48 Fun Facts About New England Patriots

Which Boston business executive was awarded the eighth and final AFL franchise on November 16, 1959?

Billy Sullivan kept the Patriots until 1988, when losses from his family's bankrolling of the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour forced him to sell the team he had founded.

The Patriots' 1971 Foxborough stadium originally carried which beer company's name?

Schaefer Stadium, named for the brewery that bought the rights, gave the Patriots a home of their own after a decade spent borrowing Boston fields, Fenway Park and Harvard Stadium among them.

The Patriots' logo from 1961 to 1992 showed a Revolutionary War minuteman doing what?

Hiking a football: the minuteman began in 1960 as a newspaper cartoonist's sketch, and the team's owner liked it so much that he adopted it as the club's logo.

The Patriots' logo unveiled in 1993 is popularly known by what nickname?

The Flying Elvis nickname stuck because fans thought the gray minuteman's face, with its streaming red, white and blue hat, resembled a young Elvis Presley.

Which team crushed the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX?

The Chicago Bears, with Richard Dent as MVP and William 'The Refrigerator' Perry scoring a touchdown, routed New England 46-10 after the Patriots had won three road playoff games as a wild card.

Which Patriots quarterback replaced a struggling Tony Eason during Super Bowl XX?

Steve Grogan replaced Tony Eason, who went 0-for-6, in the second quarter of Super Bowl XX and threw the Patriots' only touchdown pass, to Irving Fryar.

Who was the first special-teams Super Bowl MVP, with a 99-yard kickoff return in Super Bowl XXXI?

Desmond Howard struck on the very next kickoff after the Patriots had closed to within six points, and New England never scored again in the Packers' 35-21 win.

Which head coach left the Patriots for a division rival after Super Bowl XXXI?

Bill Parcells quit within a week of Super Bowl XXXI, still angry that owner Robert Kraft had overruled his wish for a defender in the 1996 draft and taken receiver Terry Glenn.

Robert Kraft's 1994 purchase blocked the Patriots' move to which city?

St. Louis was the seller's home city, but Kraft, who already owned the stadium, refused $75 million to release the team from its lease there and bought the club himself.

Before New England, Bill Belichick was head coach of which team from 1991 to 1995?

Bill Belichick coached the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995, going 36-44 with one playoff trip, and was fired after the franchise's move to Baltimore was announced.

In December 2024, Bill Belichick was named head football coach of which university?

North Carolina gave Bill Belichick his first college job, on the campus where his father Steve had been an assistant coach in the 1950s, when Bill was a toddler.

With which overall pick of the 2000 NFL draft did the Patriots take Tom Brady?

199th overall, in the sixth round: six other quarterbacks were taken before Tom Brady, who went on to win a record seven Super Bowls.

Tom Brady played his college football for which school?

Michigan: Brady arrived seventh on the depth chart, and even as a senior he had to share the job, playing the first quarter before Drew Henson took the second.

Whose injury in 2001 opened the door for Tom Brady to become the Patriots' starter?

Drew Bledsoe suffered a sheared blood vessel in his chest from a Mo Lewis hit in week two of 2001, and Tom Brady kept the job when Bledsoe was fit again.

Who was the Boston Patriots' first head coach when they began play in 1960?

Lou Saban coached the Boston Patriots from their 1960 debut until he was fired five games into 1961 and replaced by Mike Holovak; Saban later won two AFL titles with Buffalo.

Which Raiders defender's hit on Tom Brady triggered the Tuck Rule ruling?

Charles Woodson's corner blitz knocked the ball loose, but referee Walt Coleman ruled on replay that Brady's arm had been moving forward, making it an incomplete pass.

Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots' first title, was the first Super Bowl ever played in which month?

Super Bowl XXXVI fell on 3 February 2002 because the schedule slid a week after the September 11 attacks; the Patriots chose to be introduced as a team rather than individually.

Whose interception return gave the underdog Patriots their first lead of Super Bowl XXXVI?

Ty Law stepped in front of a Kurt Warner pass and ran it back for a touchdown, and the Patriots, given little chance against the Rams, never trailed again.

Vinatieri's kick made Super Bowl XXXVI the first ever won in which way?

On the final play: no earlier Super Bowl had been won by a score as time expired, and the kick sealed one of the game's great upsets, over a team favoured by 14 points.

In 1982's 'Snowplow Game', a plow cleared a spot for the Patriots' winning field goal against which team?

The Miami Dolphins lost 3-0 after Mark Henderson, a prisoner on work release, drove his plow across the snow-covered field to clear a patch for kicker John Smith.

Which two performers were involved in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime 'wardrobe malfunction'?

Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake ended their halftime duet with the exposure that brought CBS a $550,000 FCC fine, later thrown out in court; the Patriots beat the Panthers 32-29.

Which receiver was Super Bowl XXXIX MVP with a record-tying 11 catches against the Eagles?

Deion Branch caught 11 passes for 133 yards in the 24-21 win over Philadelphia, tying Dan Ross and Jerry Rice's Super Bowl record, and was named MVP without scoring.

Gillette Stadium, opened in 2002, was originally known by what name?

CMGI Field was the name sold to internet company CMGI before the 2002 opening; after the dot-com bust that deal was scrapped and Gillette bought the naming rights.

What structure at Gillette Stadium reaches 218 feet and offers 360-degree views of Foxborough?

A lighthouse has marked the stadium's entrance since it opened; the 2023 rebuild, billed as the tallest lighthouse in the United States, turned it into a tower fans can climb to an observation deck.

Which receiver set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches for the 2007 Patriots?

Randy Moss cost the Patriots only a fourth-round draft pick in a trade with Oakland, then caught 23 touchdown passes to break Jerry Rice's record of 22.

Who ended the 2007 Patriots' perfect season in Super Bowl XLII?

The New York Giants won 17-14 after David Tyree's helmet catch kept the winning drive alive, leaving the Patriots 18-1 after an 18-0 start.

The 2007 'Spygate' penalty punished the Patriots for videotaping which team's sideline signals?

The New York Jets, coached by former Patriots assistant Eric Mangini, were the team taped in the 2007 opener; the NFL fined Belichick $500,000 and took a first-round pick.

Which undrafted rookie's goal-line interception with 20 seconds left sealed Super Bowl XLIX?

Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie from West Alabama, jumped Russell Wilson's slant to Ricardo Lockette at the goal line, moments after Jermaine Kearse's juggling catch had set up first-and-goal.

Which pop star opened the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show riding a giant golden mechanical lion?

Katy Perry rode in on a giant golden lion to 'Roar' and later shared the stage with Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott, with the dancing 'Left Shark' stealing the show.

Who first replaced Tom Brady during his Deflategate suspension?

Jimmy Garoppolo was 21-0 up in his second start when a shoulder injury knocked him out, so rookie Jacoby Brissett finished that win and started the next two games.

Deflategate stemmed from the January 2015 AFC Championship Game against which opponent?

The Indianapolis Colts, beaten 45-7 that day, had alerted the league; linebacker D'Qwell Jackson's interception produced the ball that was checked at halftime.

From what deficit did the Patriots come back to win Super Bowl LI against Atlanta?

Down 28-3 midway through the third quarter, the Patriots scored 31 unanswered points, helped by a diving catch that came off a defender's shoe, in the first Super Bowl decided in overtime.

Super Bowl LI, the 34-28 overtime win, was played in which city?

Houston's NRG Stadium hosted Super Bowl LI, where Lady Gaga opened the halftime show on the stadium roof and then appeared to leap down into the arena.

Who scored the only touchdown in the Patriots' 13-3 Super Bowl LIII win over the Rams?

Sony Michel scored from two yards out in the fourth quarter, one play after Rob Gronkowski's 29-yard catch, ending the first Super Bowl to go three quarters without a touchdown.

The Patriots' sixth Super Bowl title tied them for the most in NFL history with which franchise?

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed three head coaches to win their six; the Patriots, without a title until 2002, won all of theirs under one coach and one quarterback.

Rob Gronkowski's 17 receiving touchdowns in 2011 set the single-season record for which position?

Tight end Rob Gronkowski slid to the second round of the 2010 draft after back surgery cost him a college season, then led the whole NFL with 17 touchdown catches a year later.

Which guard, drafted from Alabama in 1973, was the first Patriots player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

John Hannah's blocking drove the 1978 Patriots to 3,165 rushing yards, an NFL record at the time, and the last game of his 13 seasons was Super Bowl XX.

Tom Brady left the Patriots in March 2020 to sign with which team?

Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on 20 March 2020 and won Super Bowl LV with them that season, while the Patriots went 7-9 under Cam Newton.

Which Patriots receiver was named MVP of Super Bowl LIII?

Julian Edelman, a college quarterback drafted in the seventh round, caught 10 passes for 141 yards, more than half of his team's receiving total that night.

Which quarterback did the Patriots take third overall in the 2024 NFL draft?

Drake Maye went third overall in April 2024, behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, after a 4-13 season in 2023 that ended Bill Belichick's 24-year tenure.

Who did the Patriots hire as head coach in January 2025 after firing Jerod Mayo?

Mike Vrabel won three Super Bowls as a Patriots linebacker and caught touchdown passes in two of them, when he was sent in on offence at the goal line.

Which team beat the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX?

The Seattle Seahawks won 29-13, avenging Super Bowl XLIX, which New England had snatched from them eleven years earlier with a goal-line interception in the final seconds.

When the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in which division?

The AFC East was the Patriots' division from the 1970 realignment, when the ten AFL clubs joined three NFL teams to form the American Football Conference; the club became New England in 1971.

What geographic name did the Patriots briefly adopt in 1971 before the NFL rejected it?

Bay State Patriots, borrowing the Massachusetts nickname, was announced early in 1971; when the NFL turned it down, the club chose New England instead, to claim the whole region.

In 1979, how did Patriots fans reject a sleek new logo meant to replace the old minuteman?

By booing it at halftime: the owner put the new design to a voice vote against Pat Patriot during a home game, and the crowd's verdict kept the old logo for 13 more seasons.

Which head coach led the Patriots to Super Bowl XX after taking over in 1984?

Raymond Berry, a Hall of Fame receiver, replaced Ron Meyer midway through 1984; his 1985 team went 11-5 and won three road playoff games to reach Super Bowl XX.

Which Major League Soccer club began playing at Gillette Stadium alongside the Patriots in 2002?

The New England Revolution, an MLS charter club from 1996, is owned like the Patriots by the Kraft Group and moved into Gillette Stadium when it opened in 2002.

What nickname did the Patriots give the 'Rivalries' uniform they unveiled in 2025 for home games against division rivals?

The Nor'easter exists because Nike and the NFL gave teams a special kit for one home game a year against a division rival; Buffalo's version is called the 'Cold Front'.