FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Hosting home playoff games used to be a rarity for the Patriots and their fans. In the first 34 years of the franchise, the Patriots hosted just one playoff game - a loss to the Houston Oilers in 1978. Since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994, the Patriots have qualified for the playoffs 13 times, including 11 as division champions. With a 13-3 regular season record in 2011, the Patriots claimed their third consecutive division title and their ninth in 11 years. Their 13 wins were the most in the AFC, which earned the Patriots the top seed in the conference for the second consecutive year. The regular season success gives Patriots fans an opportunity to experience yet another home playoff game, their 14th in the last 16 years. Historically, that home-field advantage has helped propel the Patriots throughout the playoffs, as they have won an NFL-best 11 of the last 13 playoff games in Foxborough.
As the top seed, the Patriots earned a first-round playoff bye and will host a divisional playoff game on Saturday, January 14 at 8:00 p.m. After fulfilling the demand of Patriots Season Ticket Holders and wait list members this week, only a limited number of single tickets remain for public sale. Those tickets will go on sale on Friday, January 6, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. through Ticketmaster.
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 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.
Details for Friday's public sale are listed below:
Sale Date:Â Friday, January 6, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
Where: Ticketmaster Phone Center or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com
Phone #: 800-745-3000
Payment: Visa debit or credit card only
Limits: Tickets are very limited, with mostly single seats available. There will be a 4 ticket limit per person. Single tickets are available in each price category.
Pricing: Playoff pricing is set by the NFL. The individual ticket prices for the AFC Divisional Playoff Game are $198 (100 Level Sideline), $150 (100 Level Corner/End Zone), $150 (200 Level), $115 (300 Level Sideline/End Zone Rows 1-7) and $85 (300 Level Corner/End Zones Rows 8 and higher).
The dates and times for the upcoming NFL playoff games are listed below:
WILD CARD AND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 7, 2012
4:30 pm - AFC Wild Card Playoff - Cincinnati at Houston (NBC)
8:00 pm - NFC Wild Card Playoff - Detroit at New Orleans (NBC)
Sunday, January 8, 2012
1:00 pm - NFC Wild Card Playoff - Atlanta at NY Giants (FOX)
4:30 pm -AFC Wild Card Playoff - Pittsburgh at Denver (CBS)
NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 14, 2012
4:30 p.m. - NFC Divisional Playoff - New Orleans/NY Giants/Atlanta at San Francisco (FOX)
8:00 p.m. - AFC Divisional Playoff - Denver/Pittsburgh/Cincinnati at New England (CBS)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
1:00 p.m. - AFC Divisional Playoff - Houston/Denver/Pittsburgh at Baltimore (CBS)
4:30 p.m. - NFC Divisional Playoff - NY Giants/Atlanta/Detroit at Green Bay (FOX)
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 (13-3, AFC East champion)     *
2. Baltimore (12-4, AFC North champion) Â
3. Houston (10-6, AFC South champion)
4. Denver (8-8, AFC West champion)
5. Pittsburgh (12-4) Â
6. Cincinnati (9-7) Â
National Football Conference
1. Green Bay (15-1, NFC North champion)    Â
2. San Francisco (13-3, NFC West champion)
3. New Orleans (13-3, NFC South champion)
4. N.Y. Giants (9-7) (NFC East champion)
5. Atlanta (10-6)
6. Detroit (10-6)
The AFC (CBS, 3:00 PM ET) and NFC (FOX, 6:30 PM ET) Championship Games will be played on Sunday, January 22.
The 2012 Pro Bowl (NBC, 7:00 PM ET) will be played on Sunday, January 29 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, one week before Super Bowl XLVI takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday, February 5 (NBC, 6:30 PM ET).
