New England Patriots
The Brady–Belichick era is regarded as one of the greatest sports dynasties.
The New England Patriots (colloquially known as the Pats) are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2025, the Patriots are the seventh-most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
- Conference
- American Football Conference (AFC)
- Defining Playoff Meeting
- 2016 Season AFC Championship Game
- Key Regular Season Clash
- 2018 Week 5 Shootout
- Era Focus
- Brady/Belichick vs Mahomes/Reid
Lore & Background
Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston, including Fenway Park from 1963 to 1968, until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium. The team began using Gillette Stadium for home games the same year. Generally mediocre until coming under the ownership of Robert Kraft, the Patriots experienced unexpected success in the 2001 season under head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, which started a period of dominance which lasted until the 2019 season. The Brady–Belichick era, regarded as one of the greatest sports dynasties, would see the Patriots claim nearly every major Super Bowl record. The Patriots hold the records for most Super Bowl wins (6, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers), appearances (12), and losses (6). Other NFL records held by the franchise include the most wins in a 10-year period (126 from 2003 to 2012), the longest winning streak of regular season and playoff games (21 from October 2003 to October 2004), the most consecutive winning seasons (19 from 2001 to 2019), the most consecutive conference championship appearances (8 from 2011 to 2018), the most consecutive division titles (11 from 2009 to 2019), the only undefeated 16-game regular season (2007), the most postseason wins (40, tied with the San Francisco 49ers), and the highest postseason winning percentage (.638).
In Their Own Story
The tunnel is cold, smelling of deep heat and fresh turf. Red jerseys stand opposite Navy blue, separated by a line of white paint on the concrete floor. No words are spoken; only the sound of cleats shifting and the hum of stadium lights overhead fills the silence. A quarterback adjusts his gloves, eyes locked ahead toward the roaring crowd beyond the steel doors. This isn't just a game; it is a changing of the guard written in sweat and turf paint.
Reader's Guide
The Patriots' defining playoff meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs is the 2018 AFC Championship Game.
Did You Know?
- Brady and Mahomes combined for 1,384 passing yards across their rivalry games.
More in Great Rivalries & Feuds
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