This Patriots trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and runs from Billy Sullivan's 1959 AFL franchise, the Pat Patriot logo and a homeless decade of borrowed stadiums, through the Super Bowl XX and XXXI defeats, to the dynasty: the 199th pick, the Snow Bowl, Vinatieri's kicks, 16-0, Malcolm Butler, 28-3 and the 13-3 win over the Rams. It closes with the post-Brady years, Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel's turnaround. Use it for a Foxborough tailgate, a New England bar quiz or to settle who in the family really knows the team. The easy questions any casual fan will get; the hard ones dig into draft slots, halftime acts, retired numbers and the details of the famous plays. Every answer was checked against encyclopedic sources before it went live, and each question explains itself as soon as you pick.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Boston business executive was awarded the eighth and final AFL franchise on November 16, 1959?
Billy Sullivan
He picked 'Boston Patriots' from a fan contest, and Boston Globe artist Phil Bissell drew the Pat Patriot logo soon after.
Q 02Which of these venues was NOT one of the Patriots' borrowed home fields during their AFL years?
Foxboro Stadium
The team never had a regular home in the AFL, rotating among Boston University Field, Harvard, Fenway and BC.
Q 03The Patriots' 1971 Foxborough stadium originally carried which beer company's name?
Schaefer
The 62,000-seat stadium cost about $6.2 million to build; it was later Sullivan Stadium and then Foxboro Stadium.
Q 04The Patriots' logo from 1961 to 1992 showed a Revolutionary War minuteman doing what?
Hiking a football
The 'Pat Patriot' design later gave its name to the team mascot.
Q 05The Patriots' logo unveiled in 1993 is popularly known by what nickname?
The Flying Elvis
Fans thought the gray minuteman's face with its streaming red, white and blue hat resembled a young Elvis Presley.
Q 06Which team crushed the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX?
Chicago Bears
Defensive end Richard Dent was MVP and William 'The Refrigerator' Perry scored a touchdown; New England had won three road playoff games as a wild card to get there.
Q 07Which Patriots quarterback replaced a struggling Tony Eason during Super Bowl XX?
Steve Grogan
Raymond Berry was the head coach that season, the franchise's first trip to the big game.
Q 08Who was the first special-teams Super Bowl MVP, with a 99-yard kickoff return in Super Bowl XXXI?
Desmond Howard
The Packers won 35-21; Drew Bledsoe threw four interceptions and coach Bill Parcells left for a division rival right after.
Q 09Which head coach left the Patriots for a division rival after Super Bowl XXXI, refusing even to fly home with the team?
Bill Parcells
Pete Carroll replaced him in Foxborough and lasted three seasons.
Q 10Robert Kraft bought the Patriots in which year?
1994
Six years later he hired Bill Belichick, the franchise's 12th full-time head coach.
Q 11Before New England, Bill Belichick was head coach of which team from 1991 to 1995?
Cleveland Browns
He also won two Super Bowls as the Giants' defensive coordinator, giving him a record eight rings in all.
Q 12In December 2024, Bill Belichick was named head football coach of which university?
North Carolina
His father Steve had been an assistant coach at the Naval Academy.
Q 13With which overall pick of the 2000 NFL draft did the Patriots take Tom Brady?
199th
The sixth-rounder from Michigan took over in 2001 when Drew Bledsoe was injured and never gave the job back.
Q 21Adam Vinatieri played his college football at which school?
South Dakota State
He signed with the Colts in March 2006 and won a fourth ring there.
Q 22Which two performers were involved in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime 'wardrobe malfunction'?
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake
Deion Branch caught 10 passes for 143 yards and Brady was named MVP for the second time.
Q 23Which receiver was Super Bowl XXXIX MVP with a record-tying 11 catches against the Eagles?
Deion Branch
The 24-21 win made New England the second team, after Dallas, to win three Super Bowls in four seasons; Paul McCartney played halftime.
Q 14Tom Brady played his college football for which school?
Michigan
He was born in San Mateo, California, in 1977 and played for the Wolverines from 1995 to 1999.
Q 15Whose injury in 2001 opened the door for Tom Brady to become the Patriots' starter?
Drew Bledsoe
That season ended with a 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams for the franchise's first title.
Q 16The Tuck Rule Game, the snowy January 2002 playoff win over the Raiders, was the last game at which venue?
Foxboro Stadium
Adam Vinatieri tied it with a 45-yarder through the snow with 27 seconds left and won it 16-13 in overtime; the tuck rule itself was abolished in 2013.
Q 17Which Raiders defender's hit on Tom Brady triggered the Tuck Rule ruling?
Charles Woodson
Referee Walt Coleman's crew reviewed the play and ruled it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.
Q 18Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots' first title, was the first Super Bowl ever played in which month?
February
The season had been pushed back a week after 9/11; the Patriots also chose to be introduced as a team rather than individually.
Q 19By how many points were the Rams favoured over the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI?
14
Ty Law returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown and U2 played a halftime tribute to the September 11 victims.
Q 20Adam Vinatieri won Super Bowl XXXVI with a field goal on the final play from how many yards?
48
Two years later he beat the Panthers with a 41-yarder with four seconds left; he retired as the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points.
Q 24Gillette Stadium, opened in 2002, was originally known by what name?
CMGI Field
The naming rights went to Gillette after the dot-com bust; the stadium also hosts MLS's New England Revolution.
Q 25What structure at Gillette Stadium reaches 218 feet and offers 360-degree views of Foxborough?
A lighthouse
The stadium seats 64,628 and hosted matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Q 26Which receiver set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches for the 2007 Patriots?
Randy Moss
He broke Jerry Rice's mark of 22, and Brady threw a then-record 50 touchdown passes on the way to his first MVP.
Q 27Who ended the 2007 Patriots' perfect season in Super Bowl XLII?
New York Giants
David Tyree's helmet catch set up the 17-14 upset and left New England 18-1.
Q 28The 2007 'Spygate' penalty punished the Patriots for videotaping which team's sideline signals?
New York Jets
The scandal broke in the same season the team went 16-0.
Q 29Which undrafted rookie's goal-line interception with 20 seconds left sealed Super Bowl XLIX?
Malcolm Butler
Russell Wilson's slant to Ricardo Lockette came right after Jermaine Kearse's juggling catch on his back.
Q 30Which pop star opened the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show riding a giant golden mechanical lion?
Katy Perry
The Patriots won 28-24 and Brady tied Joe Montana with a third Super Bowl MVP.