FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The National Football League announced the 2012 regular season schedule tonight and the New England Patriots and their fans learned that the team will be featured in at least four nationally-televised games during the regular season, including a Thanksgiving Night game at the New York Jets on Thursday, Nov. 22 at 8:20 p.m. The game will be the Patriots' fifth Thanksgiving game and will be broadcast on NBC. New England last played on Thanksgiving on Nov. 25, 2010 when they beat Detroit, 45-24. New England QB Tom Brady, who will play in his fourth Thanksgiving game, played in his first game and completed his first NFL pass on a 6-yard completion to TE Rod Rutledge at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day in 2000 as a rookie. The Patriots are 2-2 all-time on Thanksgiving.

The Patriots will be featured in three other prime time games, including two NBC Sunday night contests. On Sept. 23, the Patriots will make their season debut on NBC when they travel to Baltimore in a rematch of the last year's AFC Championship game at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Patriots' second scheduled Sunday Night Football contest is the second of two back-to-back December prime time games. The Patriots will host the defending AFC South Champion Houston Texans in a Monday Night Football game on Dec. 10 at 8:30 p.m. followed by a Sunday Night game against the defending NFC West Champion and Conference runner-up, San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 16 at 8:20 p.m. ET.

Besides the four nationally televised games, the Patriots will close out the month of October by traveling to London, England to play the St. Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28 as part of the NFL's International Series. The game will be the Patriots' second regular-season game played in London. In 2009, the Patriots made their first visit to London and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 35-7, on Oct. 25, 2009.

Unlike in 2011, when the Patriots had eight 4:15 games in addition to their three prime time games, the 2012 schedule includes nine 1:00 p.m. games, including four at home.

The 2012 schedule also includes the annual clash with the Indianapolis Colts. Despite being in different divisions, the Patriots and Colts will play each other for the 10th straight year in the regular season and the third straight meeting at Gillette Stadium when the rivals square off on Nov. 18 with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Gillette Stadium.

Seven of the Patriots' 16 games will be against teams that finished with a winning percentage of .500 or better in 2011, including games against four playoff opponents - Baltimore, Denver, Houston and San Francisco. The Broncos, Texans and 49ers games will be played at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots will play in a rematch of both 2011 AFC playoff opponents with the game at Baltimore and the home game against Denver. The Patriots beat Denver, 45-10, on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 in an AFC Divisional Playoff game and then knocked off Baltimore, 23-20, on Sunday, Jan. 22 in the AFC Championship Game.

The Denver game will add a new twist with the Broncos' addition of QB Peyton Manning. Brady and Manning have faced each other nine times in the regular season and three times in the postseason. Brady and the Patriots have a 6-3 regular-season record and 2-1 postseason record in those matchups.

The Patriots will play each of the other AFC East rivals twice and will play one game against each of the AFC South and NFC West teams. As the AFC East Champions, the Patriots will play the 2011 division winners of the AFC West (Denver) and the AFC North (Baltimore).

PATRIOTS 2012 SCHEDULE WEEK-BY-WEEK

The Patriots will open the season with three out of four games on the road for the second straight season. They kick off the regular season away from Gillette Stadium for the second straight season when they travel to Tennessee to face the Titans on Sept. 9 at 1:00 p.m. The Patriots open their home schedule when they host the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 16 at 1:00 p.m., before embarking on a two-game road trip with contests at Baltimore on Sunday Night Football on Sept. 23 at 8:20 p.m. followed by a trip to Buffalo on Sept. 30., at 1:00 p.m.

New England returns home to begin the month of October by hosting Denver on Oct. 7 at 4:15 p.m. followed by their only West Coast trip of the year when they travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Oct. 14 with a 4:05 ET start. After hosting their first AFC East contest vs. the New York Jets on Oct. 21 at 4:15 p.m., the Patriots will travel across the pond to face the St. Louis Rams in London on Oct. 28 with a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff.

After a Nov. 4 Bye Week, the Patriots will have the first of two back-to-back home contests when they host Buffalo on Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m. followed by Indianapolis at 1:00 p.m. on Nov. 18.

The Patriots will close the month of November by traveling to MetLife Stadium to face the Jets on Thanksgiving Night with an 8:20 p.m. kickoff.

New England will start the final month of the season by traveling to Miami to face the Dolphins on Dec. 2 at 1:00 p.m. The Patriots will then experience their second back-to-back home contests with two prime time games. First, the Patriots will host Houston in their only Monday Night Football game of the year on Dec. 10 at 8:30 p.m. Then, the Patriots will host the 49ers in a Sunday Night Football game on Dec. 16.

After traveling to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars on Dec. 23 at 1 p.m., the Patriots will close out the regular season at home against Miami on Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. It will be the 13th time that the Patriots have closed out the year against the Dolphins and the second time in the last three seasons. The Patriots closed out the 2010 regular-season at home with a 38-7 win against Miami on Jan. 1, 2011. The Patriots have faced Miami in the season finale at home six previous times and are 3-3 in those games.

2012 PATRIOTS PRESEASON SCHEDULE

*-Game time and network subject to possible flexible scheduling adjustment.
Bold indicates nationally televised games