As we gear up for the release of the NFL schedule we take a look at several opponent streaks and storylines heading into the 2015 season.

1,000-YARD CLUB

The Patriots will face seven 1,000-yard rushers from 2014, as well as eight 1,000-yard receivers.

1,000-YARD RUSHERS – 2014 SEASON

1,000-YARD RECEIVERS – 2014 SEASON

STREAKS

Excluding last year's season finale against Buffalo with no playoff implications, the Patriots have won a total of 27 straight games against this year's home opponents (Jacksonville/Buffalo, 6; Tennessee, 5; Philadelphia, 4; Washington/New York, 2; Pittsburgh/Miami, 1)

New England has won 10 straight games, including playoffs, vs. the AFC South. 

STORYLINES

Tennessee

The Patriots have won five straight games vs. the Titans, with the last loss coming in 2002. New England has outscored Tennessee 188-80 in that span, including 59-0 in their last meeting in Foxborough, on Oct. 18, 2009. 

New England has not allowed a kick or punt return touchdown in an NFL-high 77 consecutive games, with C.J. Spiller scoring the last touchdown on a 95-yard return on Sept. 26, 2010. During that span, Tennessee is tied for the most return touchdowns with eight (Baltimore, Chicago).  

Jacksonville

New England has a 9-1 all-time record against Jacksonville, including six straight victories and a 6-0 record at home. The only loss came at Jacksonville, on Jan. 3, 1999, in the Wild Card Round of the 1998 playoffs.

Tom Brady has thrown for a higher completion percentage against Jacksonville than any other team. Brady has completed 70.8 percent of his passes in six games against the Jaguars, including the top two games of his career. Brady completed a postseason NFL-record 92.9 percent of his passes in the 2007 Divisional Round and a regular season career-high 88.5 percent during the 2009 season vs. the Jaguars. 

Indianapolis

The Patriots have averaged 219 yards rushing in the last three meetings vs. the Colts (including the postseason), with 13 rushing touchdowns in those three games. 

Andrew Luck has thrown 10 interceptions in four career games against New England. He has 45 interceptions in 50 games against the rest of the league. 

The AFC's top two teams from 2014 will face off again this year. The Patriots have advanced to the AFC Championship Game 11 times in team history and are 9-2 in the rematches the following year (the 1985 championship pitted the Patriots against division foe Miami and the Patriots won both matchups in 1986)/

Houston

The Patriots will face current Texans head coach and former offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien for the first time in 2015. Bill Belichick is 5-4 in games against former coordinators who became head coaches – 1-0 vs. Romeo Crennel, 4-3 vs. Eric Mangini and 0-1 vs. Josh McDaniels. 

The Texans are one of just three teams on the Patriots schedule without a quarterback selected in the first round on the roster. The Titans and Jets are the other two teams and pick second and sixth overall, respectively, in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Patriots are one of nine teams league-wide without a first rounder at the quarterback position, which also includes the Bengals, Rams, Seahawks, Saints and Buccaneers, who select first overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. 

The Patriots could face former quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett when the team faces off against the Texans. Matt Cassel (2014) and Damon Huard (2008) are the only two former New England quarterbacks in the Brady era to play against the Patriots. They both lost and combined to go 27-of-48 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions against their old team. 

Dallas

The 2015 meeting marks the Patriots' first visit to AT&T Stadium. Tom Brady has wins (regular season and postseason) in 35 different stadiums, including three college stadiums (Memorial Stadium vs. Chicago, Sun Devil Stadium vs. Arizona and TCF Bank Stadium vs. Minnesota) and Wembley Stadium. Brady is winless at CenturyLink Field and has never played at AT&T Stadium, Levi's Field or Raymond James Stadium and did not play at the Pontiac Silverdome (as a starter) or Candlestick Park during their existence.

New England lost its first seven games against Dallas, but has won all four meetings since, beginning with a 13-6 victory in 1999. In those four wins, the Patriots have limited the Cowboys to 12.3 points per game.  

Stephen Gostkowski and Dan Bailey are the NFL's top two all-time leading kickers. Bailey's has an NFL-best 89.8 field goal percentage, while Gostkowski is right behind him with an 86.8 percent success rate. 

Washington

The Patriots and Redskins are first and second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns since 2012 with 57 and 51 touchdowns, respectively. The Redskins are tied for second with the Vikings. 

New England beat Washington 52-7 in Washington's only trip to Foxborough during the Belichick era (Oct. 28, 2007). 

Philadelphia

Philadelphia forced a league-leading 22 fumbles on defense last season, while New England (7) committed the second fewest offensive fumbles in the NFL, behind Cleveland (5). 

The Eagles (6) and Patriots (5) blocked a combined 11 kicks last season. Philadelphia blocked four punts, one field goal and one point after attempt, while New England blocked four field goals and one punt. 

N.Y Giants

The Patriots have faced the N.Y. Giants three times in the regular season since Brady took over as quarterback (2003, 2007, 2011) and have gone on to the Super Bowl in each of those seasons. 

The Giants are one of just two teams on the 2015 schedule to win their last regular season meeting with New England (Buffalo). Tom Brady has only lost back-to-back regular season meetings against the same opponent four times in his career (Denver, 2005-06; Indianapolis, 2005-06, 2008-09; N.Y. Jets 2008-09). 

Miami

The Patriots haven't been swept in a season series with a divisional opponent since the 2000 season, when they went 0-4 combined against the Dolphins and Jets. 

Brady is 12-1 vs. Miami in Foxborough, with his only home loss coming in the final game of the 2005 season when the Patriots has already locked up the AFC East title and Brady played in the first quarter before being relieved by Matt Cassel. 

Buffalo

Rex Ryan is the sixth head coach hired by the Bills since Bill Belichick was hired in 2000. Buffalo is 0-10 vs. New England in the first year with a new coach. 

Tom Brady is 23-3 against Buffalo in his career. The 23 wins are tied for the second-most wins by a starting quarterback against an opponent. Brett Favre has 26 wins against Detroit and 23 wins against Chicago. 

N.Y Jets

Todd Bowles enters his first season as head coach of the New York Jets. Since the start of his second season as Patriots head coach in 2001, Bill Belichick is 39-10 in games against head coaches in their first full season with a club (does not include interim coaches hired in midseason that season). The three previous Jets head coaches – Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini and Rex Ryan – all went 1-1 vs. New England in their first season. 

The last four Patriots-Jets games have been decided by a total of nine points. The Patriots are 3-1 in those games, with a narrow 84-81 edge in scoring. 

Pittsburgh

Brady and Ben Roethlisberger account for six of the 13 Super Bowl championships won by active starting quarterbacks. Eli Manning is the only other active quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls (2). 

The Patriots won the teams' last meeting 55-31 at Gillette Stadium in 2013, with the Steelers surrendering the most points in team history. 

Denver

The Patriots have won their last four regular season games against Denver, including all three games that Peyton Manning has started at quarterback (Manning's last regular season win over New England came with the Colts in 2009). The Patriots have averaged 37.3 points in the last four regular season games vs. Denver, with an average margin of victory of 13.3 points. 

Since 2012, when Manning arrived in Denver, the Broncos and Patriots have scored more points than any other NFL team. The Broncos (1,569 points) lead the NFL and the Patriots (1,469 points) are second.

RELATED LINKS

• Patriots 2015 Regular Season Opponents
• Patriots 2015 Preseason Schedule