New England Patriots stats and facts
Last Updated: 30/01/17 12:59pm
New England Patriots, known as Boston Patriots before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, are one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport.
New England Patriots
- Established: 1959
- Stadium: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- Team colours: Navy blue, silver, red and white
- Head coach: Bill Belichick
- Super Bowl Championships: 4
- Conference Championships: 8
- Division Championships: 19
- Play-offs appearances: 24
The killer combination of quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, which was established at the turn of the millennium, has dominated the NFL in the 21st century.
Six Super Bowl appearances since 2001 have catapulted the Patriots to joint-top in the number of appearances in the big game (eight). Only Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers have played in as many Super Bowls, but the latter two boast a superior conversion rate to the Patriots' winning record of 50% (4W 4L) as of 2015.
New England last won the Super Bowl in 2014 when they defeated Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Arizona. Thirteen years after his first title, Tom Brady completed a hat-trick of Super Bowl MVPs by throwing 328 yards for four touchdowns in the game. He is only the second quarterback to ]accomplish such a feat (Joe Montana's 1989 season for the San Francisco 49ers was capped off by his third SB MVP).
The Pats, however, have never been far from controversy during the most prolific period in their history. Both Belichick and Brady have found themselves at the centre of two major investigations over the years: the former in 2007 when he was charged with filming opposing defensive coaches from undesignated areas (known as 'Spygate') and the latter in 2014 when he was accused of ball tampering (known as 'Deflategate').
Nevertheless, the pair remain the greatest coach-quarterback tandem in NFL history.
