HOME PLAYOFF WINNING STREAK BROKEN
- The Patriots' 11-game home winning streak was snapped with today's loss. New England won 11 straight home playoff games from 1996 to 2007.
- The Patriots' last home playoff loss was a 31-14 defeat to the Houston Oilers on Dec. 31, 1978.
- The Patriots' streak of 11 consecutive home wins are second in NFL history to the 13 by Green Bay from 1939 through 2001.
- The Patriots are now 11-2 all-time at home in playoff games, including 7-1 at Gillette Stadium.
- New England was a perfect 8-0 during the regular-season at Gillette Stadium in 2009, recording their fourth undefeated regular-season at home since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002.
PATRIOTS RANK THIRD IN NFL PLAYOFF WINNING PERCENTAGE
The Patriots have compiled a 21-14 record in their 35 playoff games and their .600 playoff winning percentage is the third best in NFL history among teams that have played at least 15 playoff games in their history. New England has qualified for six Super Bowls (XX, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX and XLII) and one AFL Championship Game in 1963.
EDELMAN BECOMES FIRST PATRIOTS ROOKIE TO SCORE TWO TOUCHDOWNS IN A POSTSEASON GAME.
Julian Edelman became the first Patriots rookie to catch two touchdown passes in a postseason game. He scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the second quarter and had a 1-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. His two receiving touchdowns tie the New England record for most in a postseason game. He is also the first New England rookie to score a touchdown in a postseason game since Robert Edwards in 1998.
BRADY'S HOME WINNING STREAK SNAPPEDPrior to today's loss, the Patriots had won 23 straight games at home when Tom Brady started at quarterback, including regular season and postseason games. Brady is now 14-4 overall in the playoffs, including 8-1 in home games.
BRADY PASSES FOR 4,000 CAREER PLAYOFF PASSING YARDS
Tom Brady became the sixth NFL quarterback to reach 4,000 yards in the postseason. He entered the Baltimore game needing 46 yards to reach the milestone. He eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark in the third quarter on an 11-yard completion to Julian Edelman.
The top five passing yards leaders in playoff history:
PLAYER PLAYOFF GAMES PASSING YARDSJoe Montana 23 5,772
Brett Favre* 22 5,311
John Elway 22 4,964
Dan Marino 18 4,510
Peyton Manning* 15 4,208
Tom Brady* 18 4,108
* Active
BRADY EXTENDS STREAK OF PLAYOFF GAMES WITH A TOUCHDOWN PASS
Tom Brady had a 6-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman in the second quarter and a 1-yard touchdown pass to Edelman in the third quarter extended his streak to 16 straight postseason games with a touchdown pass, the second best streak in NFL history to Brett Favre (18).
The most consecutive games with a touchdown pass in playoff history:
PLAYER PLAYOFF GAMES YEARS
Brett Favre 18 1995-present
Tom Brady 16 2001-present
Dan Marino 13 1983-95
BRADY PASSES ELWAY ON NFL'S POSTSEASON TOUCHDOWN PASS LIST
Tom Brady's two touchdown passes against Baltimore give him 28 career postseason touchdowns, fifth best in NFL postseason history. Brady's 28 scoring passes have come in 18 career playoff games.
MOST TOUCHDOWN PASSES IN NFL PLAYOFF HISTORYJoe Montana 45
Brett Favre 39
Dan Marino 32
Terry Bradshaw 30
Tom Brady 28
John Elway 27
Kurt Warner 26*
*-Not including game on 1/10/10
WEATHER NOTES
The kickoff temperature today was 20 degrees with a wind chill of eight degrees. The Patriots entered the game 8-0 all-time in playoff games where the temperature was at or below freezing. Today's game was the Patriots' coldest game since the 2004 AFC Championship Game at Pittsburgh (1/23/05) when it was 11 degrees. Today's game was the coldest home game for the Patriots since the 2003 AFC Divisional Playoffs against Tennessee (1/10/04), the coldest game in team history (4 degrees).
LB TULLY BANTA-CAIN REGISTERS SECOND NFL INTERCEPTION AND FIRST EVER IN THE POSTSEASONLB Tully Banta-Cain, who led the Patriots with 10 sacks in the regular-season, registered his second NFL interception and the first in the postseason, with a second quarter pick. His first career interception came in the regular season vs. Buffalo (11/14/04).
WR WES WELKER SERVED AS A GAME CAPTAIN
WR Wes Welker, who was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week, joined team captains Randy Moss, Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork and Sam Aiken for the opening coin toss. (Tom Brady also serves as a captain but was not at midfield for the coin toss).
QUICK HITS
- Tom Brady and Kevin Faulk each played in their 18th playoff game for the Patriots. The duo tied Willie McGinest for the third highest career playoff game total in Patriots history, trailing only Tedy Bruschi (22) and Troy Brown (20).
- Julian Edelman turned in the fifth two-touchdown game in the Patriots' 35-game playoff history. Curtis Martin holds the team record with three touchdowns in the 1996 divisional playoff game against Pittsburgh.
- Kevin Faulk led the Patriots with 14 rushes for 52 yards. His career total of 425 playoff rushing yards trails only Corey Dillon (508) and Antowain Smith (456) in Patriots playoff history.
- Kevin Faulk tied for the team lead with six receptions. Faulk's 51 career playoff receptions are the second highest total in team history, trailing only Troy Brown (58).
