NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-2) at NEW YORK JETS (9-5)
Sunday Dec. 27, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. ET. MetLife Stadium (82,500)
PATRIOTS: Game Release | **Roster** | **Depth Chart** | **Stats** | **Watch Games**
JETS: **Game Release** | **Roster** | **Depth Chart** | **Stats**
The New England Patriots improved to 12-2 with a 33-16 win against Tennessee last week, becoming the second team in NFL history with at least 12 regular-season wins in six consecutive seasons (2010-15), joining Indianapolis, who posted seven straight 12-win seasons (2003-09).
The win, coupled with Pittsburgh's win over Denver, clinched New England a first-round playoff bye for an NFL-record sixth straight season. Dallas and San Francisco earned four straight first-round byes from 1992 through 1995. The Patriots lead the NFL with 11 first round-round byes since the current NFL playoff format was instituted in 1990.
With a win this Sunday, the Patriots can secure the number one seed in the AFC Playoff field for the second consecutive season. New England has earned the number one seed five times (2014, 2011, 2010, 2007 and 2003).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION:This week's game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will work the sidelines. The game will be produced by Mark Wolff and directed by Bob Fishman.
NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN Radio. Marc Kestecher and Bill Polian will call the game. Ian Fitzsimmons will work the sidelines.
LOCAL RADIO:98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. Produced by Marc Cappello.
PATS AIM FOR SIXTH NO. 1 SEED
The Patriots have earned five number one seeds (2014, 2011, 2010, 2007 and 2003) in the postseason since 1990 the most in the NFL under that system. A win this week will secure the team's sixth top slot. The NFL began playoff seeding in 1975 and the current playoff format was instituted in 1990.
MOST NO. 1 SEEDS IN THE PLAYOFF FIELD
(Since 1990)
New England 5
Denver 4
Pittsburgh 4
San Francisco 4
MOST NO. 1 SEEDS OVERALL
(Since 1975)
San Francisco 8
Denver 7
Pittsburgh 6
New England 5
Dallas 5
Oakland 5
SERIES HISTORY
The Patriots and Jets will meet for the 114th time, including three postseason games, since the series between the AFC East rivals began in 1960. It will be the second meeting of the 2015 season. The Patriots beat the Jets, 30-23, at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 25.
The Patriots will be looking for their 17th series sweep and second consecutive sweep, after winning both games against the Jets in 2014.
The Patriots earned their 16th series sweep last year with a 27-25 win on Thursday Night Football at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 16, 2014, and a 17-16 win at the New York Jets on Dec. 21, 2014.
The Patriots lead the series, 59-53-1 overall.
The Patriots are 32-25-1 all-time against the Jets at home, including 1-1 at home in the postseason.
The Patriots are 27-28 all-time on the road against the Jets, including 3-2 at MetLife Stadium.
The teams have played in the postseason three times - a 1985 Wild Card game, a 2006 Wild Card game and an AFC Divisional game in 2010. New England beat the Jets, 26-14, in 1985 at the Meadowlands on their way to Super Bowl XX. In 2006, the Patriots defeated the Jets, 37-16, at Gillette Stadium and the Jets defeated the Patriots, 28-21, in the 2010 Divisional playoff game.
New England is 29-15 against the Jets since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994.
New England's 59 overall victories over the Jets (including two playoff wins) are the second most over any single opponent, trailing only Buffalo with 69 alltime wins.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
NEW ENGLAND 59, NEW YORK 53, 1 Tie
(Including New England 2, New York 1 in Playoffs)
Home Record, 32-25-1 (incl. 1-1 in playoffs)
Record in Foxborough, 28-19
Gillette Stadium, 12-4 (incl. 1-1 playoffs)
Foxboro Stadium, 16-15
Record in Boston, 4-5-1
Record in Birmingham, Ala., 0-1
Road Record, 27-28 (incl. 1-0 in playoffs)
MetLife Stadium, 3-2
Giants Stadium, 17-10 (incl. 1-0 playoffs)
Shea Stadium, 5-14
Polo Grounds, 2-2
Seasonal Sweeps, Patriots 16 (most recent '14), Jets 14 ('00)
Bill Belichick vs. N.Y. Jets, 24-11 (23-10 with New England)
BILL BELICHICK AGAINST THE AFC EAST
Bill Belichick has a 73-25 (.745) all-time regular season record against the AFC East as head coach of the Patriots, including a 22-9 record against the Jets. The Patriots are 4-0 against the AFC East in 2015. The Patriots finished with perfect 6-0 records in the AFC East two times under Belichick (2007 and 2012).
TOM BRADY AGAINST THE AFC EAST
As a starter against the AFC East, Tom Brady owns a 68-17 (.800) record. He is 25-3 against Buffalo, 22-6 against the New York Jets, 19-8 against Miami and was 2-0 against Indianapolis when they were in the AFC East (2001 season).
PASSING PERFORMANCES
Tom Brady owns a 21-5 record against the Jets as a starting quarterback in regular-season games.
Taking a look at some of the connections between the New England Patriots and New York Jets.Â
Patriots WR Keshawn Martin caught passes from Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2014, when they played for the Houston Texans.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles and wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell (not pictured) worked with Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll and offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo (not pictured) when they served on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff in 2011. Bowles was promoted from assistant head coach/secondary to interim head coach and Dorrell worked with the wide receivers, while Daboll held the role of offensive coordinator and DeGuglielmo tutored the offensive line.Â
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels tutored Jets WR Brandon Marshall in 2009, when McDaniels served as head coach of the Denver Broncos.Â
Patriots DL Alan Branch and Jets LB David Harris were defensive teammates at Michigan in 2005-06.
Jets defensive line coach Pepper Johnson spent 14 years as a member of the Patriots' defensive coaching staff, where he held multiple roles and helped New England capture three Super Bowl victories from 2000-13.
Patriots DL Jabaal Sheard and Jets CB Buster Skrine were defensive teammates for the Cleveland Browns from 2011-14.
CONNECTIONS
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Jets P Ryan Quigley attended Boston College where he broke the record for most punts in a season with 79. In his senior year, he was ranked fourth in the nation with 28 punts inside the 20. Quigley is the school's all-time leader in career punts with 283 for 11,418 yards.
- Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick attended Harvard from 2001-04. During his senior year, Fitzpatrick earned Ivy League MVP honors after leading Harvard to a 10-0 record, throwing for 1,986 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushing for 448 yards and five scores.
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY TIES
- Patriots Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Kraft graduated from Columbia University in 1963 with a degree in history and economics and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
- Patriots defense coordinator Matt Patricia was a standout offensive lineman at R.P.I., where he helped the Engineers capture three ECAC National Championships. After graduating in 1996, Patricia began his coaching career at his alma mater as a graduate assistant.
- Patriots linebackers coach Patrick Graham began his coaching career in 2002 as a graduate assistant at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.
- Patriots safeties coach Brian Flores attended Poly Prep HS in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he played running back and linebacker.
- Patriots coaching assistant Steve Belichick attended Rutgers, where he walked onto the football team as a long-snapper in order to prepare for his coaching career.
- Patriots DB Devin McCourty attended Saint Joseph's HS in Montvale, N.J., where he was an all-league first-team defensive back his final two seasons. McCourty went on to play college football at Rutgers, where he started 39 of 52 games at cornerback and was an Academic All-Big East selection in 2006 and 2007.
- Patriots LB Jonathan Freeny was a four-year letterman (2007-10) and a two-year starter at Rutgers, where he played in 46 games with 13 starts.
- Patriots DB Logan Ryan attended Eastern HS in Voorhees, N.J. before playing college football at Rutgers, where he started 27 of 37 games at cornerback and was a first-team All-American selection as a senior by Pro Football Weekly.
- Patriots DB Duron Harmon started 27 of 50 games at Rutgers, earning first-team All-Big East honors as a junior and senior.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Jets CB Darrelle Revis spent one season in New England, where he helped the Patriots capture a victory in Super Bowl XLIX.
- Jets RBStevan Ridley was drafted by the Patriots in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft and spent four seasons (2011-14) in New England.
- Jets defensive line coach Pepper Johnson spent 14 years as a member of the Patriots' defensive coaching staff, where he held multiple roles and helped capture three Super Bowl victories from 2000-13.
FORMER JETS
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spent three seasons (1997-99) with the New York Jets as the team's assistant head coach/secondary coach, hold- ing the responsibility of calling the team's defensive plays. In 1998, the Jets surrendered just 266 points, propelling the team to its first division title. After finishing the regular season with a franchise-best 12-4 overall record, the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship Game. In his first season with the Jets in 1997, his defense surrendered just 287 points, an average of 17.9 points per game, marking a significant 10.5-point per-game improvement from 1996.
- Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll spent two seasons (2007-08) with the Jets as the quarterbacks coach. In New York, he helped QB Brett Favre pick up the Jets offense after the quarterback came out of retirement. In his one sea- son under Daboll, Favre earned Pro Bowl accolades and had the second-highest completion percentage of his career and fifth-highest completion percentage in the NFL (65.7).
- Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo coached with the New York Jets in 2012, serving as the team's offensive line coach. Under his direction, the unit aided the Jets rushing attack to 1,896 yards - the 12th best total in the NFL.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Patriots TE Michael Williams and Jets TE Kellen Davis were offensive teammates in Seattle in 2013.
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels worked with Jets WREric Deckerwhen McDaniels served as head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2010.
- Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly tutored Jets DT Leger Douzable in 2009, when Daly held the same position with the St. Louis Rams.
- Patriots TE Scott Chandler caught passes from Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick from 2010-12, when they played for the Buffalo Bills.
- Patriots WR Keshawn Martin caught passes from Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2014, when they played for the Houston Texans.
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels tutored Jets WRBrandon Marshall in 2009, when McDaniels served as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
- Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll also worked with Jets WR Brandon Marshall when Daboll held the role of offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins from 2010-11.
- Patriots DL Jabaal Sheard and Jets CBBuster Skrinewere defensive teammates for the Cleveland Browns from 2011-14.
- Jets head coach Todd Bowles and wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell worked with Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll and offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo when they served on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff in 2011. Bowles was promoted from assistant head coach/secondary to interim head coach and Dorrell worked with the wide receivers, while Daboll held the role of offensive coordinator and DeGuglielmo tutored the offensive line.
- Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey worked with Patriots TEScott Chandler when Gailey served as head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2010-12.
- Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers worked with Patriots DE Rob Ninkovich when Rodgers tutored the Dolphins' defensive line in 2008.
- From 2006-08, Jets tight ends coach Jimmie Johnson worked with Pa- triots wide receivers coach Chad O'Sheawhen they served on the Minnesota Vikings offensive coaching staff.
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick coached Jets defensive line coach Pepper Johnson several times during Johnson's playing career-first with the Giants from 1986-90, then with the Browns in 1995 and finally with the Jets from 1997-98.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots TE Michael Williams and Jets G James Carpenterwere offensive teammates at Alabama from 2009-10.
- Patriots DL Alan Branch and Jets LB David Harriswere defensive team- mates at Michigan in 2005-06.
- Patriots OL Marcus Cannon and Jets WRJeremy Kerleywere offensive teammates at Texas Christian from 2007-08.
- Patriots OL Josh Kline and Jets G Brian Winterswere teammates on the offensive line at Kent State from 2009-12.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
The Patriots have clinched the 2015 AFC East championship and a berth in the playoffs. Pittsburgh's win over Denver clinched a first round bye. The Patriots have earned a first-round bye in an NFL-record six consecutive seasons (2010-2015). Dallas and San Francisco earned four straight byes from 1992 through 1995.The Patriots lead the NFL with 11 first-round byes since the current NFL playoff format was instituted in 1990.
MOST SEASONS EARNING A BYE SINCE 12-TEAM PLAYOFF FORMAT IN 1990
New England 11
Pittsburgh 8
San Francisco 8
Denver 7
