The Patriots won 18 games in 2007, tying the NFL's all-time record for most overall victories in a season. New England joined the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears as the NFL's only 18-game winners. The Patriots became the first franchise in NFL history to have at least three seasons of 17 or more overall wins, with the 2007 squad joining the 2003 and 2004 Patriots, who both won 17 total games. The San Francisco 49ers are the only other NFL team to have achieved the feat more than once. No other NFL team besides the Patriots has won 17 or more games in a season this decade, while New England has accomplished the feat three times in the 2000s.

PATRIOTS TIED FOR MOST PLAYOFF WINS IN A DECADE
The Patriots have won 14 playoff games this decade, tying the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys for the most playoff victories by any NFL team in either the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s or 2000s. Pittsburgh and Dallas both won 14 playoff contests between 1970 and 1979, while New England has won 14 postseason games from 2000 to the present.

PERFECT REGULAR SEASON
The 2007 Patriots became the fourth NFL team to win all of their regular season games since the league was founded in 1920. The Patriots are the first team to accomplish the feat since the NFL season expanded from 14 games to 16 games in 1978. New England joins the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to accomplish the feat since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Including the 2007 Patriots, three of the four teams in NFL history to complete an undefeated and untied regular season have lost in the league championship playoff game.

2008 PATRIOTS OPPONENTSIn 2008, the Patriots will play each of the other AFC East teams twice and will play one game against each of the teams from the AFC West and the NFC West. As 2007 AFC East champions, the Patriots will also play the 2007 champions of AFC North and the AFC South.

Highlights of the Patriots' 2008 schedule

• Road Warriors…After posting a franchise-best 8-0 road record in 2007, the Patriots are faced with a gauntlet of West Coast games in 2008. For the first time since 1986 (when the Patriots played road games against the Los Angeles Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks) New England will pay a visit to four teams in the Pacific time zone including games against the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, 49ers and Seahawks.

• The left coast… The Patriots will play members of the NFC West for the first time since the 2004 season and will see the Patriots traveling to Seattle for a tilt against the Seahawks— the first time that has happened since the 1993 season. New England's 15-year hiatus between appearances in the Emerald City is the longest amount of time between Patriots visits against any one particular NFL team.

• California dreamin'…With a schedule that includes games at Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco, the Patriots are slated to play road games against each of California's three NFL franchises for the first time in team history.

• Test of the best… The Patriots will face off against three 2007 AFC Playoff teams, including games versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the Indianapolis Colts and a rematch of the AFC Championship Game with the Chargers in San Diego.

• Hoosiers… The Patriots will travel to Indianapolis for the second consecutive season. The old time AFC East rivals have remained familiar foes despite the Colts' move to the AFC South in 2001 as the teams have squared off in each of the last five regular seasons in addition to three memorable playoff games.

• Hanging steel… The Steelers will travel to Foxborough for the second straight season in a matchup of the defending AFC East and AFC North champions. The Patriots have won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams, including a 34-13 victory at Gillette Stadium in 2007.

• Positive charge… The Patriots and Chargers will meet for the second straight regular season in a rematch of the 2007 AFC Championship Game. New England has been dominant in the teams' recent history, winning 13 of its last 15 games against the Chargers dating back to 1973, including two playoff victories.

• Pats be nimble… New England will travel to San Francisco for the first time since 1995 and will look to win at Monster Park, formerly Candlestick Park, for the first time (0-4 alltime).

• Frequent flyer miles… With a 2008 road schedule that includes four trips to the Pacific time zone, the Patriots will log nearly 13,000 miles in the air next season.

NFL SCHEDULING FORMULA
The National Football League established its current scheduling formula in 2002, guaranteeing that all teams will play each other in the regular season on a regular, rotating basis. The 32 NFL teams are divided into two conferences, each containing four divisions of four teams each. Every team will play 16 games as follows:

• Home and away games against its three division opponents (6 games)

• The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (4 games)

• The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (4 games)

• Two intraconference games based on the prior year's standings (2 games). These games will match a first-place team against the first place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams will be matched in the same way each year.

2009 PATRIOTS OPPONENTS

Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, AFC North*.

Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, AFC West*.
*-Opponent to be determined based on previous season's standings.

PATRIOTS 2008 DRAFT STATUS
As of February 26, the Patriots possess eight selections in the 2008 NFL Draft. New England controls all six of its assigned selections and has control of two additional picks acquired through trades. The Patriots control multiple picks in the third round. New England may receive additional selections in this year's draft when the NFL awards compensatory selections in late March. The draft will be held on April 26 and 27.

NOTES
Round 1, Selection 7 – The Patriots traded a first-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft (No. 28 overall – T Joe Staley) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft and a fourth-round selection in 2007 NFL Draft, (later traded to Oakland for WR Randy Moss).

Round 3, Selection 4 – The Patriots traded a third-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft (91 overall – T Mario Henderson) to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft (211 overall – LB Oscar Lua).