FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – With a Week 16 victory over the New York Jets, the Patriots clinched the number one seed in the AFC conference to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year and a league-leading 10th time since the current NFL playoff format was instituted in 1990. On Saturday, Jan. 10, the Patriots will host the lowest seeded AFC team to advance with a win on wild-card weekend.
For the Patriots' divisional playoff game, a limited number of individual tickets will go on sale Friday, Jan. 2, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. exclusively through Ticketmaster.
The Patriots are the first team to earn five consecutive first-round playoff byes since the current two-team first round bye format was put in place in 1990. When the Patriots host this year's divisional playoff game, it will be their 15th home playoff game since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, which is four more than any other NFL team. The Patriots are 11-3 (.786) in the playoffs at Gillette Stadium.
For the first 34 years in the franchise's history, the Patriots hosted just one playoff game – a loss to the Houston Oilers in 1978. Yet, in the 20 years since Robert Kraft purchased the franchise in 1994, the Patriots have qualified for the playoffs 16 times, including 14 times as division champions. This year's divisional playoff game will be their league-leading 19 home playoff game since 1994. The Patriots are 15-3 in the previous 18 games.
This year will mark the fifth time in franchise history that the Patriots have earned the number one seed to enter the playoffs. Historically, that home-field advantage has helped propel the Patriots through the playoffs as the team has advanced to the Super Bowl on three of those first four occasions.
After fulfilling orders for Patriots Season Ticket Holders and Patriots Wait List members, the remaining tickets will be placed on sale to the public on Friday, Jan. 2, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. All Patriots playoff ticket orders will be processed through Ticketmaster. Playoff tickets will NOT be sold at the Gillette Stadium Ticket Office. Ticket orders can be processed one of two ways, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone by calling 800-745-3000. Visa, a proud sponsor of the National Football League and the New England Patriots, will be the only accepted form of payment. Please beware of any tickets acquired through third-party vendors or non-Ticketmaster transactions. Counterfeit tickets are not accepted at Gillette Stadium.
Details for Friday's public sale are listed below:
Sale Date: Friday, January 2, 2015
Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
Where: Ticketmaster Phone Center or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com only
Phone: 800-745-3000
Payment: Visa debit or credit card only
Limits: Tickets are very limited. There will be a 4 ticket limit per person.
Pricing: Playoff pricing is set by the NFL. The individual ticket prices for the AFC Divisional Playoff game range from $229 (100-Level Sideline) to $100 (300 Level).
The NFL released the following playoff schedule and pairings during the broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers game at the Cincinnati Bengals.
WILD CARD AND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 3, 2015
4:35 pm – NFC Wild Card Playoff – Arizona at Carolina (ESPN)
8:15 pm – AFC Wild Card Playoff – If Cincinnati wins, Pittsburgh at Indianapolis or if Pittsburgh wins, Baltimore at Pittsburgh (NBC)
Sunday, January 4, 2015
1:05 pm – AFC Wild Card Playoff – If Cincinnati wins, Baltimore at Cincinnati or if Pittsburgh wins, Cincinnati at Indianapolis (CBS)
4:40 pm –NFC Wild Card Playoff – Detroit at Dallas (FOX)
*If tonight's game finishes in a tie, Indianapolis will host Baltimore on Saturday at 8:15 PM (ET) on NBC and Cincinnati will host Pittsburgh Sunday at 1:05 PM (ET) on CBS.
NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 10, 2015
4:35 p.m. – AFC Divisional Playoff – Baltimore/Cincinnati/Pittsburgh/Indianapolis at New England (NBC)
8:15 p.m. – NFC Divisional Playoff – Detroit/Arizona/Carolina at Seattle (FOX)
Sunday, January 11, 2015
1:05 p.m. – NFC Divisional Playoff –Dallas / Carolina / Arizona at Green Bay (FOX)
4:40 p.m. – AFC Divisional Playoff – Cincinnati / Pittsburgh / Indianapolis at Denver (CBS)
In the Divisional Playoffs, the division champion with the best record in each conference will host the lowest seeded Wild Card survivor. Once teams are seeded for the playoffs, positions do not change:
American Football Conference
1. New England (12-4, AFC East champion)
2. Denver (12-4, AFC West champion)
3. Cincinnati (11-4-1) or Pittsburgh (11-5), (AFC North champion)
4. Indianapolis (11-5, AFC South champion)
5. Cincinnati (10-5-1) or Pittsburgh (10-6)
6. Baltimore (10-6)
National Football Conference
1. Seattle (12-4, NFC West champion)
2. Green Bay (12-4, NFC North champion)
3. Dallas (12-4, NFC East champion)
4. Carolina (7-8-1) (NFC South champion)
5. Arizona (11-5)
6. Detroit (11-5)
The NFC (FOX, 3:05 PM ET) and AFC (CBS, 6:40 PM ET) Championship Games will be played on Sunday, January 18, 2015.
The 2015 Pro Bowl (ESPN, 8:00 PM ET) will be played on Sunday, January 25 and Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, Feb. 1 (NBC, 6:30 p.m.), both at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
