start for the 3rd time in team history (2007, 2015 and 2019).
PATRIOTS BECOME FIFTH DEFENDING SUPER BOWL CHAMPION TO START 8-0 OR BETTER
The 2019 Patriots became the fifth defending Super Bowl champion to start a season with a record of 8-0 or better, joining Green Bay (2011, 13-0), Denver (1998,13-0), San Francisco (1990, 10-0) and New England (2015, 10-0)
PATRIOTS WILL FINISH .500 OR BETTER FOR 19TH STRAIGHT SEASON
The win over Cleveland guarantees that the Patriots will finish with a record of at least .500. for the 19th straight season. The Patriots are the only NFL team to finish with a record of .500 or better in each of the last 18 years (2001-18). Each of the other 31 NFL teams has had at least one losing season since 2001. The Patriots have the second-longest streak at .500 or better, behind the Dallas Cowboys' (1965-85) streak of 21 straight years.
Most consecutive seasons with
A .500 or better record
Team Seasons Consecutive Seasons
Dallas..................... 1965-85................................ 21
New England..... 2001-present........................... 19
Cleveland............... 1957-73................................ 17
PATRIOTS WIN 17TH STRAIGHT HOME GAME
The Patriots won their 17th straight home game, the third longest streak in team history.
LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK/PATRIOTS HISTORY
(Regular Season Only)
Streak First Win Last Win
20................ Dec. 21, 2008......... Oct. 16, 2011
18................ Dec. 29, 2002.......... Sept. 8, 2005
17................ Oct. 22, 2017.................. Present
16................ Dec. 30, 2012......... Dec. 28, 2014
12............... Nov. 26, 2006......... Sept. 7, 2008
10............... Sept. 18, 1976......... Oct. 30, 1977
THE PATRIOTS EXTEND MARK TO 27 UNDEFEATED MONTHS SINCE 2000;
UNDEFEATED IN BOTH SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
The Patriots finished the month of October with a perfect 4-0 record to follow a perfect 4-0 record in September. The Patriots now have 27 undefeated months since 2000. It is the most undefeated months in the NFL over that span. Indianapolis is second with 16 undefeated months during that time.
PATRIOTS UNDEFEATED MONTHS
SINCE THE 2000 SEASON (Excluding January)
2001.................................................. December
2003............... October, November, December
2004............................. September, November
2005.................................................. December
2006..................................................... October
2007 September, October, November, December
2008.................................................. December
2010.................................. October, December
2011.................................................. December
2012................................................. November
2013................................................ September
2014..................................................... October
2015................................. September, October
2016.............................. September, December
2017................................................. November
2018..................................................... October
2019................................. September, October
PATRIOTS IMPROVE TO 42-0 AGAINST AFC TEAMS WITH BRADY AND EDELMAN
The Patriots are 42-0 at home against AFC teams when Tom Brady and Julian Edelman are in the lineup together in the regular season.
PATRIOTS HAVE WON 13 STRAIGHT GAMES DATING BACK TO 2018
The Patriots have now won 13 straight games dating back to the 2018 season, including the postseason.
2019 PATRIOTS SECOND HAVE LARGEST POINT DIFFERENTIAL THROUGH FIRST EIGHT GAMES
The 2019 Patriots have a+189 point differential through the first eight games of the season, second to the 2007 Patriots team that had a +204 point differential through the first eight games during the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
SECOND LARGEST POINT DIFFERENTIAL THROUGH EIGHT GAMES
SUPER BOWL ERA (SINCE 1966)
Season Team Own Opp Diff
2007 New England Patriots 331 127 +204
2019 New England Patriots 250 61 +189
1991 Washington Redskins 248 95 +153
1999 St. Louis Rams 265 118 +147
1968 Dallas Cowboys 268 122 +146
1996 Green Bay Packers 227 92 +141
LARGEST POINT DIFFERENTIAL SUPER BOWL ERA (Since 1966)
Season Team Own Opp Diff
2007 New England Patriots 589 274 +315
1999 St. Louis Rams 526 242 +284
1991 Washington Redskins 485 224 +261
NEW ENGLAND TOPS THE NFL IN TURNOVER MARGIN THROUGH EIGHT GAMES
New England tops the NFL in turnover margin through the first eight games with a +17 differential (25 takeaways and 8 giveaways). The Patriots highest turnover margin was +28 in 2010. The Patriots record for turnovers in a season is 41 in 2003 (29 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries). Baltimore has the most since 2000 with 49 takeaways in 2000. The Patriots are on pace to finish with 50 takeaways. The NFL record for most takeaways in a season is the 1984 Seattle Seahawks with 63.
Largest Turnover Margin Through Eight Games Since 1970
Team Season Turnover Margin
Baltimore Colts 1977 +22
Cincinnati Bengals 2005 +20
Denver Broncos 1984 +18
Kansas City Chiefs 2003 +18
New England Patriots 2019 +17
Minnesota Vikings 1983 +17
MOST TAKEAWAYS IN A SEASON SINCE 1970
Team Season Takeaways
Seattle Seahawks 1994 63
Washington Redskins 1983 61
Philadelphia Eagles 1989 56
Pittsburgh Steelers 1973 55
Denver Broncos 1984 55
PATRIOTS DEFENSE ON PACE TO FINSIH WITH 62 SACKS;
FIFTH GAME IN 2019 WITH AT LEAST FIVE SACKS.
The Patriots defense finished with five sacks, the fifth time in 2019 that the team has had at least five sacks in a game. The Patriots now have 31 sacks in 2019 and are on pace to finish with 62 sacks for the season. The 1984 Chicago Bears have the record with 72 sacks in 1984. The franchise record for most sacks in a season was 66 in 1963 (14 games). The team record for most sacks in a 16-game season is 57 in 1979. The Patriots record for most sacks under Bill Belichick is 49 in 2015.
Most Sacks in a Season in NFL History
Team Year Sacks Sacks through First Eight Games
Chicago 1984 72 27
Minnesota 1989 71 42
Chicago 1987 70 45
NY Giants 1985 68 38
PATRIOTS SACKS IN 2019
Opponent Week Sacks
Pittsburgh Steelers 1 1
Miami Dolphins 2 7
New York Jets 3 5
Buffalo Bills 4 5
Washington Redskins 5 6
New York Giants 6 1
New York Jets 7 1
Cleveland Browns 8 5
PATRIOTS HAVE RECORDED AN INTERCEPTION IN ALL NINE GAMES IN 2019
The Patriots defense has recorded an interception in all nine games of 2019 after DL Lawrence Guys recorded his first career interception in the first quarter. The Patriots team record for most consecutive games with an interception to start a season was in 1985 with at least one interception in the first 11 games of the season. The Patriots team record for most consecutive games with an interception is 12 games in 2003.
PATRIOTS CONVERT ON FOURTH DOWN FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK
The Patriots converted on fourth down for the second straight week when Tom Brady completed a 10-yard pass to WR Julian Edelman on a fourth-and-7 situation from the Cleveland 33-yard line to keep a drive alive that ended with a field goal in the first quarter. In the win at the Jets, the Patriots converted their first fourth-down attempt of the 2019 season when Brady completed a 7-yard pass to TE Ben Watson on a fourth-and-6 from the Jets 35-yard line in the first quarter. Brady converted another fourth-down attempt later in the second quarter when he connected with WR Mohamed Sanu Sr. on a 4-yard pass on a fourth-and-4 situation.
PATRIOTS NOW HAVE SIX NON-OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS
The Patriots now have six non-offensive touchdowns after LB Dont'a Hightower returned a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. They returned two blocked punts for touchdowns, two interceptions for touchdowns and returned two fumbles for touchdowns. The Patriots record for most non-offensive touchdowns in a season is 9 in 2010 and 1961.
CLEVELAND HAD TURNOVERS ON THREE STRAIGHT PLAYS IN THE FIRST QUARTER
Cleveland RB Nick Chubb lost fumbles on back-to-back plays in the first quarter and then on the next offensive play QB Baker Mayfield had a pass intercepted. It is the first time that a team has had three straight plays result in a turnover since the Miami Dolphins had three consecutive turnovers in Week 1 of the 2012 season vs. Houston. It is the seventh time it has happened to a team since 2000.
PATRIOTS ONE POINT AWAY FROM 2018 FIRST QUARTER POINTS TOTAL
In 2018, the Patriots scored 88 points in the first quarter all season and allowed 80 points. This year, the Patriots have scored 87 and allowed 7 through 8 games.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
BELICHICK BECOMES THIRD COACH WITH 300 CAREER WINS; IS THE FASTEST TO 300 WINS
Bill Belichick became the third NFL coach to reach 300 career victories, joining Don Shula and George Halas as the only NFL head coaches to achieve the feat. Belichick achieved the feat in 434 games, faster than Shula (445 games) and Halas (455 games). Shula finished his career with 347 career wins, while Halas walked away with 324 victories
Head Coach Team (s) W L T
Don Shula BAL/MIA 347 173 6
George Halas Chicago 324 151 31
Bill Belichick CLE/NE 300 134 0
LB DONT'A HIGHTOWER SCORES SECOND NFL TOUCHDOWN
LB Dont'a Hightower recovered a fumble and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter vs. Cleveland, his 94th regular season game as a Patriot (109th including playoffs). It was the second touchdown of his career. His first touchdown was scored in his first game as a Patriot on Sept. 9, 2012 at Tennessee.
DL LAWRENCE GUY HAS FIRST NFL INTERCEPTION; ALSO FORCED A FUMBLE
DL Lawrence Guy had his first NFL interception in the first quarter when he picked off a QB Baker Mayfield pass at the Cleveland 16-yard line to help set up a Patriots touchdown. Earlier in the game, Guy was credited with the forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Hightower.
LB JAMIE COLLINS SR. SETS SINGLE-SEASON HIGH FOR SACKS
LB Jamie Collins Sr. had a 9-yard sack in the third quarter and combined with DL Adam Butler on a 10-yard sacks in the fourth quarter to push his season total to 6 sacks, a single season career-high. His previous high was 5 ½ sacks in 2015 with New England.
EDELMAN HAS FIFTH GAME WITH TWO TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS
WR Julian Edelman had his fifth career game with two touchdown receptions after catching an 8-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 14-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. It is his first since Oct. 29, 2015 vs. Miami.
PATRIOTS IMRPOVE TO 22-1 WHEN EDELMAN SCORES AT LEAST ONCE SINCE 2014
The Patriots improved to 22-1 since 2014 (including postseason) when Edelman has at least one touchdown in a game.
LB JAMIE COLLINS HAS 16TH 10-PLUS TACKLE GAME
LB Jamie Collins finished with a team-leading 13 total tackles, his 16th game with at least 10 tackles. He had a career-best 15 total tackles on Dec. 11, 2016 vs. Cincinnati when he played for Cleveland.
WHITE MOVES TO SECOND ON PATRIOTS RECEIVING YARDS FOR RUNNING BACKS
RB James White moved into second place on the Patriots all-time Patriots running backs after moving past Larry Garron in the third quarter with a 59-yard reception from Tom Brady. White now has 2,522 receiving yards, behind Kevin Faulk (3,701). White entered the game needing 56 yards to move past Garron.
RB Receiving yards IN PATRIOTS HISTORY
Player Seasons Receiving Yards
Kevin Faulk.................. 1999-2011................. 3,701
James White............. 2014-present............... 2,522
Larry Garron.................. 1960-68................... 2,502
Tony Collins.................. 1981-87................... 2,356
WHITE HAS THIRD PASS RECEPTION OF OVER 50 YARDS
White's 59-yard reception in the third quarter is his third pass reception of 50 or more yards. He had a 68-yard reception at Miami on Jan. 3, 2016 and a 61-yard reception vs. Baltimore on Dec. 12, 2016.
BUTLER SETS SINGLE SEAOSN CAREER HGH IN SACKS WITH SECOND TWO-SACK GAME OF 2019
DL Adam Butler had a 10-yard sack in the second quarter to set a new single season career high with 3 ½ sacks on the year. He combined with DL Chase Winovich and Jamie Collins on half sacks for his second two-sack game of the 2019 season. He also had two sacks on Sept. 15, 2019 at Miami. He now has 4 ½ sacks on the year. His previous best was 3 sacks in 2018.
LINEUP NOTES
OL JAMES FERENTZ MAKES FIRST NFL START
OL James Ferentz made his first NFL start when he started at right guard in place of Shaq Mason, who was out due to injury.
DB JUSTIN BETHEL MAKES HIS PATRIOTS DEBUT
DB Justin Bethel made his Patriots debut after being acquired earlier in the week.
WR MOHAMED SANU MAKES HIS PATRIOTS DEBUT
WR Mohamed Sanu made his Patriots debut after being acquired in a trade with Atlanta earlier in the week. His first pass reception as a Patriots came on a 4-yard pass for a first down on a fourth-and-4 deep in Cleveland territory in the second quarter. He finished with two receptions for 23 yards.
RB REX BURKHEAD RETURNS TO ACTION
RB Rex Burkhead returned to action after missing three straight games due to injury.
DB PATRICK CHUNG RETURNS TO ACTION
DB Patrick Chung returned to action after missing the game last week due to injury and was in the starting lineup.
