NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (8-0) at NEW YORK GIANTS (5-4)
Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015 at 4:25 p.m. ET. MetLife Stadium (82,500)

PATRIOTS: **Game Release** | **Roster** | **Depth Chart** | **Stats** | **Watch Games**
GIANTS: **Game Release** | **Roster** | **Depth Chart** | **Stats**

The New England Patriots will travel to face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium this Sunday for the second straight game against an NFC East opponent. Last week, the Patriots beat the Washington Redskins, 27-10, at home to improve to 8-0 in 2015 and a 44-10 record against NFC teams since 2002. That is the best inter-conference record in the NFL since realignment in 2002.

The Patriots are an NFL-best 41-15 in the month of November since 2001 for a .732 winning percentage.

With a win on Sunday against the Giants, the Patriots will secure a winning record for the 15h straight season, joining San Francisco (16, 1983-98) and Dallas (16, 1970-85) as the only teams to have winning records in at least 15 straight seasons since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties with Phil Simms as the color analyst. Tracy Wolfson will work the sidelines. The game will be produced by Lance Barrow and directed by Mike Arnold.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience on Sports USA Radio. Larry Kahn and Hank Bauer will call the game. Troy West will work the sidelines.

LOCAL RADIO:98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socciwill call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. Produced by Marc Cappello.

BETTER THAN AVERAGE

With a victory this week, the New England Patriots will secure a winning record for the 15th consecutive season. The Patriots are the only team to win more than half their games in 14 straight seasons since free agency began in 1993.

SERIES HISTORY

The Patriots and Giants will meet for the 12th time since their series was inaugurated in 1970, with the Patriots claiming a 5-4 edge in regular-season play. The teams have met in two Super Bowls with the Giants claiming wins in both Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.

The series dates back to 1970, the year of the AFL-NFL merger and includes some memorable games despite the relative infrequency of the matchups. In 1996, the Patriots stole a 23-22 win to clinch a playoff berth after trailing 22-3 in the fourth quarter. In 2007, the Patriots captured a 38-35 win to finish a perfect 16-0 regular season.

The last time the teams played in the regular season was in Nov. 6, 2011, at Gillette Stadium when the Giants snapped the Patriots 20-game home regular season winning streak with a 24-20 win.

The first preseason game between the teams was the first NFL game played in Foxborough, as the Patriots opened Schaefer Stadium with a 20-14 win in 1971. The clubs have been frequent preseason opponents recently, squaring off in the preseason openers for three straight years from 2001-03 and in preseason finales for 11 straight seasons from 2005-15. The teams faced each other in the 2015 preseason finale at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 3, with the Giants claiming a 12-9 victory.

NEW ENGLAND TIES

In the decades leading up to the founding of the American Football League in 1960, many football fans in New England followed the Giants, a franchise founded in 1925. New England-based NFL outfits such as the Providence Steam Rollers (1925-31), the Boston Redskins (1932-36) and the Boston Yanks (1944-48) folded or moved away, leaving the Giants as the closest NFL team to New England until the Patriots franchise inaugurated play in the 1960 season.

MEMORABLE MATCHUPS

Aug. 15, 1971 - The Patriots defeated the Giants 20-14 in the opening preseason game at Foxboro Stadium.

Dec. 21, 1996 - The Patriots rallied from a 22-3 fourth-quarter deficit to clinch a first-round playoff bye with a 23-22 win at Giants Stadium.

Aug. 10, 2001 - New England began its first Super Bowl championship season with a 14-0 preseason shutout of the defending NFC champion Giants.

Dec. 29, 2007 - The Patriots defeat the Giants by a thrilling, 38-35 score to cap off the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history.

February 3, 2008 - The Patriots faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz. The Giants' 17-14 win snapped the Patriots' perfect season.

February 5, 2012 - The Patriots faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Ind. The Giants took a 21-17 lead when they scored with 57 seconds left in the game and held the Patriots on a final drive to secure the win.

CONNECTIONS

NEW ENGLAND TIES

• Giants President and Chief Executive Officer John K. Mara received a B.S. degree in marketing from Boston College, where he graduated with cum laude honors in 1976.
• Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was head coach of Boston College from 1991-93, following a previous stint as quarterbacks coach from 1981-83.
• Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo served as offensive line/tight ends coach at Fairfield (Conn.) University in 2002.
• Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was born in Whitinsville, Mass., and attended Grafton HS, where he is a member of the school's athletic Hall of Fame. After high school, Spagnuolo played wide receiver at Springfield (Mass.) College and was named Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1982. Spagnuolo began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Massachusetts following graduation. He returned to the New England area in 1987 and spent three seasons as defensive backs coach at Connecticut followed by two years as defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach. Spagnuolo also spent one season (1993) as defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Maine.
• Giants special teams coordinator Tom Quinn served as the defensive coordinator for Boston College in 1995 before moving on to become defensive coordinator at Holy Cross from 1996-98.
• Giants wide receivers coach Sean Ryanwas a graduate assistant for Boston College from 2001-02 and also served as the recruiting coordinator, running backs coach and head coach of the junior varsity at Harvard in 2006.
• Giants offensive assistant Ryan Roeder was wide receivers coach at the University of Rhode Island in 2009. He began his coaching career as running backs coach at Holy Cross in 2004.
• Giants strength and conditioning coach Jerry Palmieri served as director of strength and conditioning at Boston College from 1993-94.
• Giants WR Victor Cruz played in 31 games with 22 starts at Massachusetts, where he was a two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection and finished his career with 131 receptions for 1,958 yards and 11 touchdowns.
• Giants LSZak DeOssie attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., where he served as team captain as a senior and was an All-New England Prep Team selection. DeOssie played his college football at Brown, where he started 29 of 36 games and earned first-team All-Ivy League honors as a senior in 2006. His father, Steve, played linebacker for the Patriots from 1994-95, appearing in 32 games.
• Giants LB Mark Herzlich attended Boston College, where he was a first team All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008.
• Giants RB Andre Williams attended Boston College, where he recorded school records for rushing attempts (355) and rushing yards (2,177) as a senior in 2013 and earned the Doak Walker Award given annually to the nation's premier running back.
• Giants TE Will Tye played at Salisbury (Conn.) HS, where he posted 587 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a senior.
• Giants WR Geremy Davis played for Connecticut from 2011-14. He totaled 165 receptions and 2,292 receiving yards, both Huskies FBS-era records, and finished his collegiate career top six in each category in program history.

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY TIES

• Patriots Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Kraft graduated from Columbia University in 1963 with a degree in history and economics and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
• Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was a standout offensive lineman at R.P.I., where he helped the Engineers capture three ECAC National Championships. After graduating in 1996, Patricia began his coaching career at his alma mater as a graduate assistant.
• Patriots linebackers coach Patrick Graham began his coaching career in 2002 as a graduate assistant at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.
• Patriots safeties coach Brian Flores attended Poly Prep HS in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he played running back and linebacker.
• Patriots coaching assistant Steve Belichick attended Rutgers, where he walked onto the football team as a long-snapper in order to prepare for his coaching career.
• Patriots DB Devin McCourty attended Saint Joseph's HS in Montvale, N.J., where he was an all-league first-team defensive back his final two seasons. McCourty went on to play college football at Rutgers, where he started 39 of 52 games at cornerback and was an Academic All-Big East selection in 2006 and 2007.
• Patriots LB Jonathan Freeny was a four-year letterman (2007-10) and a two-year starter at Rutgers, where he played in 46 games with 13 starts.
• Patriots DB Duron Harmon earned Big-East First Team honors as a junior and senior at Rutgers, where he started 27-of-50 games.
• Patriots DB Logan Ryan attended Eastern HS in Voorhees, N.J. before playing college football at Rutgers, where he started 27 of 37 games at cornerback and was a first-team All-American selection as a senior by Pro Football Weekly.
• Patriots DL Dominique Easley attended Curtis HS in Staten Island, N.Y. and was named Most Valuable Player at the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game.
• Patriots DB Duron Harmon started 27 of 50 games at Rutgers, earning first-team All-Big East honors as a junior and senior.
• Patriots RB Dion Lewis attended Blair Academy HS in Blairstown, N.J., where he helped his team capture two Mid-Atlantic Championships as well as a New Jersey Prep state title.

FORMER PATRIOTS

• Giants assistant special teams coach Larry Izzo played in 127 games at linebacker for the Patriots from 2001-08 and served as a special teams captain in all eight of his seasons in New England. Izzo won three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002 and 2004.
• Giants assistant strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul served in the same capacity for the Patriots from 2000-04, earning three Super Bowl rings as a member of the coaching staff.
• Giants RB Shane Vereenwas selected by the Patriots in the second round (56th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. Vereen played in 42 games for the Patriots from 2011-14 and helped the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory last season posting career highs in rushing yards (391) and receiving yards (447).
• Giants S Brandon Meriweather was selected by the Patriots in the first round (24th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft and spent four seasons with the Patriots (2007-10) and played in all 64 games with 40 starts. In 2009, Meriweather started all 16 games and registered a career-high five interceptions.
• Giants LB Jonathan Casillas was acquired by the Patriots in a midseason trade in 2014 and aided New England to its fourth Super Bowl Championship.

FORMER GIANTS

• Patriots head coach Bill Belichick served in various roles on the Giants' coaching staff from 1979-90: special teams (1979-80), special teams/line- backers (1981-82), linebackers (1983-84), defensive coordinator (1985-88) and defensive coordinator/secondary (1989-90). He helped the Giants capture Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990.
• Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo served as assistant offensive line/quality control for the Giants in 2004 and then as assistant offensive line coach from 2005-08.

FORMER NFL TEAMMATES

• Giants defensive coordinatorSteve Spagnuolo served three seasons as head coach of the St. Louis Rams (2009-11). His roster included Patriots WR Danny Amendola (2009-12) and his coaching staff included Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels who served as Spagnuolo's offensive coordina- tor/quarterbacks coach in 2011 and Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly who worked in the same capacity with the Rams from 2009-11. Giants DE George Selvie(2010) was also on the team at the time.
• Patriots DT Alan Branch and Giants CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were defensive teammates with the Arizona Cardinals from 2008-10.
• Patriots DT Sealver Siliga and Giants S Robert Ayers were defensive teammates with the Denver Broncos in 2012.
• Patriots WR Brandon LaFell and Giants G Geoff Schwartz were offensive teammates with the Carolina Panthers in 2010.
• Patriots TE Scott Chandler and Giants WR Dwayne Harriswere offensive teammates with the Cowboys in 2010.
• Patriots DT Akiem Hicks (2012-2013) played with Giants LB Jonathan Casillas (2012) and DB Trevin Wade (2013) when they were defensive teammates with the New Orleans Saints.

FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES

• Patriots OL Bryan Stork (2011-13) and G Tre' Jackson (2011-14) played in the trenches with Giants G Bobby Hart (2011-14) at Florida State. The three helped the Seminoles to a BCS National Championship in 2013.
• During his final season as offensive coordinator at Syracuse (1974), Giants head coach Tom Coughlin worked with Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears, when Fears tutored the team's wide receivers.
• Patriots WR Brandon LaFell and Giants WR Reuben Randle were offensive teammates at LSU in 2009.
• Patriots LB Jerod Mayo and Giants S Robert Ayerswere defensive teammates at Tennessee from 2005-07.
• Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan called the plays for RB LeGarrette Blount from 2012-13 when he served as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Giants performance manager/strength and conditioning assistant Joe Danos worked with Patriots WR Brandon LaFell for two seasons (2005-06) when he served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach as Louisiana State.
• Giants performance manager/strength and conditioning assistant Joe Danos worked with Patriots OL Bryan Stork and G Tre' Jackson at FSU from 2011-12.
• Patriots DB Nate Ebner and Giants DT Jonathan Hankins were defensive teammates at Ohio State from 2010-11.
• Patriots DE Chandler Jones and Giants DT Jay Bromley were defensive teammates at Syracuse from 2010-11.

PATRIOTS: **Game Preview** | **Roster** | **Depth Chart** | **Stats** | **Watch Games**
GIANTS: **Game Release** | **Roster** | **Depth Chart** | **Stats**