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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (13-0) vs NEW YORK JETS (3-10)
Sunday, December 16, 2007 -- Gillette Stadium (68,756) -- 1:00 p.m. EST

The Patriots will face the New York Jets this week in the second game of a threegame homestand. With a victory, New England can clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs for the second time in team history (2003). Although other milestones and records are within reach, the Patriots will seek to keep the narrow game-by-game focus that they have maintained all season.

PLAYOFF SCENARIO
**New England Patriots - 2007 AFC East Champions** The Patriots have clinched the 2007 AFC East division championship and a first-round playoff bye. They have won their division for the fifth straight year and have earned a first-round bye for the fifth time since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990. The Patriots also earned first-round byes in 1996, 2001, 2003 and 2004. New England will host a divisional playoff game at Gillette Stadium on the weekend of Jan. 12-13. With a win over the Jets this week or an Indianapolis loss at Oakland, the Patriots can clinch the top seed in their conference and homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. New England could also clinch homefield advantage with a tie against the Jets and an Indianapolis tie at Oakland. The Patriots have been the AFC's top seed once in team history (2003).

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS. The game can also be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties with Phil Simms providing analysis.

RADIO: WBCN 104.1 FM is the flagship station for the Patriots Rock Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 33 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 31st season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. Santos and Cappelletti are celebrating their 24th season as a tandem.

NATIONAL RADIO: The game will be broadcast to a national radio audience by the Sports USA Radio Network. Howard David will handle play-by-play and Doug Plank will provide analysis.

TIME CHANGE FOR MIAMI GAME ON DEC. 23
The Patriots-Dolphins game on Dec. 23 has been moved to a 4:15 p.m. kickoff as part of the NFL's flexible scheduling system. The game will be the Patriots' 10th game played at 4:00 p.m. or later this season. Including their season finale against the New York Giants at 8:15 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 29, the Patriots will play in the league maximum of six prime-time games this season, topping the previous record of four prime-time contests, set four times (most recently in 2005).

SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Jets will meet for the 97th time since the series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. New England opened the 2007 season with a 38-14 win over New York on Sept. 9. Last season, the teams split their two regular-season matchups, with the road team winning each contest. The Patriots have won nine of their last 10 games against the Jets (including one playoff game). The Patriots swept the season series from the Jets in three straight years from 2003-05. The Jets hold a slight edge in the overall series, but the Patriots are 18-10 against the Jets since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. New England's 47 victories over the Jets (including two playoff wins) are the second most over any single opponent, trailing only Buffalo (55 all-time wins).

PATRIOTS-JETS QUICK HITS

• With a victory this week, the Patriots would bring their all-time record against the Jets to .500. Entering this week's game, the Patriots hold a 47-48-1 record against New York, including regular-season and playoff games.
• The Patriots are 3-2 against the Jets in regular-season games at Gillette Stadium. The Jets, the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos are the only opposing teams to win twice at Gillette Stadium since the venue opened in 2002. New York is the only AFC East division opponent to earn more than one win at Gillette Stadium.
• The Patriots have held the Jets to 17 points or fewer in nine of the last 10 meetings between the teams (including playoffs).
• This week's game will be the 146th consecutive home sellout for the Patriots, extending a streak that dates back to the 1994 regular-season opener - Robert Kraft's first regularseason game as the Patriots' owner and includes preseason, regular-season and playoff games This week's game is also the 301st consecutive Patriots game televised locally. New England fans have never faced a local television blackout since Kraft purchased the team.
• This week's game will mark the 97th meeting between the Patriots and Jets. The Jets have been the Patriots' most frequent opponent over the years - Buffalo ranks second with 96 meetings.
• Seven members of the Jets coaching staff are former Patriots coaches, players or staff members - Eric Mangini (head coach), Bryan Cox (asst. defensive line), Brian Daboll (quarterbacks), Andy Dickerson (quality control-defense), Jerome Henderson (asst. secondary), Jimmy Raye (running backs) and Rick Lyle (asst. strength and conditioning).

CONNECTIONS

FRANCHISE CONNECTIONS

• Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was the Jets' assistant head coach/secondary for three seasons (1997-99).
• Jets head coach Eric Mangini was a member of the Patriots coaching staff for six seasons from 2000-05, serving as the secondary coach for the first five seasons and as New England's defensive coordinator in 2005.
• Defensive line coach Pepper Johnson played for two seasons with the Jets from 1997-98 before retiring in 1999.
• Special teams coach Brad Seely held the same position with the Jets in 1994.
• Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli was the director of pro personnel for the Jets from 1997-1999.
• Jets assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox was a linebacker on the Patriots' 2001 world championship team.
• Jets assistant strength and conditioning coach Rick Lyle was a defensive lineman for the Patriots from 2002-03.
• Jets running backs coach Jimmy Raye was the Patriots' offensive coordinator on head coach Rod Rust's staff in 1990.
• Jets quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll was the Patriots' wide receivers coach from 2002-06 and served as a defensive assistant with the team from 2000-01.
• Jets linebacker Matt Chatham played for the Patriots for six seasons from 2000-05. He played in 66 games with four starts and recorded 69 special teams tackles for New England.
• Jets cornerback Hank Poteat played in parts of three seasons (2004-06) with the Patriots.
• Patriots tight end Kyle Brady was a first-round draft pick (ninth overall) of the Jets in 1995. In his four seasons (1995- 98) in New York, Brady totaled 93 receptions for 949 yards and 10 touchdowns.
• Jets assistant secondary coach/director of player development Jerome Henderson was the Patriots' cornerbacks coach from 1991-93, then again in 1996. He was originally a Patriots second round pick (41st overall) in the 1991 NFL Draft, and played in Super Bowl XXXI.
• Jets defensive lineman Kareem Brown was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft and spent the first 11 weeks of the season on the Patriots' active roster before being released on Nov. 27.

• Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Jets linebacker Victor Hobson were teammates at the University of Michigan in 1999. Patriots linebacker Pierre Woods and Jets rookie linebacker David Harris also played with Hobson at Michigan.
• Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss paired up with Jets quarterback Chad Pennington to set an NCAA season record for touchdowns (24) at Marshall University in 1997. Patriots punter Chris Hanson was also on the squad.
• Patriots center Dan Koppen and Jets tight end Sean Ryan played together at Boston College from 2000-02.
• Jets tight end Chris Baker attended Michigan State while Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels was a grad assist. on the Spartans coaching staff.
• Patriots defensive back Brandon Meriweather and Jets defensive lineman Kareem Brown were teammates at the University of Miami.
• Patriots defensive back Eugene Wilson and Jets guard Brandon Moore were four-year teammates at Illinois.
• Patriots wide receiver Kelley Washington and Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis attended the University of Tennessee together.
• Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski and Jets offensive lineman Wade Smith played on the same Memphis team.

• As head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1995, Belichick hired Mike Tannenbaum as a personnel intern and Eric Mangini as a coaching assistant. Tannenbaum is now the Jets' general manager and Mangini is the Jets' head coach.
• Patriots special teams captain Larry Izzo played for the Miami Dolphins from 1996-2000, during which time Jets assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff was the Dolphins' special teams coach.
• Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, wide receiver Wes Welker, Jets defensive end David Bowens all were teammates on the Miami Dolphins in 2005.
• Jets director of player personnel Terry Bradway was a scout with the New York Giants from 1986-90, while Bill Belichick was a member of the coaching staff. Bradway's final season with the Giants was 1991.

• Jets head coach Eric Mangini is from Hartford, Conn., and attended Wesleyan University.
• Jets offensive quality control coach Brian Smith spent the last seven years coaching at the University of Massachusetts, where he was also a three-year starter during his collegiate career.
• Patriots safety Rashad Baker is a native of Camden, N.J. and attended Woodrow Wilson High where he set a school record for receiving yards.
• Jets defensive end Mike DeVito is a native of Welfleet, Massachusetts and played at the University of Maine, where he finished his collegiate career with 112 total tackles and 16 sacks.

HOT WHEN IT'S COLD
The Patriots have enjoyed tremendous recent success in cold weather and are 22-3 since 1993 when the kickoff temperature is 34 degrees or less.

• New England has won 17 of its last 19 games when the kickoff temperature has been 34 degrees or colder.
• Since 1993, the Patriots are 15-1 when it's 30 degrees or less.
• Tom Brady is 24-2 as a starter when the temperature is less than 40 degrees.

TOUGH AT HOME
The Patriots own an overall record of 42-9 (.824) at Gillette Stadium. Since their state-of-the-art facility opened at the beginning of the 2002 season, the Patriots own the NFL's best record at home.

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