NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (11-3) at NEW YORK JETS (3-11)
Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. ET
* MetLife Stadium (82,566)*
PATRIOTS: Game Release | Injury Report | Game Matchups | Roster | Depth Chart | Stats
JETS: Game Release | What They're Saying | Roster | Depth Chart | Stats
!The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East for the sixth straight season with a 41-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium last Sunday, tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history. Only the Los Angeles Rams (seven, 1973-79) posted a longer streak. The Patriots are the first team in NFL history to win 11 division championships in a 12-year span. This week, New England can clinch a first-round bye with a win and can secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs with a win and a Denver loss.
The Patriots have now qualified for the playoffs 22 times in their 55-year history. The Patriots have earned 16 playoff berths in the 21 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 14 AFC East crowns under Kraft's leadership.
Kraft has 249 career wins and can earn his 250th win this week in his 368th career game. That would tie Chicago's George Halas as the fastest owner to 250 career wins according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bill Belichick guided the Patriots to the AFC title for the 12th time, the most by a head coach since the 1970 merger. Don Shula is second with 11 division titles. Tom Brady added to his NFL record with his 12th division championship, ahead of Peyton Manning's 11 division titles.
Since 2001, the Patriots are 66-18 (.786) against AFC East opponents, compiling the best intra-division record of any team in the NFL. Indianapolis is second with a 62-23 (.729) record in its division.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
!TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZTV Channel 4 in Boston. Spero Dedes will handle play-by-play duties with Solomon Wilcotts as the color analyst. Shaun Livingston will work from the sidelines The game will be produced by Victor Frank and directed by Chris Svenson.
LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.
PATRIOTS PUNCH PLAYOFF TICKET
New England has qualified for the playoffs 22 times in its 55-year history. The Patriots have earned 16 of those playoff berths in the 21 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. New England has won 14 AFC East crowns under Kraft's leadership. The franchise has 17 division crowns overall (16 AFC East 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.
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Jets will meet for the 112th time, including three postseason games, since the series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960.
This week's game will be the second of two meetings between the two teams in 2014. The Patriots defeated the Jets, 27-25, on Thursday, Oct. 16 in the first meeting of the season at Gillette Stadium.
Patriots team photographer, David Silverman, offers his best photos from the Patriots game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, October 16, 2014.
The Patriots will be looking for their 16th series sweep in the series.
Last season, the teams split the annual series with the Patriots beating the Jets, 13-10, in a Thursday Night game at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 12 and the Jets taking a 30-27 overtime win in the rematch at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 20.
The Patriots lead the series, 56-53-1 overall. The Patriots are 31-25-1 alltime against the Jets at home, including 1-1 at home in the postseason.
The Patriots are 26-28 all-time on the road against the Jets, including 2-2 at MetLife Stadium.
The teams have played in the postseason three times, a 1985 Wild Card game, a 2006 Wild Card game and an AFC Divisional game in 2010. New England beat the Jets, 26-14, in 1985 at the Meadowlands on their way to Super Bowl XX. In 2006, the Patriots defeated the Jets, 37-16, at Gillette Stadium. The Jets defeated the Patriots, 28-21, in the 2010 playoff game.
New England is 28-15 against the Jets since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994.
New England's 57 overall victories over the Jets (including two playoff wins) are the second most over any single opponent, trailing only Buffalo with 67 alltime wins.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
NEW ENGLAND 57, NEW YORK 51, 1 TIE
(Including New England 2, New York 1 in Playoffs)
Home Record, 31-25-1 (Incl. 1-1 in playoffs)
Record in Foxborough, 27-19
Gillette Stadium, 11-4
Foxboro Stadium, 16-15
Record in Boston, 4-5-1
Record in Brmingham, Ala., 0-1
Road Record, 26-28 (Incl. 1-0 in playoffs)
MetLife Stadium, 2-2
Giants Stadium, 17-10 (incl. 1-0 playoffs)
Shea Stadium, 5-14
Polo Grounds, 2-2
Seasonal Sweeps, Patriots 15 (most recent '12), Jets 14 ('00)
PASSING PERFORMANCES
Tom Brady owns a 19-5 record against the Jets as a starting quarterback in regular-season games.
RECENT PATRIOTS-JETS GAMES
The Patriots and Jets have played 29 times since 2001, with New England holding a 21-8 advantage in those games.
CONNECTIONS
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Jets OL Breno Giacomini was a three-year defensive starter at Malden (Mass.) HS, where he led the team in passes defensed and earned Greater Boston League All-Star honors.
- Jets P Ryan Quigley attended Boston College from 2008-11 and is the Eagles' career punting record holder with 283 attempts.
- Jets TE Chris Pantale attended Boston College, where he appeared in 45 games with 43 starts from 2009-12.
- Jets assistant defensive backs coach Brian Smith was the outside linebackers coach for the University of Massachusetts in 2004 and then coached the team's wide receivers from 2005-06.
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 S 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. Mc- Courty 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 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 TE Tim Wright grew up in Neptune, N.J. and played high school football at Wall High School in Wall Township, N.J. He played collegiately at Rutgers University as a wide receiver from 2009-12, where he played in 25 games with five starts and recorded 50 catches for 596 yards and four touchdowns.
* Patriots S Duron Harmon started 27 of 50 games at Rutgers, earning first-team All-Big East honors as a junior and senior.
* 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.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- !Jets WR Greg Salas was acquired by the Patriots from the Rams on Sept. 1, 2012, in exchange for a 2015 draft pick. He spent most of the season on the team's practice squad, but was signed to the active roster for one week on Nov. 17, 2012. Salas was claimed off waivers by the Eagles on Nov. 23, 2012.
- Jets TE Zach Sudfeld was originally signed by New England as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2013. He played in three games for the Patriots before being released on Oct. 3, 2013.
FORMER JETS
- Patriots CB Darrelle Revis was originally drafted by the Jets in the first round (14th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. He started 79 games over six seasons with the club, earning Pro Bowl honors each season from 2008-11 and Associated Press All-Pro first-team honors from 2009-11.
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick served as the assistant head coach/ secondary for the Jets from 1997-99 before accepting the head coaching role for New England in 2000.
- Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo served in the same capacity with the Jets in 2012.
- Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll was the Jets' quarterbacks coach from 2007-08.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Jets WR Eric Decker played under Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Josh McDaniels for the Denver Broncos in 2010, when McDaniels was the team's head coach.
- Patriots S Patrick Chung and Jets QB Michael Vick played together on the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013.
- Patriots WR Danny Amendola, TE Michael Hoomanawanui and Jets WR Greg Salas were offensive teammates on the St. Louis Rams in 2011 under the direction of Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Josh McDaniels, who was then serving in the same capacity with the Rams.
- Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo and Jets quarterbacks coach David Lee both served in the same capacity for the Miami Dolphins together in 2009 and 2010.
- Patriots CB Brandon Browner and Jets WR Percy Harvin played together on the Seattle Seahawks in 2013.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots G Josh Kline and Jets G Brian Winters played together on the offensive line for Kent State from 2009-12. The two both earned All-Mid Atlantic Conference honors after anchoring the left side of the line for the Golden Flashes in 2012, with Winters playing tackle and Kline inside at guard.
- Patriots TE Michael Hoomanawanui (2007-09), DB Tavon Wilson (2008- 11) and Jets TE Jeff Cumberland (2006-09) were teammates at Illinois.
- Patriots OL Marcus Cannon and Jets WR Jeremy Kerley were teammates at Texas Christian from 2007-10.
- Patriots LS Danny Aiken and Jets OL Oday Aboushi were teammates at Virginia from 2009-10.
- Patriots DB Kyle Arrington and Jets OL Willie Colon were teammates at Hofstra in 2004.
- Patriots P Ryan Allen and Jets DE Ikemefuna Enemkpali played together at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12.
- Patriots DT Sealver Siliga and Jets OLB Trevor Reilly were defensive teammates at Utah in 2010.
- Patriots RB Jonas Gray, LB Darius Fleming and Jets CB Darrin Walls were teammates at Notre Dame from 2008-10.
- Patriots DL Alan Branch and Jets LB David Harris were defensive teammates at Michigan from 2004-06.
PATRIOTS RUN THE EAST
The Patriots have now won the AFC East for six straight seasons, the longest streak in AFC East division history. The Patriots have won 12 of the last 14 division crowns, joining the Los Angeles Rams (7, 1973-79), Pittsburgh Steelers (6, 1974-79) and the Minnesota Vikings (6, 1973-78) as the only teams since the merger with at least six straight division titles.
PATRIOTS: Game Release | Injury Report | Game Matchups | Roster | Depth Chart | Stats
JETS: Game Release | What They're Saying | Roster | Depth Chart | Stats
