NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-0) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-5)
Sunday, November 25, 2007 -- Gillette Stadium (68,756) -- 8:15 p.m. EST
The Patriots return to Foxborough this week for a Sunday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles will make their first trip to Foxborough for a regular season game since 1987, as the Patriots will aim to clinch their fifth consecutive AFC East division championship.
PLAYOFF SCENARIO
The Patriots can clinch the 2007 AFC East title with a victory over the Eagles or a Buffalo loss at Jacksonville this week. The Patriots have won four straight division titles and have won the division five times in six seasons since 2001. If the Patriots win their fifth straight division crown, they would set a record for the most consecutive division championships in AFC East Division history. New England's streak of four straight division titles is tied with the AFC South's Indianapolis Colts for the longest current streak in the NFL. If the Patriots clinch the division this week, they would tie the earliest division clinch since the NFL established the 16-game schedule in 1978. Three teams have clinched their division during the weekend of their 11th game since 1978 - the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1997 San Francisco 49ers and the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles.
PATRIOTS VS. NFC
The Patriots have been successful against NFC teams in recent seasons, compiling a 25-4 (.862) record against the conference since 2001, including a run of nine straight victories dating back to 2005. New England's record against the NFC since 2001 includes three Super Bowl victories over NFC teams. The Patriots' 33-30 victory over the Chicago Bears on Nov. 10, 2002 began a streak during which the Patriots have won 21 of their last 23 games against NFC competition, going 21-2 (.913) over that span. The Patriots are 2-0 against NFC competition this season, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 48-27 on Oct. 14 and beating the Washington Redskins 52-7 on Oct. 28.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by NBC. The game can be seen in Boston on WHDH-TV Channel 7. Al Michaels will handle play-by-play duties and John Madden will provide analysis. Andrea Kremer will report from the sidelines.
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 nationally by Westwood One. Dave Sims and Bob Trumpy will call the game.
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Eagles will meet for the 10th time in the regular season and for the first time since New England's 24-21 victory in Super Bowl XXXIX following the 2004 season. Philadelphia will make its first trip to Foxborough for a regularseason game in 20 years, with the teams' last clash in New England coming on Nov. 29, 1987 at Sullivan Stadium. The Patriots and Eagles last met in the regular season on Sept. 14, 2003, when the Patriots snapped a five-game losing streak to Philadelphia with a 31-10 win at Lincoln Financial Field. The teams have played just twice in the regular season since 1990. Despite their infrequent regular-season meetings, the teams have played 17 times in the preseason (most recently in 2004), with the Patriots holding a 9-8 lead in those games. Philadelphia is tied with the New York Giants as New England's second most frequent preseason opponent, trailing only Washington (19 games). The Patriots have defeated the Eagles six straight times in the preseason, dating back to 1998.
PATRIOTS vs. NFC EAST
The Patriots play each of the four NFC East teams this season as part of the NFL's schedule rotation. In addition to this week's game, the Patriots defeated Dallas 48-27 on Oct. 14, and beat Washington 52-7 on Oct. 28. The Patriots host Philadelphia this week and will travel to play the New York Giants (Dec. 29). The last time New England faced all four NFC East teams in a season was in 2003, when the Patriots compiled a 3-1 record against the division. New England holds an all-time combined regularseason record of 12-22 against the NFC East teams - Dallas (3- 7), N.Y. Giants (4-3), Philadelphia (3-6) and Washington (2-6).
PASSING PERFORMANCES
Tom Brady is slated to start against the Eagles for the third time in his career and for the second time in the regular season. Brady has completed 68.8 percent of his passes against Philadelphia, with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Donovan McNabb has started against the Patriots twice, including a three-touchdown performance in Super Bowl XXXIX. McNabb was injured and did not play in the 1999 clash between Philadelphia and New England, with Koy Detmer taking the starting nod in that game.
HISTORICAL LOOK
The Philadelphia Eagles are celebrating their 75th anniversary and have a long history that dates back to 1933. In addition to their three previous games in Foxborough against the Patriots, the Eagles have also played in New England against two other NFL franchises that formerly called New England home -the Boston Braves/Redskins and the Boston Yanks. Below is a listing of how the Eagles have fared in each of their visits to New England.
OTHER NEW ENGLAND TEAMS TO PLAY PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Boston Braves/Redskins: NFL team founded in Boston in 1932 as Boston Braves, changed name to Boston Redskins when they moved from Braves Field to Fenway Park in 1933. The team moved from Boston to Washington D.C. in 1937, where the franchise still remains.
Boston Yanks: NFL team founded in 1944 and played at Fenway Park. The team folded in 1948.
CONNECTIONS
- Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie was born in Boston, Mass.
- Patriots wide receiver Jabar Gaffney and his cousin, Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard, were teammates at Florida. The two also attended the same high school.
- Patriots wide receiver Donte' Stallworth was traded to Philadelphia from New Orleans in August 2006. Last season in Philadelphia he averaged 19.1 yards per catch, the second highest mark in the NFL. His season totals included 38 receptions for 725 yards and five touchdowns. He signed with the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent on March 13, 2007.
- Patriots guard Stephen Neal spend three months of the 2001 season on the Eagles' practice squad before being signed to the Patriots' active roster in December, 2001. He was originally drafted by New England and was waived following 2001 training camp.
- Patriots cornerback Eddie Jackson and Eagles guard Shawn Andrews were teammates at Arkansas.
- Patriots linebacker Pierre Woods and Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant both played at Michigan.
- Patriots defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith and Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley were on the same Nebraska defense. Patriots guard Russ Hochstein and Eagles running back Correll Buckhalter held down the other side of the ball together four years earlier.
- Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson and Eagles wide receiver Reggie Brown and guard Max Jean-Gilles were teammates at Georgia.
- Patriots defensive lineman Mike Wright and Eagles tight end Brodrick Bunkley played on the same University of Cincinnati team.
- Patriots safety Rashad Baker and Eagles linebacker Omar Gaither played on the same defense at Tennessee. Patriots wide receiver Kelley Washington was also on the squad.
- Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker and Eagles cornerback Joselio Hanson attended Texas Tech together.
- Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel attended Southern California with Eagles tackle Winston Justice and defensive tackles Mike Patterson and LaJaun Ramsey.
- Patriots defensive back Eugene Wilson and Eagles wide receiver Greg Lewis were four-year teammates at Illinois.
- Patriots running back Heath Evans and Eagles linebacker Takeo Spikes were on the same Auburn team.
- Patriots running back Laurence Maroney and Eagles fullback Thomas Tapeh were on the same offense at the University of Minnesota.
- Patriots quarterback Matt Gutierrez and Eagles linebacker Pago Togafau are both rookies out of Idaho State.
- Patriots tight end Kyle Brady is originally from Camp Hill, Penn. and attended Penn State.
- Patriots fullback Kyle Eckel is native of Haverford, Penn.
- Patriots center Dan Koppen is from Whitehall, Penn.
