December 14, 2003
A RECORD PERFORMANCE
- The Patriots set a franchise record with their 12th win of the season.
- New England's 12-2 start to the season has established the best 14-game record in franchise history. The 1976 Patriots finished the season with an 11-3 record in a 14-game season.
- The Patriots have won 10 regular-season games in a row for the first time in franchise history. The previous record was nine regular-season wins in a row from 11/25/01 to 09/22/02.
- Including today's game, New England has won 20 consecutive games in which it has led at halftime and 25 consecutive games in which it has led after three quarters.
- The Patriots are now…
13-2 when it's been 35 degrees or colder since 1993
7-0 at Gillette Stadium this season (regular-season only)
12-3 at Gillette Stadium all-time (regular-season only)
5-0 this season against teams with defenses ranked in the top 6 in the NFL at when the time the Patriots have played them
9-0 this season when they record a positive or even turnover ratio
23-4 since 2001 in games played after Nov. 1
75-51 in the regular season since 1996
PICK PARTY
Tyrone Poole intercepted a Byron Leftwich pass with 5:50 left in the game to record his second interception of the game and his team-leading sixth of the season. Poole also picked off Leftwich's first pass of the fourth quarter to set up New England's second touchdown of the game, a 10-yard pass from Brady to Brown. Poole's six interceptions are a career high. The Patriots have recorded an interception in each of their seven home games this season and have recorded at least one pick in 13 of their 14 games in 2003. Poole is the third Patriot to record a two-interception game this season, joining Rodney Harrison (10/12) and Ty Law (11/16).
POINTLESS FOES
The Jaguars put points on the board on their first drive of the afternoon, breaking the Patriots' 10-quarter home shutout streak. New England had held its opponents scoreless on 31 consecutive possessions, including shutout wins over Miami and Dallas. Before Seth Marler nailed a 24-yard field goal with 7:23 left in the first quarter, the last time the Patriots had allowed any points at Gillette Stadium was 49 days ago, when Cleveland's Phil Dawson nailed a 29-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the second quarter against Cleveland on Oct. 26.
OPENING STRONG
The Patriots scored a touchdown on their opening drive today, marking the first time this season the Patriots have reached the end zone on their first possession of the game. New England received the opening kickoff and drove 66 yards in nine plays, ending with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Daniel Graham. Before today, the last time the Patriots scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game was on Nov. 24, 2002 in a 24-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings at Gillette Stadium. In that game, the Patriots began the afternoon with a 12-play, 67-yard drive that ended in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Christian Fauria.
GOLDEN GRAHAM
Daniel Graham grabbed his third touchdown pass of the season, a 27-yarder from Tom Brady in the first quarter. Graham's grab tied him with Troy Brown, David Givens and Deion Branch for the team lead in receiving touchdowns. It was the fourth touchdown of Graham's career.
GREAT POINTS
Adam Vinatieri became just the second Patriot to pass the 900-point barrier when his 22-yard field goal in the second quarter gave the Patriots a 10-3 lead and gave Vinatieri 902 points for his career. Vinatieri joins Gino Cappelletti in the 900-point club and ranks second to Cappelletti (1,130 points) on the Patriots all-time scoring list.
HOT WHEN IT'S COLD
At kickoff today, the temperature was 25 degrees with a wind chill of 16 degrees. Including today's 27-13 win over Jacksonville, the Patriots are now 13-2 since 1993 when the game-time temperature is 35 degrees or colder. Today's game was the coldest Patriots game since the "Snow Bowl" against Oakland in the 2001 playoffs. That game was also a frigid 25-degree affair, which the Patriots won, 16-13 in overtime, to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
COLDEST GAMES SINCE 1993 (13-2)
| Date | Opp. | Temp | Notes | W/L | Score | |
| 12/26/93 | IND | 19 | Wind Chill –21 | W | 38-0 | |
| 12/21/96 | at | NYG | 24 | Wind Chill 18 | W | 23-22 |
| 12/14/03 | JAX | 25 | Wind Chill 16 | W | 27-13 | |
| 01/19/02 | OAK | 25 | Snow | W | 16-13 ot | |
| 12/10/95 | NYJ | 26 | Wind Chill –4 | W | 31-28 | |
| 01/12/97 | JAX | 27 | Wind Chill 0 | W | 20-6 | |
| 12/07/03 | MIA | 28 | Wind Chill 17 | W | 12-0 | |
| 12/24/00 | MIA | 31 | Wind Chill 17 | L | 24-27 | |
| 11/26/95 | at | BUF | 33 | Flurries | W | 35-25 |
| 12/16/01 | at | BUF | 34 | Wind Chill 17 | W | 12-9 ot |
| 12/12/93 | CIN | 34 | Wind Chill 10 | W | 7-2 | |
| 12/17/00 | at | BUF | 35 | Snow/W.Chill 6 | W | 16-13 ot |
| 11/23/97 | MIA | 35 | Flurries/Drizzle | W | 27-24 | |
| 12/28/97 | MIA | 35 | Wind Chill 22 | W | 17-3 | |
| 01/01/95 | at | CLE | 35 | Wind Chill 20 | L | 13-20 |
TOUCHDOWN STREAK ENDED
Before Jacksonville scored a touchdown with 3:20 left in the game, the Patriots had not allowed a touchdown at Gillette Stadium in over five games worth of clock time. Byron Leftwich's 27-yard touchdown toss to Kevin Johnson broke a string of 62 consecutive possessions on which the Patriots had stopped their opponents short of the end zone at Gillette Stadium. Before Johnson's catch, the last time the Patriots had allowed a touchdown at Gillette Stadium was on Oct. 5, when Steve McNair ran the ball in from one yard out with 4:40 left in the game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Patriots were the first team to allow no touchdowns in four consecutive home games within one season since the 1938 New York Giants.
MOVING ON UP
Tom Brady passed Jim Plunkett to move into fourth place on the Patriots' all-time touchdowns list with his 63rd career touchdown toss, a 10-yard toss to Troy Brown with 11:02 left in the game. Brady's 27-yard strike to Daniel Graham in the first quarter tied Plunkett's mark. Brady trails Steve Grogan (182), Drew Bledsoe (166) and Vito "Babe" Parilli (132) on the Patriots' all-time lists.
LET IT SNOW
Snow began to fall a few minutes into the second half and was falling moderately by the midway point of the third quarter. Today's game is the second game in a row during which snow has fallen in Foxborough, and the sixth home snow game in Foxborough in franchise history. Last week's game began in light to moderate snowfall until the snow finally tapered off midway through the second quarter. The Patriots are a perfect 6-0 in snowy games in Foxborough.
SNOW GAMES IN FOXBOROUGH (6-0)
| Date | Opp. | Temp | Weather | W/L | Score |
| 12/14/03 | JAX | 25 | Snow in 2nd Half | W | 27-13 |
| 12/07/03 | MIA | 28 | Cold, Snow, Wind | W | 12-0 |
| 01/19/02 | OAK | 25 | Snow, 3-5 inches | W | 16-13 ot |
| 12/04/83 | NO | 35 | Cold, Snowing | W | 7-0 |
| 12/12/82 | MIA | 22 | Wind, Snow | W | 3-0 |
| 12/10/78 | BUF | 28 | Snow, Some Sun | W | 26-24 |
TOUCHDOWN TROY
Troy Brown grabbed a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brady with 11:02 left in the game to give New England a 20-6 lead. It was Brown's third touchdown grab of the season and the 23rd his career. Brown is tied with Daniel Graham, Deion Branch and David Givens for the team lead in touchdown receptions.
THE A-TRAIN
Antowain Smith ran the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown with 4:18 left in the game to record his third rushing touchdown of the season and give New England a 27-6 lead. Smith now has 11 touchdowns in his last 12 games played after Dec. 1. The Patriots are now 16-2 in games in which Smith has run for a touchdown.
QUICK HITS
- Richard Seymour sacked Byron Leftwich for a 6-yard loss in the second quarter. The sack gave Seymour 7.5 sacks for the season and tied Mike Vrabel for the team lead. Seymour's 7.5 sacks are a career high (5.5, 2002).
- Brady completed 12 of his first 13 passes of the game.
- The Patriots defense held Jacksonville to just six points on three Jaguars possessions that entered the Patriots' red zone in the first half.
- Troy Brown's 10-yard touchdown catch with 11:02 left in the game made the score 20-6. The Patriots defeated the Jaguars in the 1996 AFC Championship Game by the same 20-6 score.
