SUSTAINED SUCCESS: PATRIOTS TO FINISH ABOVE .500 FOR 11th STRAIGHT SEASON
With their eighth win of the 2011 season, the Patriots are guaranteed to finish the season with a record of .500 or better for the 11th consecutive year. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, the Patriots will be the only NFL team to finish with a record of .500 or better in each of the last 11 years (2001-2011). Each of the other 31 NFL teams had at least one losing season between 2001 and 2010.
BRADY TIES JOHNNY UNITAS WITH 119 CAREER WINS
Tom Brady earned his 119th win as a starting quarterback to tie Johnny Unitas for the 6th-most regular-season wins by starting QB in NFL history.
BRADY ONE TD AWAY FROM TYING UNITAS FOR SEVENTH IN TDS
Brady threw three touchdowns and now has 289 career touchdowns. He needs one more to tie Johnny Unitas for seventh place with 290 touchdowns. Warren Moon is in sixth place with 291. John Elway is in fifth with 300.
TOM BRADY MOVES PAST DAVE KREIG INTO 14th ON THE NFL PASSING YARDS LIST
Brady (38,371) moved past Dave Krieg (38,147) into 14th place on the NFL's all-time passing list. Drew Brees is in 13th place with 38,592 passing yards (prior to the Monday Night game).
BRADY HAS HIS 41ST 300-YARD GAME
Brady threw for 361 yards for his 41ST career 300-yard game and his seventh 300-yard game of the 2011 season. He also had seven 300 yard games in 2009. The most 300-yard games by Brady in a single season is eight in 2007. The NFL record for most 300-yard games in a season is 10 by Drew Brees (2008) and Rich Gannon (2002).
MOST 300-YARD PASSING GAMES IN NFL HISTORY
Peyton Manning 63
Dan Marino 63
Brett Favre 62
Kurt Warner 52
Dan Fouts 51
Drew Brees 51
Warren Moon 49
Tom Brady 41
Joe Montana 39
TOM BRADY NEARING 30 TOUCHDOWNS
Tom Bradythrew three touchdowns and now has 28 for the season. He needs two more to reach 30 touchdowns. It will mark his third season with 30 or more touchdowns.
MOST SEASONS WITH 30-PLUS TOUCHDOWN PASSES
Brett Favre 9
Peyton Manning 6
Dan Marino 4
Drew Brees 3
WELKER REGISTERS 21th CAREER 100-YARD GAME
Wes Welker registered his 21th career 100-yard game and his sixth of the 2011 season after finishing with 115 against Philadelphia. He matched his personal record of six 100-yard receiving games in a season. He also had six in 2009. The Patriots record for most 100-yard receiving games in a season is nine by Randy Moss in 2007 and Stanley Morgan in 1986.
WELKER RECORDS SEVENTH AND EIGHTH TD OF THE YEAR
Wes Welker scored on a 41-yard reception in the second quarter for his seventh touchdown of the season. He caught a 9-yard touchdown in the third quarter for his eighth touchdown of the season. The eight touchdowns in 2011 receptions match his total in 2007 for a personal career-high. The first touchdown was his 29th receiving touchdown with the Patriots to move out of a tie with Russ Francis (28) into sole possession of 8th place on the Patriots all-time list. He now has 30 career touchdowns with the Patriots. Troy Brown is in 7th place with 31 touchdown receptions.
WELKER HAS HIS 8TH CAREER TWO-TOUCHDOWN GAME
Welker scored two touchdowns for his eighth career two-touchdown game and his third of the 2011 season. He also had two touchdowns at Miami on Sept. 12 and at Buffalo on Sept. 25.
PATRIOTS TIGHT ENDS ARE TOUCHDOWN MACHINES
Rob Gronkowski has 11 touchdowns in 2011, while Aaron Hernandez has five. The tandem has totaled 16 touchdown receptions through 11 games this season, comprising more than half of Tom Brady's total of 28 scoring tosses.
GRONKOWSKI NEARING ALL-TIME TIGHT END TOUCHDOWN MARK
Gronkowski set the Patriots record for most touchdowns by a tight end with 10 as a rookie in 2010 and broke that record with his 11th touchdown on a 24-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. The NFL record for most touchdowns in a season by a tight end is 13 by Vernon Davis (SF in 2009) and Antonio Gates (SD in 2004).
GRONKOWSKI LEADS ALL TIGHT ENDS IN TOUCHDOWNS SINCE 2010
Rob Gronkowski has 21 touchdowns since the start of the 2010 season, the most among all NFL tight ends during that time.
Most Touchdowns by a Tight End Since 2010
Player (Touchdowns)
Rob Gronkowski 21
Jason Witten 14
Antonio Gates 14
Tony Gonzalez 13
GRONKOWSKI THIRD ON PATRIOTS LIST FOR TOUCHDOWNS BY A TIGHT END
Gronkowski is third on the Patriots all-time touchdown list by a tight end with 21, behind Ben Coates (50) and Russ Francis (28).
GRONKOWSKI ON PACE TO SET PATRIOTS TIGHT END RECEIVING YARD RECORD
Rob Gronkowski has 864 receiving yards on 60 receptions and is on pace to finish with 87 receptions for 1,256 yards. The Patriots record for most receiving yards by a tight end is Ben Coates with 1,174 in 1994. The Patriots record for most receptions by a tight end is 96 by Coates in 1994. The NFL record for most yards by a tight end is 1,290 by Kellen Winslow in 1980 with San Diego. Gronkowski's pace would be second all-time by a tight end.
CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH AT LEAST ONE TOUCHDOWN PASS CONTINUES FOR BRADY
Tom Brady has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 27 straight regular season games, extending his team mark with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker in the second quarter. Brady's current streak started when he threw a touchdown pass in all 16 games in 2010 and he has now achieved the feat in all 11 games in 2011. The old team record was 19 games, also set by Brady. The NFL record is 47 set by Johnny Unitas (1956-7), followed by Drew Brees with 37 and Brett Favre with 36.
BRADY ON PACE TO SET ALL-TIME PASSING NUMBERS
After throwing for 361 yards against the Eagles and 3,627 yards through 11 games this year, Tom Brady is on pace to finish the season with 5,276 passing yards. Only two NFL players have thrown for 5,000 or more yards in a season with Dan Marino's NFL record 5,084 in 1984 and Drew Brees' 5,069 in 2008. The most yards Brady has ever thrown in a season is 4,806 in 2007.
BRADY ON PACE FOR SECOND CAREER 40 TOUCHDOWN SEASON
Brady has 28 touchdown passes through 10 games and is on pace for 41 touchdown passes. If Brady reaches 40 touchdowns he will be just the second player in NFL history to have two seasons with 40 or more touchdown throws. Dan Marino had 48 touchdowns in 1984 and 44 in 1986.
WELKER IS STREAKING
Wes Welker extended his streak to 72 straight regular-season games with at least one reception as a member of the Patriots to extend his franchise record. Welker has an overall streak of 89 straight regular-season games with at least one reception, including his time with the Miami Dolphins. Welker has caught at least one pass in each of his 76 games with the Patriots, including four postseason games. The last time that Welker did not catch a pass in a game was December 24, 2005 when he was with Miami.
BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS TAKES SOLE POSSESSION OF 7TH PLACE
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter for his 24th rushing touchdown to move out of a tie with Don Calhoun(23) into sole possession of 7th place on the Patriots rushing list. Curtis Martin and Tony Collins are next on the list with 32 touchdowns.
GREEN-ELLIS HAS FIFTH CAREER TWO-TOUCHDOWN GAME
Green-Ellis scored on a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 1-yard run in the second quarter for his fifth career two-touchdown game and his second two-touchdown game of the season. He also had two touchdowns on Oct. 9, 2011 in the win vs. New York Jets.
PATRIOTS WIN WHEN GREEN-ELLIS SCORES
The Patriots are 19-1 (.950) when Green-Ellis has a rushing touchdown in a game. The only Patriots loss was a 2008 game at Indianapolis.
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BRANCH SETS UP A TOUCHDOWN WITH A 63-YARD RECEPTION**
Deion Branch set up the Patriots second touchdown with a 63-yard reception in the second quarter, his longest play since a 79-yard touchdown reception vs. Detroit on Nov. 29, 2010. It is his third reception of 60 or more yards as a member of the Patriots and his fifth play of 60 or more yards overall.
BRANCH GOES OVER 100 YARDS
Branch registered his 11th career 100-yard game and the eighth as a member of the Patriots after finishing with 125 yards. It is his second 100-yard game of the season after he has 129 yards vs. San Diego on Sept. 18.
TWO PLAYERS WITH 100 YARDS FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN 2011
Both Wes Welker and Deion Branch went over 100 yards receiving, marking the fourth time that the Patriots had a game with two players over 100 yards receiving.
- Welker (160) and Aaron Hernandez (103) at Miami on Sept. 12
- Welker (217) and Rob Gronkowski (109) at Buffalo on Sept. 25
- Welker (136) and Gronkowski (101vs. NY Giants on Nov. 6
ANTWAUN MOLDEN REGISTERS FIRST CAREER INTERCEPTION
Antwaun Molden registered his first career interception when he picked off Vince Young in the second quarter.
RYAN WENDELL MAKES THIRD CAREER START AND FIRST START AT CENTER
Ryan Wendell made his first ever start at center in place of Dan Connolly, who is out with an injury. Wendell made his first two starts at right guard in the final two games of 2010 in place of Connolly.
LB TRACY WHITE MAKES THIRD CAREER START AND FIRST SINCE 2004
LB Tracy White started at linebacker, marking his third career start and first since he started two games in his second NFL season in 2004.
PATRIOTS GO OVER 30 POINTS FOR THE 8TH TIME IN 2011
The Patriots finished the season with 30 points for the eighth time in 2011. The patriots scored 30 or more points 11 times in 2010, second in team history to the team-record 12 games with 30 or more points in 2007. The Patriots are 67-3 under head coach Bill Belichick when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
STRONG IN THE SECOND HALF
Since 2001, New England has done a remarkable job of finishing the season strong, compiling an NFL-best 62-15 (.805) record in games on or after Thanksgiving, including a 6-1 record in 2010.
