FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The National Football League announced the 2010 regular season schedule today and the New England Patriots and their fans learned that the team will be featured in at least five nationally-televised games during the regular season, including a Thanksgiving Day game at the Detroit Lions. In addition, the Patriots will be featured in four of the NFL's marquee matchups airing Sundays at 4:15 p.m.

Six of the Patriots eight home games in 2010 will be against teams that made the playoffs in 2009, including a matchup against the defending AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 21. New England will be home against the Colts after traveling to Indianapolis in each of the last four seasons. The Patriots will be facing the Colts for the eighth straight year and for the first time in Foxborough since 2006. The home schedule also includes a Monday Night Football game against the New York Jets on Dec. 6.

The Patriots' 2010 opponents had an aggregate record of 136-120 (.531) in 2009, which is the sixth most difficult schedule in 2010. Nine of the Patriots' 16 games will be against teams that finished with a winning record in 2009. New England will play five games against opponents that won 10 or more games in 2009. The Patriots will also play all of the teams from the AFC Playoff field last season and two of the six NFC playoff teams, with home games against Green Bay and Minnesota.

PATRIOTS SCHEDULE WEEK-BY-WEEK
The Patriots will kick off the regular season at home for the third straight year when they host the Cincinnati Bengals, the defending AFC North Division Champions, on Sunday, Sept. 12. The Patriots will get their first taste of AFC East action Week 2 when they travel to play the Jets to make their regular-season debut in the new Meadowlands stadium on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 4:15 p.m.

Following a home contest on Sept. 26 against Buffalo, the Patriots will be featured in the first of five nationally-televised games when they travel to face the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football on Oct. 4. After an Oct. 10 Bye Week, the Patriots return to action in a home game against Baltimore followed by a 4:15 p.m. game at San Diego.

New England will return for a home contest against Minnesota on Sunday, Oct. 31. It is the eighth time in the team's history that they will play on Halloween and the first time they will play at home.

The Patriots will then go on the road for two weeks with games at Cleveland on Nov. 7 and on NBC's Sunday Night Football at Pittsburgh on Nov. 14. The Patriots only back-to-back road contests in 2010 take place 130 miles apart.

The Patriots will return to the confines of Gillette Stadium on Nov. 21 to host the Colts.

The Patriots will be on national television for the second straight week the following week when they host the Jets on Monday Night Football on Dec. 6 at Gillette Stadium. New England will then face back-to-back NFC North opponents with a trip to Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 12 followed by a Sunday Night Football contest against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 19.

The Patriots will close out the 2010 regular season schedule against AFC East opponents when they travel to Buffalo on Sunday, Dec. 26 and then return home to face Miami on Sunday, Jan. 2.