PATRIOTS (3-2) at SEAHAWKS (3-2)
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 4:05 p.m. ET
CenturyLink Field (67,000)
The New England Patriots will be on the road for the fourth time in the first six weeks of the 2012 season when they travel west to face the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.
The game will feature the Patriots' top ranked offense against Seattle's top ranked defense.
Tom Brady will play at Seattle for the first time in his career. Brady has played an away game against every NFL team except San Francisco and Seattle. (Brady's only visit against Tampa Bay on the road in the regular season was played in London in 2009).
The Seattle game is the second meeting of four contests against the NFC West this year. The Patriots lost the home opener on Sept. 16, 20-18, to Arizona. New England will face St. Louis on Oct. 28 in London and will play San Francisco in a Sunday Night matchup on Dec. 16 at Gillette Stadium.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast to a regional audience by CBS and can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Ian Eagle will handle play-byplay duties with Dan Fouts providing color. The game will be produced by Bob Mansbach and directed by Suzanne Smith.
RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 40 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 36th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action. Former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak will handle the color commentary, taking over duties for Gino Cappelletti. Cappelletti, a member of the original Boston Patriots in 1960 and the all-time leading scorer in the American Football League's history, retired from the broadcast team after 31 years as the team's iconic color analyst.
NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by Sports USA. Larry Kahn and John Robinson will call the game. Troy West will be the sideline reporter.
SERIES HISTORY
The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will meet for the 16th time. This will be the second time the Patriots have played at Century Link Field following a 24-21 victory on Dec. 7, 2008.
The Patriots and Seahawks played 12 times in a 14-year span from 1980-93, but have played only twice since then (2004 and 2008).
The 2008 victory pushed the Patriots in front, 8-7, in the alltime series.
The Patriots have had the upper hand in road games against the Seahawks as they own a 4-2 record in games played in Seattle. The Patriots were 3-2 at the Kingdome (1976-1999)
New England won six of the first eight games in the series, which began in 1977.
SERIES TRENDS
New England 8, Seattle 7
Home Record, 4-5
Gillette Stadium, 1-0
Foxboro Stadium, 0-3
Sullivan Stadium, 2-2
Schaefer Stadium, 1-0
Away Record, 4-2
Kingdome, 3-2
Qwest Field, 1-0
Total Points in the Series, Patriots 298, Seahawks 271
Bill Belichick vs. Seattle, 3-1 (2-0 in New England)
Pete Carroll vs. New England, 1-1
HISTORICAL HITS
- The Patriots and Seahawks played 12 times in a 14-year span from 1980-93, but have played only twice since then (2004 and 2008).
- The Seahawks are the only non-divisional team that the Patriots have played twice in the regular season in the same year. That scheduling oddity took place during the 1993 season, the only year in which the league's 16-game schedule was played over an 18-week span and each team was allotted two bye weeks.
PATRIOTS ON THE WEST COAST
The Patriots have an overall record of 5-4 under head coach Bill Belichick in games played on the West Coast, including a 2006 Divisional playoff victory at San Diego on Jan. 14, 2007. Last season, the Patriots were victorious over the Oakland Raiders in their only West Coast trip, winning 31-9 on Oct. 2, 2011.
BRADY FIRST TIME IN SEATTLE
Tom Brady will play at Seattle for the first time in his career. Brady has played an away game against every NFL team except San Francisco and Seattle. (Brady's only visit against Tampa Bay on the road in the regular season was played in London in 2009).
PASSING PERFORMANCES
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady played just one game against the Seahawks but has never played at Seattle. Brady led the Patriots to a 30-20 victory against the Seahawks on Oct. 17, 2004 at Gillette Stadium.
PATRIOTS WICKED GOOD IN OCTOBER
The Patriots are 33-6 in the month of October since the 2003 season and have won 24 out of their last 27 October games. The Patriots are 19-1 at home and 14-5 on the road during that time in October. The Patriots only home loss during that time was a 41-17 victory by the visiting San Diego Chargers on October 2, 2005.
CONNECTIONS
New England Ties
- Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Darrel Bevell coached wide receivers at the University of Connecticut from 1998-99.
- Seahawks G John Moffitt is a native of Guilford, Conn. and attended Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Conn. Moffit was a member of the New England Top 20 team on Rivals.com and earned first-team All-State honors from the Hartford Courant.
- Seahawks T Breno Giacomini is a native of Malden, Mass. and was a three-year starter at Malden High School. Giacomini earned Greater Boston league all-star honors as a senior and played both defensive end and linebacker.
- Seahawks K Steven Hauschka is a native of Needham, Mass. and attended Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT. Hauschka played soccer and lacrosse at Middlebury before attending graduate school at North Carolina State where he kicked for the Wolfpack.
Former Patriots
- Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll served as the Patriots Head Coach from 1997-99. Carroll led the Patriots to an AFC East title in his first year as head coach and helped the team return to the playoffs the following season.
- Seahawks Quarterbacks Coach Carl Smith spent time in New England during Carroll's tenure as Patriots Head Coach and served as the Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks Coach in 1997 and the Tight Ends Coach from 1998-99. Under Smith's tutelage Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team in 1997 and set careerhighs in touchdown passes (28) and passer rating (87.7).
Former Seahawks
- Patriots WR Deion Branch was traded from the Patriots to Seattle for a first-round draft selection on Sept. 11 following the first regular-season game of the 2006 season. Branch played for the Seahawks until 2010 when he was traded back to the Patriots on Oct. 12 in exchange for a fourthround draft pick.
- Patriots LB Niko Koutouvides was originally drafted by Seattle in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Koutouvides produced 60 special teams tackles during his four seasons with the Seahawks (2004-07) and was part of the Seahawks's 2005 NFC Championship team.
- Patriots LB Tracy White played in 20 games with Seattle from 2003-04.
Former Teammates
- Patriots LB Tracy White and Seahawks P Jon Ryan were teammates in Green Bay from 2007-08. White also played one season (2008) in Green Bay with Seahawks QB Matt Flynn.
- White was defensive teammates with Seahawks DE Chris Clemons in Philadelphia during the 2009 season.
- Patriots CB Marquice Cole and Patriots RB Danny Woodhead were New York Jets teammates with Seahawks RB Leon Washington and Seahawks WR Braylon Edwards in 2009.
- Patriots TE Visanthe Shiancoe played on the offensive side of the ball in Minnesota with Seahawks WR Sidney Rice from 2007-10. Seahawks LB Heath Farwell also played with Shiancoe in Minnesota from 2007-10.
- Patriots DE Trevor Scott and Seahawks TE Zach Miller were teammates in Oakland from 2008-10. Seahawks G Paul McQuistan also played with Scott for the Raiders from 2008-09.
- Patriots TE Daniel Fells spent time with Seahawks CB Danny Gorrer in St. Louis during the 2009 season.
- Patriots WR Brandon Lloyd played with Seahawks K Steven Hauschka in Denver during the 2010 season.
Former College Teammates
- Patriots RB Stevan Ridley was teammates with Seahawks QB Matt Flynn for one season (2007) at Louisiana State University.
- Patriots P Zoltan Mesko was teammates with Seahawks DT Alan Branch from 2005-06 at the University of Michigan.
- Patriots OL Marcus Cannon teamed up with Seahawks C Clint Gresham at Texas Christian University from 2006-09.
- Patriots S Patrick Chung played with Seahawks G Max Unger at the University of Oregon from 2005-08.
- Patriots rookie LB Dont'a Hightower and Seahawks G James Carpenter played together at Alabama for two seasons (2009-10).
- Seahawks DT Jaye Howard was teammates with Patriots players DE Jermaine Cunningham, TE Aaron Hernandez and LB Brandon Spikes at the University of Florida from 2007-09.
- Patriots DL Kyle Love and Seahawks LB K.J. Wright were defensive teammates at Mississippi State from 2007-09.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK VS. SEATTLE
TOM BRADY
- With one touchdown pass against Seattle, Tom Brady will extend his streak to 38 straight games with at least one touchdown pass and continue his third longest streak all time, behind Drew Brees (48-current) and Johnny Unitas (47).
- Brady has 48 career 300 yard games in the regular season and needs one more to tie Warren Moon (49) for 7th place all time.
STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI
- Stephen Gostkowski (7-of-10) needs one more 50-yard field goal to tie Adam Vinatieri (8-of-17) for most 50-yard field goals in Patriots history.
- Gostkowski has two 50-yarders so far in 2012 and can become the first Patriots player with three 50-yard field goals in a single season.
WES WELKER
- Wes Welker has three straight 100-yard games and can tie a team mark if he reaches 100-yards receiving at Seattle. Randy Moss has the Patriots record with four straight 100-yard games in 2007.
- Welker (15) needs one more 10-plus catch game to break a tie with Andre Johnson (15) of Houston and Reggie Wayne (15) of Indianapolis for the most 10-plus reception games among active players.
- Welker needs one reception to extend his streak to 83 straight regular-season games with at least one reception as a member of the Patriots to extend his franchise record. Welker has an overall streak of 99 straight regularseason games with at least one reception, including his time with the Miami Dolphins.
- Welker needs one more game with 10 catches and 100 yards to tie Jerry Rice (15) for the most such games in NFL history. Welker is tied with Andre Johnson (14) and Marvin Harrison (14) with 14 such games.
STEVAN RIDLEY
- Stevan Ridley has rushed for 100 yards in two consecutive games and can become the first Patriots player to rush for 100 yards in three straight games since Curtis Martin closed out the 1995 season with five straight 100-yard games.
TEAM
- The Patriots have had two straight games with 200 yards or more rushing. If they reach 200 yards rushing at Seattle it will be the first time they have had a stretch of three straight games with 200 yards rushing since having a stretch of four straight 200-yard games in 1978.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
BY THE NUMBERS
4
The number of forced fumbles by DL Rob Ninkovich (2) vs. Denver (10/7) and LB Brandon Spikes' (2) at Buffalo (9/30) in the last two weeks.
7
The number of 20-yard runs by RB Stevan Ridley. Since 2000, Corey Dillon and Antowain Smith are tied with 13 runs of 20 or more, followed by Laurence Maroney (11), Kevin Faulk (10) and Sammy Morris (9).
8.6
The average of rookie Brandon Bolden on 16 carries for 137 yards at Buffalo (9/30), tied for the third highest among Patriots players with at least 15 carries in a game.
13
Since the beginning of 2010, Rob Ninkovich leads the Patriots with a total of 13 sacks.
20
The number of rushing yards the Patriots defense held Tennessee to in the 2012 season opener – tied for fifth-lowest total in team history.
28
The number of receptions of 25 or more yards by WR Brandon Lloyd since 2010, tied with Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald for third, behind Mike Wallace (30) and DeSean Jackson (31).
35
The number of first downs by the Patriots vs. Denver (10/7) to set a franchise record and make the Patriots the first team since the 1970 merger to have three straight games with 30 or more first downs.
38
The number of receptions by Wes Welker so far in 2012, putting him on pace for 122 receptions. He would become the first player in NFL history with five 100-catch seasons.
145
The loss to Baltimore (9/23) ended the Patriots run of 145 consecutive games at .500 or better, the longest such streak in NFL history. Dallas had the second longest streak ever with 115 games at .500 or better (1965-1974).
157
The number of games the Patriots have gone without suffering a three-game losing streak, the longest in the NFL. Atlanta is second with 70 straight games.
490
The number of rushing yards by Stevan Ridley through the first five games, recording the highest total for a Patriots running back through the season's first five games since Corey Dillon had 522 yards through the first five games of the 2004 season.
580
The number of total yards in offense that the Patriots had at Buffalo (9/30/12), the fourth highest in team history and the ninth time under Bill Belichick that the Patriots offense had a game with at least 500 yards in total offense.
TOM BRADY BY THE NUMBERS
1
Tom Brady became the first player to follow a 500-yard performance with a 400-yard performance after Brady had backto- back games with 517 yards and 423 yards to start 2011.
4
The number of seasons that Brady has reached 4,000 passing yards. His four 4,000-yard seasons are tied with Warren Moon and Philip Rivers for the fifth most in NFL history.
6
Brady became the sixth NFL quarterback in NFL history to have 30 or more touchdowns passes in at least three seasons after reaching 30 vs. Indianapolis (12/4) in 2011.
13
Tom Brady is one of 13 quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 500 or more yards after he passed for 517 in the 2011 opener at Miami.
TOM BRADY BY THE NUMBERS
14
Tom Brady (41,429) is one of 14 quarterbacks in NFL history to reach at least 40,000 passing yards.
21
The number of times Tom Brady has earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors to tie Peyton Manning for the most Player of the Week awards earned by a player since the accolade was instituted in 1984.
37
The number of consecutive games that Brady has thrown at least one touchdown pass, third best behind 48 by Drew Brees and 47 by Johnny Unitas.
48
The number of regular season 300-yard passing games by Tom Brady, a team record.
98
The number of times that Brady has thrown two or more touchdowns in a game. The Patriots are 83-15 when he throws for two or more touchdowns.
127
The number of wins that Brady has as a starting quarterback for fifth place. Brady reached the 100-win milestone in the fewest number of starts (131) among all quarterbacks in the modern era and the 125 career wins in the fewest starts (160).
5,235
The number of passing yards by Brady in 2011, the second most in a season in NFL history.
THE KRAFT ERA
3
The number of Super Bowl championships the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span. Only Denver (2; 1997 and 1998), Pittsburgh (2; 2005 and 2008) and the NY Giants (2: 2007 and 2011) have won multiple Super Bowl titles since 1994.
6
The number of conference championships the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span. Pittsburgh is second with four conference titles since 1994.
11
The number of division championships won by the Patriots since Kraft purchased the team in 1994.
13
The number of playoff seasons earned by the Patriots in the 18 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team.
19
The number of playoff games the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span. Pittsburgh ranks second with 17 playoff wins over that span.
29
The number of playoff games the Patriots have appeared in since 1994, the most in the NFL. Pittsburgh has the second most with 27.
197
The number of consecutive home games that have been sold out, including playoff and postseason games dating back to the 1994 season opener.
THE BELICHICK ERA
4
Bill Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three championships since the Super Bowl era began. Belichick joins three members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the exclusive club (Chuck Noll 4, Joe Gibbs 3 and Bill Walsh 3). Belichick is the only coach to win three Super Bowls in the post-1993 salary cap era and the only one to ever win three in four years.
195
Bill Belichick has 195 career victories as a head coach, including playoff games for 8th place all-time.
