FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots will be featured on national television five times during the 2008 regular season as part of a schedule that also includes kickoffs on Sundays at 1:00 p.m. for four of their first five home games.

The Patriots' home schedule features prime-time matchups against Denver on Monday, Oct. 20 and against the New York Jets on Thursday, Nov. 13. Patriots fans will also delight in the prospect of four early-afternoon home games during which they can experience the beauty of late Summer and early Fall at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots will host early-to-mid-season 1:00 p.m. games against Kansas City (Sept. 7), Miami (Sept. 21), St. Louis (Oct. 26) and Buffalo (Nov. 9). In addition to hosting their three divisional opponents, the Patriots will welcome a pair of NFC West teams to Gillette Stadium for the first time, when St. Louis and Arizona (Dec. 21) come to town. New England will also host the defending AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers (Nov. 30) for the second straight season.

New England posted a franchise-best 8-0 road record in 2007 and is 15-1 on the road over the last two years. That mark will face a tough test this season when the Patriots travel to play three defending division champions - Indianapolis (AFC South), San Diego (AFC West) and Seattle (NFC West). The Patriots will play four games on the West Coast (against San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Oakland) for the first time since 1986, when they had road contests against the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots' four games out West will come in two sets of two games each, kicking off the months of October and December.

The Patriots open the 2008 regular season at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (Sept. 7), beginning the season with a home game for the fourth time in five seasons. New England will host the Chiefs for the first time since 2002, when the Patriots claimed a thrilling 41-38 overtime victory. New England will play its first road game the following week (Sept. 14), opening divisional play against the New York Jets. The Patriots will remain in the division the next week, welcoming Miami to Gillette Stadium (Sept. 21) for the Dolphins' first September trip to Foxborough since 1995. New England will enjoy its bye week during the weekend of Sept. 28, marking its earliest bye since 2004.

October will start with two straight games on the West Coast, beginning with New England's first trip to San Francisco since 1995 (Oct. 5). The 49ers are one of just two teams the Patriots have never defeated on the road (Washington). New England will play at San Diego (Oct. 12) in a rematch against their playoff foes from last season's AFC Championship and a tightly contested divisional playoff game in 2006. The Patriots-Chargers game will be New England's first prime-time appearance of the season and will kick off a string of four night games in a six-week span. The Patriots remain in prime-time the following week, returning home for a Monday night matchup against Denver (Oct. 20), marking the third Monday night game in Gillette Stadium history and the first since 2005. New England closes out the month of October with the St. Louis Rams' first trip to Gillette Stadium (Oct. 26), as the Patriots will seek to defeat the Rams in Foxborough for the first time since 1974.

The first of five November games will see New England return to prime time with a Sunday night trip to Indianapolis (Nov. 2) to play the Colts for the first time at their new home, Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots and Colts will play their ninth game in six years (including three playoff matchups) and will meet in Indianapolis for the third straight time. New England will then begin a string of three straight divisional matchups with a two-game homestand, beginning with a visit from Buffalo (Nov. 9). Next, the Patriots will square off with the Jets in a Thursday night matchup (Nov. 13), marking the Patriots' first midseason Thursday night game in Foxborough (their only other two Thursday night home games have been season openers). The Patriots complete their three-game divisional streak with a trip to Miami (Nov. 23), before returning to Gillette Stadium close out the month by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Thanksgiving Weekend clash (Nov. 30).

The Patriots kick off the final month of the season with their second string of back-to-back West Coast games. New England will travel to Seattle for the first time since 1993, making its first visit to Qwest Field in a Sunday night clash with the Seahawks (Dec. 7). The Patriots will then play in Oakland (Dec. 14), seeking their first road win over the Raiders since a divisional playoff victory following the 1985 season. New England closes out its regular-season home slate against Arizona (Dec. 21) in the Cardinals' first regular-season visit to Gillette Stadium. The Patriots conclude the schedule with a trip to Buffalo (Dec. 28) marking the first time in team history that the Patriots will play a season finale on the road against the Bills.

Bold indicates nationally telivised game.
* Game time and network subject to possible flexible scheduling adjustment.