Sporting their best start to a season since 1980, the 6-1 New England Patriots will travel to St. Louis to take on the 4-3 Rams in a midseason inter-conference showdown. Despite seeing an NFL-record 21-game winning streak snapped a week ago in Pittsburgh, the Patriots have matched the best seven-game season-opening mark in team history, sharing the mark with the 1980 and 1974 squads.

After experiencing significant success in the early part of their schedule, the Patriots approach the season's midpoint facing a tough opponent in one of the toughest places to win in the NFL. The Rams' historically strong offense is ranked sixth in the league, and St. Louis is 16-1 in its last 17 regular-season home games. The Patriots also have trends working in their favor, compiling a 28-4 record in games played after November 1 since 2001.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be televised on CBS. The game can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Jim Nantz will handle the play-by-play duties and Phil Simms will provide analysis. Bonnie Bernstein will contribute reports from the sidelines.

RADIO: WBCN 104.1 FM is the flagship station for the Patriots Rock Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 28th 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 21st season as a broadcast tandem.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast nationwide by Westwood One Sports. Harry Kalas and Jack Ham will call all of the action from the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

FANTASTIC FINISHES

One of the oldest mantras in sports is that it doesn't matter where you start a season, but it does matter where you finish it. The Patriots have done a remarkable job of finishing strong over the past two-plus seasons, as they have compiled a 28-4 (.875) record after November 1 since the 2001 season. In 2003, the Patriots hit their groove, winning all 11 games after Nov. 1, en route to the Super Bowl XXXVIII title.

STARTING STRONG

The Patriots are off to their best start to a season in nearly 25 years. New England has started the season with a 6-1 record, tying the 1980 and 1974 teams for the best seven-game start to a campaign.