DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP AND PLAYOFF NOTESThe Patriots won the AFC East Championship with the victory today. New England has now qualified for the playoffs 17 times in its 50-year history. The Patriots have earned 11 playoff berths in the 16 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, a dramatic contrast to the six total playoff berths that the team earned in its first 34 years of existence. New England has won 12 division crowns and has qualified as a Wild Card team on four occasions (1998, 1994, 1985 and 1976). The Patriots also qualified for the playoffs in 1982 as part of a 16-team tournament following a players' strike.
PATRIOTS WIN GAME NUMBER 10
Today's victory was the Patriots' 10th win in 2009. New England has now won 10 or more games eight times in the last nine seasons.
PATRIOTS ARE PERFECT AT HOMEThe Patriots closed the regular-season home schedule with a perfect 8-0 record at Gillette Stadium, earning their fourth overall undefeated record at home. The Patriots were also undefeated in the regular season in 2003, 2004 and 2007. The Patriots own an overall record of 60-12 (.833) at Gillette Stadium. Since their state-of-the-art facility opened at the beginning of the 2002 season, the Patriots own the NFL's best record at home. and own a perfect 7-0 playoff record at the venue.
WELKER BREAKS HIS OWN RECORD FOR MOST RECEPTIONS BY A PATRIOTS PLAYER IN A SINGLE SEASON
Wes Welker broke his own record for most receptions in a season on a 3-yard completion in the second quarter to surpass the 112 receptions he had in 2007. He finished the game with 13 to give him 122 receptions for the season. Welker owns the Patriots three highest single-season reception totals with 122 in 2009, 112 in 2007 and 111 in 2008.
WELKER TIES NFL RECORD FOR MOST 10-PLUS RECEPTION GAMES IN A SINGLE SEASON
Welker had his seventh 10-plus reception game of the 2009 season to tie the NFL record for most 10-plus reception games in a single season. Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans had seven 10-plus reception games in 2008. The 10-plus receptions today marked the 11th time in his career that Welker has reached 10 or more receptions in a game.
WELKER HAS SIXTH 100-YARD GAME OF THE SEASON
Welker added his seventh 100-yard game of the season after finishing with 138. He had four 100-yard games in 2007 and 2008. It is the 14th 100-yard game of his career.
WELKER IS AVERAGING 9.4 RECEPTIONS PER GAME
With 13 receptions today, Wes Welker is now averaging 9.4 receptions per game in 2009. If he keeps up that pace, he will finish the season 131 receptions, which would rank second in NFL history to Marvin Harrison's record of 143. The 9.4 catches per game would also be an NFL record, besting the 8.9 average set by Harrison in 2002 (Welker has missed two games due to injury in 2009).
MOSS HAS 35TH TWO-PLUS TOUCHDOWN GAME
WR Randy Moss had his 35th NFL game with two or more touchdowns and his third game with two more touchdowns in 2009 after finishing with three against Jacksonville. The 35 games with two or more touchdowns are second in NFL history to Jerry Rice's 44. Moss has 14 games with two or more touchdowns as a member of the Patriots.
MOSS HAS NINTH CAREER THREE-PLUS TOUCHDOWN GAME
Moss' three-touchdown game was his second in 2009 that he has had three touchdowns in a game. He also had three vs. Tennessee (10-18). He now has nine games in his career with three or more touchdowns, including four games with three or more as a member of the Patriots.
BRADY REACHES 25 TOUCHDOWNS
Tom Brady threw his 25th touchdown of the season on a 2-yard pass to WR Randy Moss in the first quarter. It is the fifth
time in his career that he has thrown 25 or more touchdowns in a season. Brady's five seasons with at least 25 touchdowns are tied with Drew Brees for fifth in NFL histroy.
MOST SEASONS WITH 25-PLUS TOUCHDOWN PASSES
12 Peyton Manning
11 Brett Favre
7 Dan Marino
6 Joe Montana
5 Tom Brady
5 Drew Brees
BRADY REACHES 4,000 PASSING YARDS
Brady posted his team-record third season with over 4,000 passing yards. Brady was tied with Drew Bledsoe with two 4,000-yard seasons. Brady had 4,110 yards passing in 2005 and a team-record 4,806 passing yards in 2007. He is the ninth NFL player to have three 4,000-yard seasons. He entered the Jacksonville game needing 55 yards to reach the milestone and reached 4,000 yards on a 26-yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Baker in the second quarter. He now has 4,212 yards passing for the season.
BRADY HAS 12TH FOUR-TOUCHDOWN-PLUS GAME OF HIS CAREER
Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns in the game. It is the 12th time in his career he has thrown for four or more touchdowns in a single game and his second game with four or more touchdowns in 2009 after a six-touchdown game against Tennessee (10-18). It was Brady's seventh game in 2009 with two or more touchdowns and his fourth game with three or more.
MERIWEATHER SETS CAREER-HIGH WITH HIS FIFTH INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON
Brandon Meriweather set a career-high with his fifth interception of the season in the first quarter. His previous best was five interceptions in 2008.
TWO PLAYERS REACH FIVE INTERCEPTIONS
Meriweather (5) and Leigh Bodden (5) each have five interceptions in 2009. It is the first time since 2003 that the Patriots have had two players with five interceptions or more. Ty Law and Tyrone Poole each had six in 2003.
SAMMY MORRIS TIES CAREER-HIGH WITH A 55-YARD RUN; MORRIS' RUN IS THE LONGEST OF THE SEASON AND LONGEST SINCE 2007
RB Sammy Morris tied a career-high with a 55-yard run in the second quarter. He also had a 55-yard run in 2006 with Miami in a game at Detroit (11-23-06). It is the longest run of the season for the Patriots, besting a 45-yard touchdown run by RB Laurence Maroney vs. Tennessee (10-18). It is the longest run by a Patriots player since Maroney scored 59-yard touchdown run vs. Miami on Dec. 23, 2007.
BRADY IS GOOD AT HOMEQB Tom Brady has led the Patriots to 23 consecutive victories at home, including the postseason.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Tom Brady has now won 20 consecutive regular-season games at Gillette Stadium and is tied with Bob Griese and Randall Cunningham for the third-most consecutive regular-season game wins as a starting quarterback since 1970. He also became the fifth quarterback to win 20 or more consecutive regular-season games since 1970.
BRADY IN DECEMBER
Tom Brady is 29-5 all-time in the month of December. He is 17-1 at home in the month of December.
SPRINGS RECORDS FIRST INTERCEPTION OF THE SEASON
Shawn Springs registered his first interception as a member of the Patriots in the third quarter to stop a Jacksonville scoring threat after they reached the 2-yard line.
OFFENSIVE LINE GOES FOURTH STRAIGHT GAME WITHOUT ALLOWING A SACK
The Patriot offensive line has not allowed a sack for the fourth consecutive game.
WELKER RECEIVING TOTALS ADD UP
Welker has a career-high in receiving yards with 1,336 so far in 2009. It is the third highest in team history. Welker has three of the top seven receiving seasons in team history.
WELKER AVERAGING 102.8 YARDS PER GAME
Welker is averaging 102.8 receiving yards per game, the third highest this decade and the eighth most since the 1970 merger
HIGHEST NFL RECEIVING AVERAGE
Wes Chandler (San Diego) 129.0 in 1982
Jerry Rice (San Francisco) 115.5 in 1995
Isaac Bruce (St. Louis) 111.3 in 1995
Marvin Harrison (Indianapolis) 107.6 in 2002
Torry Holt (St. Louis) 106.0 in 2003
Herman Moore (Detroit) 105.4 in 1995
Marvin Harrison (Indianapolis) 103.9 in 1999
Wes Welker (New England) 102.8 in 2009
