The New England Patriots finished the regular season 12-4 to earn the second seed in the AFC Playoff field and a first round bye. New England will face the highest remaining seed in a Divisional Playoff game at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, January 11, 2013 at 8:15pm ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
PATRIOTS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT FOR 15TH TIME IN KRAFT'S 20 YEARS OF OWNERSHIP
The New England Patriots have now qualified for the playoffs 21 times in their 54-year history. The Patriots have earned 15 playoff berths in the 20 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, a dramatic contrast to the six total playoff berths that the team earned in its first 34 years of existence. The New England Patriots have won 13 AFC East crowns under Kraft's leadership. New England has won 16 division crowns overall (15 AFC East crowns) and have qualified as a Wild Card team on four occasions (1998, 1994, 1985 and 1976). The Patriots also qualified for the playoffs in 1982 as part of a 16-team tournament following a players' strike.
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2013 AFC EAST CHAMPIONS**
The Patriots claimed the AFC East Division title for the fifth consecutive season and for the 13th time under Robert Kraft.
DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS SINCE 1994
New England Patriots, 13
Pittsburgh Steelers, 10
Green Bay Packers, 9
Indianapolis Colts, 9
PATRIOTS EARN NUMBER TWO SEED IN AFC PLAYOFF FIELD IN 2013
With the New England Patriots' 34-20 victory over Buffalo (12/29) in the season finale, the Patriots earned the number two seed in the AFC playoff field. The Patriots have advanced to the Super Bowl in three of the five seasons (1978, 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2011) that they have earned the two seed, winning in two (2001 and 2004) of those three appearances.
BRADY EARNS 11TH DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Tom Brady led the Patriots to an 11th division championship this season. Peyton Manning is second with 10 division titles, followed by Joe Montana with nine.
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PATRIOTS EARNED ANOTHER FIRST ROUND BYE**
The Patriots secured a first round playoff bye for the eighth time since 2001—a quantity unmatched by any team in the NFL in the last 13 years. During that time, the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers have locked up a bye four times and the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles have earned a first-round pass three times.
MOST SEASONS EARNING A BYE SINCE 2001
New England, 8
Chicago, 4
Pittsburgh, 4
Atlanta, 3
Indianapolis, 3
Philadelphia, 3
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE 2013 POSTSEASON
BILL BELICHICK
- Bill Belichick (18) needs one more postseason victory to tie Don Shula (19) for second place in postseason wins. Tom Landry (20) is in first place.
TOM BRADY
- Tom Brady (6) needs two more 300 yard games in the postseason to match the 8 by Peyton Manning for the all-time lead.
- Brady (42) needs four more postseason touchdowns to move past Joe Montana (45) and Brett Favre (44) for the all-time lead.
- Brady has the most postseason wins with (17) in NFL history and can add to his NFL record this postseason. He has one more win than Joe Montana (16), who is in second place.
- Brady has the all-time record for most postseason yards in NFL history (5,949) and will be looking to add to that total this postseason. Brett Favre (5,855), Joe Montana (5,772) and Peyton Manning (5,679) are behind Brady.
- Brady (533) can add to his NFL record of postseason completions.
STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI
- Stephen Gostkowski (18) needs two more postseason field goals to become just the 11th NFL player to reach 20 field goals in the postseason. He is currently tied for 11th in the NFL with his 18 postseason field goals.
- Gostkowski is tied for 11th in NFL history with 90 postseason points and needs 10 points to become just the 7th NFL player with 100 postseason points.
PATRIOTS IN THE PLAYOFFS
The Patriots have qualified for the playoffs 21 times in its 54- year history. Fifteen of those playoff berths have come in the 20 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, a dramatic contrast to the six total playoff berths that the team earned in its first 34 years of existence. The Patriots have won 16 division crowns, including 11 in the last 13 seasons, and have qualified as a Wild Card team on four occasions (1976, 1985, 1994, and 1998). The Patriots also qualified for the playoffs in 1982 as part of a 16-team tournament following a players' strike.
PATRIOTS IN THE DIVISIONAL ROUND AND CONFERENCE TITLE GAME
The Patriots have compiled a 10-6 all-time record in divisional playoff games, including 7-2 at home and 5-1 at Gillette Stadium. They are 7-2 in the conference title game, including a 4-1 record at home and a 3-1 mark at Gillette Stadium.
PATRIOTS AT HOME IN THE PLAYOFFS
The Patriots are 14-4 at home in the playoffs in their history. Seventeen of the franchise's 18 home playoff games have taken place since Robert Kraft purchased the team 19 years ago. After Kraft bought the team, the Patriots won 11 consecutive home playoff games before experiencing a home loss.
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RESULTS
The Patriots have compiled a 24-17 record in their 41 playoff games and their .585 playoff winning percentage is the fifth best in NFL history among teams that have played at least 15 playoff games. New England has qualified for seven Super Bowls (XX, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII and XLVI) and one AFL Championship Game in 1963.
PATRIOTS PLAYOFF RECORD BY ROUND
First Round, 0-1
Wild Card Round, 4-3
Divisional Round, 10-6
AFC Championship, 7-2
AFL Championship, 0-1
Super Bowl, 3-4
Total,24-17
*-1982 Strike Season*
PATRIOTS PLAYOFF TRENDS
(Since NFL Merger in 1970)
- All Time (23-16)
- vs. AFC, 20-12
- vs. NFC, 3-4
- Home, 14-4
- Away, 6-8
- Leading at Halftime, 18-4
- Trailing at Halftime, 3-10
- Tied at Halftime, 2-2
- Leading After 3 Quarters, 18-4
- Tied After 3 Quarters, 2-0
- Trailing After 3 Quarters, 3-12
- Decided by 7 Points or Less, 9-8
- Decided By 3 Points or Less, 7-3
- When Scoring First, 17-7
- When Not Scoring First, 6-9
- Positive Turnover Ratio, 16-1
- Even Turnover Ratio, 3-3
- Negative Turnover Ratio, 4-12
- Winning or Even Penalty Ratio, 18-1
- Losing Penalty Ratio, 5-15
- With a 100-Yard Rusher, 7-0
- Without a 100-Yard Rusher, 16-16
- With a 100-Yard Receiver, 10-5
- Without a 100-Yard Receiver, 13-11
- When Allowing a 100-Yard Rusher, 2-5
- When Not Allowing a 100-Yard Rushe, 21-11
- When Allowing a 100-Yard Receiver, 5-7
- When Not Allowing a 100-Yard Receiver, 18-9
- With a 300-Yard Passer, 4-2
- Without a 300-Yard Passer, 19-14
- Allowing a 300-Yard (net) Passer, 5-1
- Not Allowing a 300-Yard (net) Passer, 18-15
POSTSEASON INSIDE THE NUMBERS
PATRIOTS IN THE PLAYOFFS
BY THE NUMBERS
.778
The Patriots' home playoff winning percentage. New England has won 14 of 18 home playoff games and has the third best postseason winning percentage among teams with at least 10 home playoff games.
.585
The Patriots' postseason winning percentage. New England is 24-17 in the playoffs and has the sixth best postseason winning percentage in NFL history.
2
Since 2001, the Patriots are second in the NFL in postseason sacks per game among teams with at least 10 games played, averaging 2.54 takedowns per game. Only the Steelers have more, averaging 2.94 sacks per postseason game.
2
The Patriots are one of two teams to make the playoffs every season from 2009-2013, a streak of five consecutive seasons. The only other teams to accomplish is the Green Bay Packers.
7
The number of AFC Championship Game appearances for the Patriots since 2001, the most in the NFL since then.
7
The number of Super Bowl appearances for the Patriots, ranked third in NFL history behind the eight appearances by Dallas and Pittsburgh.
10
The number of divisional playoff appearances for the Patriots since 2000, including 2013. The most for any team in the NFL since that year.
10
The number of playoff appearances for the Patriots since 2001. Only the Indianapolis Colts (11) have more playoff appearances during that time.
14
The number of playoff games the Patriots won from 2000-2009, tied for the most by any team in any 10-year period in NFL history.
18
Sixteen members of the Patriots 53 man roster will reach the postseason for the first time in 2013. In addition to members of the rookie class, WR Danny Amendola, RB LeGarrette Blount and LB Chris White will experience postseason NFL football for the first time.
22
The Patriots have recorded a sack in 22 of 24 postseason games played since 2001. The only two games in which they did not record a sack were the 2009 Wild Card Game vs. Baltimore and the 2010 AFC Divisional game vs. the New York Jets.
28
The Patriots franchise has posted 28 winning seasons since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970. Only Pittsburgh (31), Dallas (29) and Miami (29) have more.
29
In 24 playoff games since 2000, the Patriots have forced 29 interceptions, the second most of any team in the postseason. The Baltimore Ravens are first with 40 postseason interceptions since 2000. New England's 29 postseason interceptions since 2000 have resulted in five touchdowns.
50
The longest field goal in the playoffs made by Stephen Gostkowski on Jan. 14, 2007 at San Diego, which ranks first in Patriots playoff history, surpassing Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard kicks in 2002 and 2005.
KRAFT ERA IN THE PLAYOFFS
BY THE NUMBERS
15
The number of times the Patriots have earned playoff berths since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. New England has qualified for the playoffs 20 times in its 52-year history. The Patriots have earned 15 playoff berths in the 20 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, a dramatic contrast to the six total playoff berths the team earned in its first 34 years of existence.
17
There have been 17 home playoff games since Kraft bought the team in 1994. In the franchise's first 34 years, the Patriots hosted one playoff game, a 31-14 loss to Houston in 1978.
BILL BELICHICK IN THE PLAYOFFS
BY THE NUMBERS
1
The number of Super Bowl victories Coach Belichick needs to tie Chuck Noll for the most Super Bowl wins by any head coach in NFL history. Belichick's three Super Bowl victories are tied with Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh for second most in NFL history.
1
The number of Super Bowl appearances Belichick needs to tie Don Shula (6) for most Super Bowls by a head coach.
8
Belichick has been a part of eight Super Bowls as a head coach or assistant, more than any coach in the history of the NFL. Dan Reeves is second on the list with seven appearances.
18
The number of career playoff games Coach Belichick has won, a total that is the third-highest by a head coach in NFL history. Belichick needs two wins to tie Tom Landry (20) for the most wins in the playoffs in NFL history and one to tie Don Shula (19).
TOM BRADY IN THE PLAYOFFS
BY THE NUMBERS
1
The number of Super Bowl victories QB Tom Brady needs to tie Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history. Brady is tied for second with Troy Aikman with three Super Bowl wins.
1
The number of Super Bowl starts QB Tom Brady needs to pass John Elway for the most Super Bowl starts by a quarterback in NFL history. Brady is currently tied with Elway with five starts.
5
Tom Brady, Matt Light, Cornelius Bennett, John Elway and Charles Haley are only the five players in NFL history to start five Super Bowls.
6
Tom Brady tied an NFL single-game playoff record with six touchdown passes against Denver in 2011. Daryle Lamonica of Oakland in 1969 and Steve Young of San Francisco in the 1994 Super Bowl also had six touchdown passes.
10
Brady's 10 consecutive wins in the postseason from 2001-04 is the longest streak of any quarterback in NFL history. Bart Starr's streak of nine straight postseason wins is the second-longest.
10
Brady has won 10 of the 12 postseason games he has played in with a game-time temperature of 40 degrees or lower, the most of any quarterback in NFL history. Brett Favre is second with 8.
17
The number of playoff victories QB Tom Brady (17) has, breaking a tie with Joe Montana (16) for the most playoff wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history.
