- With a victory, the Patriots will advance to their 8th Super Bowl, matching Dallas and Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl appearances.
- Bill Belichick (18) needs one more postseason victory to move into a second place tie with Don Shula (19) for most postseason victories, behind Tom Landry (20).
- Brady (23) needs to start in one more postseason game to match Brett Favre (24) for the most postseason starts by an NFL quarterback. He is tied with Joe Montana with 23 postseason starts.
- Brady (5,629) needs 227 postseason yards to set the all-time NFL record for most postseason yards. Brett Favre (5,855), Joe Montana (5,772) and Peyton Manning (5,679) are currently ahead of Brady.
- The Patriots have compiled a 7-1 record in the conference title game, including a 4-0 record at home and a 3-0 mark at Gillette Stadium.
- The Patriots now have a 14-3 (.824) all time record in home playoff games. PATRIOTS PLAYOFF TRENDS
(since the 1970 merger)
Patriots Playoff Trends (Since NFL Merger in 1970)
All Time (23-15)
vs. AFC ........................................................ 20-11
vs. NFC ......................................................... 3-4
Home .......................................................... 14-3
Away ............................................................. 6-8
Leading at Halftime ....................................... 18-3
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 ................................. 3-11
Decided by 7 Points or Less ............................ 9-8
Decided By 3 Points or Less ............................ 7-3
When Scoring First ......................................... 17-6
When Not Scoring First ................................... 6-9
Positive Turnover Ratio .................................. 16-1
Even Turnover Ratio ...................................... 3-3
Negative Turnover Ratio ................................. 3-12
Winning or Even Penalty Ratio ........................ 18-1
Losing Penalty Ratio ...................................... 5-14
With a 100-Yard Rusher ................................. 7-0
Without a 100-Yard Rusher............................. 16-15
With a 100-Yard Receiver ............................... 10-4
Without a 100-Yard Receiver .......................... 13-11
When Allowing a 100-Yard Rusher ................... 2-5
When Not Allowing a 100-Yard Rusher ............. 21-10
When Allowing a 100-Yard Receiver .................. 5-7
When Not Allowing a 100-Yard Receiver ........... 18-8
With a 300-Yard Passer .................................. 4-1
Without a 300-Yard Passer ............................. 19-14
Allowing a 300-Yard (net) Passer ..................... 5-1
Not Allowing a 300-Yard (net) Passer ............... 18-14
PATRIOTS FACE RAVENS IN AFC CHAMPIONSHIP FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE SEASON
The Patriots and Ravens will face off in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium for the second consecutive season. It is the fourth time since the AFL-NFL merger that two teams have met in the AFC Championship Game in consecutive seasons. Oakland and Pittsburgh are the only teams to meet in three consecutive AFC Championship Games. It will be just the second time that the same two teams have met in the same city for the AFC Championship Game and the first since the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Houston Oilers in 1978 and 1979.
POSTSEASON INSIDE THE NUMBERS
PATRIOTS IN THE PLAYOFFS
.824
The Patriots' home playoff winning percentage. New England has won 14 of 17 home playoff games and has the best postseason winning percentage among teams with at least 10 home playoff games.
.600
The Patriots' postseason winning percentage. New England is 24-16 in the playoffs, is tied with San Francisco (27-18) for fourth best in NFL history. That figure trails only Baltimore (12-7, .632), Green Bay (30-18, .625) and Pittsburgh (33-21, .611).
3
The Patriots are one of three teams to make the playoffs in four consecutive seasons (2009-12). The only other teams to accomplish the feat are the Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers.
6
The number of Championship Game berths for the Patriots since 2000, the most in the NFL since that year.
7
The number of Super Bowl appearances for the Patriots, ranked third in NFL history behind the eight appearances by Dallas and Pittsburgh.
9
The number of divisional playoff berths for the Patriots since 2000, the most for any team in the NFL since that year.
10
The number of playoff appearances for the Patriots since 2000. Only the Indianapolis Colts (11) have more playoff appearances during that time.
11
The number of receptions WR Deion Branch (XXXIX) and WR Wes Welker (XLII) each have in a Super Bowl, tied with Jerry Rice (XXIII) and Dan Ross (XVI) for the most in Super Bowl history.
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.
29
In 23 playoff games since 2000, the Patriots have forced 29 interceptions, the second most of any team coming into this postseason. The Baltimore Ravens are first with 37 postseason interceptions since 2000. New England's 29 postseason interceptions since 2000 have resulted in six 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
14
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 14 playoff berths in the 19 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
.720
Belichick's playoff winning percentage (18-7) is third in NFL history, trailing only Vince Lombardi (9-1, .900) and Tom Flores (8-3, .727).
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 berths Belichick needs to tie Don Shula (6) for most Super Bowl berths by a head coach.
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
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 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.
17
The number of playoff victories QB Tom Brady (17) has to break a tie with Joe Montana (16) for the most playoff wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history.
18
Brady ended his streak of 18 consecutive postseason games with a touchdown pass vs. Baltimore in the 2011 AFC Championship game. His 18 consecutive games ranks second in NFL history to the 20 by Brett Favre.
23
The number of career playoff games Tom Brady has played in a New England uniform, the most in franchise history.
41
The number of touchdowns Tom Brady has thrown in 23 career playoff games, a number that ranks third in NFL history. Joe Montana ranks first with 45 and Brett Favre ranks second with 44.
92.9
The completion percentage Tom Brady (26-for-28) recorded against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional game in 2007, an NFL record for a single postseason game with a minimum of 15 completions.
127
The number of completions for Tom Brady in his Super Bowl career, a number that ranks first in NFL history, significantly higher than second place (Joe Montana, 83) and third place (Jim Kelly, 81).
