FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When the New England Patriots take the field in Denver for Sunday's AFC Championship Game (3:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. MT kickoff, CBS), they will have one of the franchise's most entertaining and clutch performers in their corner, as three-time Super Bowl Champion and Patriots Hall of Famer Ty Law will serve as the team's honorary captain.
Earlier this week, Law, who throughout his career was at his best on the NFL's biggest stages, accepted Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft's invitation to serve as the team's honorary captain – a role he has served three times, and twice since being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2014.
"It is a tremendous honor to play in our fifth straight AFC Championship Game and 12th conference title game overall," said Kraft. "Ty Law has been a part of so many big playoff moments for our franchise over the years and I am so glad he can join us once again for Sunday's AFC Championship Game in Denver."
The Patriots are 3-0 in games that Law has served as honorary captain, including 2-0 in AFC Championship Games. The four-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro cornerback joined Drew Bledsoe, Troy Brown and Tedy Bruschi as honorary captains in the 2011 AFC Championship Game, a 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. Law, Bruschi and Brown returned as honorary captains for last year's AFC Championship Game, a 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium, which set the stage for the Patriots' fourth Super Bowl Championship two weeks later in Glendale, Ariz. The Patriots kicked off the 2015 NFL season against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium with Law serving as an honorary captain along with Brown and 2015 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee Willie McGinest. The Patriots won that game, 28-21.
Law was originally selected by the Patriots in the first round (23rd overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played 10 seasons (1995-2004) in New England and Kraft credited him as one of the key building blocks to three Super Bowl championships in four years. Law owns franchise records for interceptions (36, tied with Raymond Clayborn), interception return yards (583) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (six). Law played 15 seasons in the NFL, including his first 10 years with the Patriots, followed by stops in New York with the Jets (2005 and 2008), Kansas City (2006-07) and Denver (2009). During his career, he intercepted 37 different quarterbacks and recorded interceptions against 23 of 32 NFL franchises. He picked off four Hall of Fame quarterbacks – Troy Aikman, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino and Steve Young – and five league MVPs, including Tom Brady, Boomer Esiason, Steve McNair, Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner.
