User:STP43FAN/Rivalries of the New England Patriots

=Rivalries of the New England Patriots=

In their ascension from American Football League startup to Super Bowl and perennial playoff power and the first AFL team to break 500 career wins, the New England Patriots have forged often-bitter rivalries encompassing the majority of other teams in the National Football League. The team's ascension to Super Bowl power has intensified numerous rivalries.

The Patriots' longest rivalries have been with six of the seven other teams that joined them in the inaugural season of the American Football League. As the Boston Patriots the club had twice-a-year rivalries with the New York Titans/Jets, the Buffalo Bills, and Houston Oilers as members of the league's Eastern Division, while also playing twice a year for most of the 1960s with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers.

In 1966 the Miami Dolphins joined the AFL as a division rival of the Patriots, while in 1968 the Cincinnati Bengals joined the AFL in its Western Division.

With the 1970 merger, the Patriots saw the Oilers switched to the new AFC Central while the Baltimore Colts were switched into the new AFC East. The rivalry with the Colts eventually became heated, but it would not be until the club's fifth decade that the rivalry would ascend to sports prominence. The 1970 merger also led to rivalries with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, while in the 1990s a rivalry began with the new Baltimore Ravens. Rivalries with teams in the National Football Conference would also rise to the fore as time passed.

New York Titans/Jets
Main article Jets-Patriots rivalry

The first rivalry to be forged was with the New York Titans. The very first game, on September 17, 1960, ended in a wild finish - the Patriots, down 24-7 in the third quarter, scored two touchdowns, then on the final play of the fourth the Titans fumbled the punt and Chuck Shonta ran back a 52-yard touchdown and a 28-24 Patriots win.

From there the two clubs clashed twice a year. In 1963 the Titans were renamed the New York Jets under new ownership. Early in the 2021 season the two teams met for the 125th time, three times in the playoffs; the Patriots go into the 2022 season leading the series 71-54-1. The lone tie (24-24) came in 1966.

The Patriots' first career win had come against New York's AFL team; in 2016 the Patriots became the first AFL team to reach 500 career wins when they defeated the Jets 22-17.

Buffalo Bills
Main article Bills-Patriots rivalry

The Patriots first met the Buffalo Bills on September 23, 1960 and were defeated 13-0. The first win over Buffalo came on that same date, in 1961, a 23-21 win. The two clubs have met 120 times entering 2020 and the Patriots have won 76 times with 43 Bills wins and one tie, a 28-28 game on November 3, 1962; the Patriots defeated the Bills 26-8 in a playoff game in December 1963, the only postseason meeting to date. They have combined for fifteen AFL/AFC titles and 34 division titles entering 2022.

Miami Dolphins
''Main article Dolphins-Patriots rivalry

On November 27, 1966 the Patriots met the expansion Dolphins in Miami, winning 20-14. Since then the two clubs have become the winningest teams in the AFC East, becoming the first AFC East teams to break 400 career wins; they have won six Super Bowls and seven additional AFC titles to go with 36 division titles; the Dolphins though have not won the division since 2008. The 1972 Dolphins and 2007 Patriots are the only teams in the post-merger era to sweep the entirety of a regular season.

Bill Belichick reached 210 wins as a head coach with 2013's 27-17 win over the Dolphins.

Denver Broncos
One of the first AFL games was a preseason game between the Patriots and Broncos at Conley Stadium in Providence, RI on August 5, 1960; the Patriots defeated the Broncos 43-6.

The very first official AFL game ever played involved the Patriots hosting the Broncos on September 9, 1960. Broncos coach Frank Filchock witnessed Patriots practice the day before the game and planned strategy based on what he saw; the Broncos won the game 13-10; on October 23 at Bears Stadium the Patriots raced to a 24-0 lead in the third quarter but four Frank Tripucka touchdowns erased the gap en route to a 31-24 Denver win, the last win of the season for the Broncos.

From there the rivalry encompassed a total of 18 games during the AFL era; the Patriots won 10 of these 18. The Patriots swept the Broncos in 1961, '62, and '64 but then lost five of the remaining eight matchups of the 1960s. The two clubs split their four meetings in the 1972-80 period with the home team winning all four games. The Broncos won 45-21 in 1972 and 45-10 in 1979; the Patriots won 38-14 in 1976 and 23-14 in 1980.

Denver's acquisition of John Elway from the Colts changed the rivalry, as Elway defeated the Patriots eleven straight times. In the 1986 playoffs Elway erased a 17-13 Patriots lead in the third quarter; a 45-yard Tony Eason touchdown to Stanley Morgan was answered by Elway's 48-yard score to Vance Johnson; the Broncos then added a safety after sacking Eason in the endzone and won 22-17.

Elway's last four wins over New England came under the coaching tutelage of Mike Shanahan; in November 1996 the Broncos crushed the Patriots at Foxboro Stadium 34-8; Shannon Sharpe famously taunted Patriots fans by simulating a phone call to President Clinton requesting the National Guard "because we are killing the Patriots!" NFL Films caught the clip and it became the most famous illustration of Sharpe's career.

The Broncos edged the Patriots 27-21 to start their second Super Bowl season, then following Elway's retirement the Patriots defeated the Broncos in back to back seasons, including a 28-19 win at Mile High Stadium on October 1, 2000, the first win in Denver for the Patriots since 1968 and the first win as Patriots coach for Bill Belichick.

Following losses in 2001 (Tom Brady, who'd gone the season without an interception, was picked off four times) and 2002 the Patriots edged Denver at Invesco Field in November 2003 on Monday Night Football. After taking a deliberate safety in their own endzone, the Patriots punted and forced a Denver punt in the game's final three minutes; Tom Brady tossed an 18-yard touchdown with 30 seconds to go to win 30-26.

The Broncos defeated the Patriots twice in 2005, including Tom Brady's first ever playoff loss, then won again in 2006, but in 2008 on Monday Night Football at Gillette Stadium the Broncos were crushed 41-7 as former backup quarterback Matt Cassel led the Patriots following a season-ending injury to Brady in Week One. Brady returned in 2009 and was defeated at Denver in 2009, but in 2011 the Patriots authored their first two-game sweep of the Broncos since 1964 as the Broncos surged to playoff contention behind Tim Tebow; the second-year quarterback had led the Broncos to seven wins in eight starts but was neutralized in a 41-23 Patriots win in December 2011, then was handed a 45-10 divisional playoff loss in January at Foxboro. The 2011 sweep was New England's first defeat of John Elway, who by 2011 had joined Denver's front office, in any involvement with the Broncos, player or front office.

For 2012 the Broncos traded for Indianapolis Colts Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and shipped Tebow to the Jets; the team rivalry thus became the focal point of the much-publicized rivalry between Manning and Tom Brady. In October Manning and the Broncos were defeated 31-21 in Foxboro. For 2013 the Patriots saw free agent Wes Welker sign a two year $12 million contract with the Broncos, while they signed Tebow after he was cut by the Jets; Tebow was then cut by the Patriots following the 2013 pre-season.

The Patriots staged the largest regular-season comeback win in club history against the Broncos on November 24, 2013. Three Patriots fumbles helped the Broncos race to a 24-0 lead at the half but Tom Brady erupted to three touchdowns; the Patriots forced three Broncos turnovers and led 31-24 in the fourth before Peyton Manning, in his 21st career meeting with the Patriots, tied the game at 31. The game went to overtime and both teams punted twice; former Patriot Wes Welker was assigned to catch the Patriots second punt but hesitated and the ball bounced off a teammate at his own 12-yard line, setting up Stephen Gostkowski's winning field goal.

Denver went 13-3 and after defeating the Chargers defeated the Patriots 26-16 in the 2013 AFC Championship Game. It marked the fifteenth meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and the fourth career playoff meeting between the two clubs; the playoff rivalry stood 2-2.

The much-promoted 2014 meeting at Gillette Stadium became the most lopsided Patriots victory in the rivalry since 2011. With defensive backs Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, the Patriots intercepted Manning twice and stopped four fourth-down conversion attempts. Brady threw four touchdowns in the 43-21 Patriots win, their largest over Manning since 2001.

The Patriots suffered a bitter 30-24 overtime loss at Denver on November 29, 2015. Peyton Manning was benched in a loss to Kansas City two weeks before and Brock Osweiler was named starter. A fumbled punt by Chris Harper and injury to Rob Gronkowski led to a late 24-21 Broncos lead before Brady led a fast drive that set up a tying Stephen Gostkowski field goal.

The Patriots fell in the 2015 AFC Championship Game 20-18, despite a last-second touchdown by Brady to Rob Gronkowski; a two-point conversion attempt failed. The next year the Patriots ground out a 16-3 win, securing yet another AFC East title and a playoff bye while the Broncos fell to 8-6; a subsequent loss to the Chiefs eliminated the Broncos from the playoffs, making them the first defending Super Bowl champion to miss the playoffs since the 2013 Ravens (ironically the 2016 Ravens were eliminated from the playoffs that same day).

The Broncos were crushed 41-16 by the Patriots in Week 10 of 2017, the 270th career win for Bill Belichick; the win tied him with Tom Landry for career wins as a head coach.

San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers played their first season in Los Angeles, and on October 8, 1960 at the LA Memorial Coliseum they hosted the Patriots and were buried 35-0. From then on, other than the 1968 season, the Patriots played the Chargers twice a year for the duration of the AFL decade. The Patriots met the Chargers on January 5, 1964 at Balboa Stadium for the AFL Championship Game and were buried 51-10; Tobin Rote and John Hadl threw a combined three touchdowns and 305 yards while they, Keith Lincoln, and Paul Lowe rushed for 306 yards and four rushing scores.

The two teams tied twice during the decade, in 1965 (13-13) and 1967 (31-31). After losing twelve of their first 21 meetings with the Chargers the Patriots rattled off ten straight wins. Following the 1970 merger, scheduling conflicts made meetings infrequent; after meeting six times in the 1970s they met once in the 1980s (October 16, 1983; the Patriots won 37-21 despite 357 passing yards from Dan Fouts), then three times in the 1990s.

On October 14, 2001 the Chargers played the Patriots at Foxboro Stadium and faced Tom Brady, a second-year quarterback making his third career start. Despite terrible special teams play ("the worst in a year and a half," said coach Bill Belichick afterward) the Patriots behind Brady rallied from down 26-16 and tied the game, then won 29-26 in overtime.

Behind Drew Brees the Chargers defeated the Patriots in 2002 (21-14) and 2005 (41-17), then hosted the Patriots on January 14, 2007 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Behind Philip Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson the Chargers led 21-13 in the fourth; an interception by Marlon McCree was yanked out of his hands by Troy Brown and recovered by Reche Caldwell; Brady then found Caldwell for the tying touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion play by Kevin Faulk. A 50 yard pass to Caldwell set up the go-ahead field goal, and a last-second Nate Kaeding field goal fell short. The bitterness of the game spilled into a near-fight at midfield between Tomlinson and Caldwell, while Brady became the first quarterback (in 27 attempts) to win a regulation-length playoff game by throwing over 50 passes.

The Patriots defeated the Chargers twice in 2007, including a 21-12 AFC Championship Game win. After falling 30-10 in 2008 the Patriots edged the Chargers 23-20 on another missed Kaeding field goal in 2010 and then won 35-21 in 2011.

The Patriots defeated the Chargers 23-14 at Qualcomm Stadium in 2014, a game that saw a controversial penalty on Brandon Browner, flagged for what was called a helmet-to-helmet hit on Ladarius Green during a Devin McCourty touchdown off an interception; replays showed it was not a helmet-to-helmet hit, and the controversy intensified media scrutiny toward extending replay challenges to such penalty calls, a rule proposal long pushed by Bill Belichick.

On January 13, 2019 the Patriots hosted the Chargers in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs, winning 41-28. The Patriots led by three touchdowns from rookie Sony Michel led 35-7 at halftime and cruised home despite two Philip Rivers touchdowns and a Melvin Gordon score in the second half. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley were criticized in some media for not deviating from the “Cover Three” scheme they’d used all season even as the Patriots kept scoring.

The Patriots authored their largest shutout win in the history of their rivalry with the Chargers on December 6, 2020 in a 45-0 triumph. The Patriots rushed for 165 yards and Cam Newton ran in two scores. Chargers rookie Justin Herbert managed only 209 passing yards and was intercepted twice.

Oakland Raiders
No rivalry has been more bitter than with the Oakland Raiders, beginning on October 16, 1960 at Kezar Stadium. The Raiders won 27-14 despite three interceptions thrown by Tom Flores and two more by Vito Parilli; the Patriots' Butch Songin was picked off three times as the game combined for six touchdowns and twelve turnovers. The Patriots defeated the Raiders 34-28 on November 4 at Braves Field as Songin threw three touchdowns and Parilli and Flores threw two picks while the Raiders fumbled twice.

In 1961 the Raiders traded with the Patriots, sending Parilli and Billy Lott to Boston, and from there Parilli became an AFL star and the rivalry became one of the tightest in football. In 36 career meetings entering 2022 the Patriots lead the rivalry 20-15-1.

On October 16, 1964 the only tie in the rivalry's history occurred in one of the wildest games of the AFL era. Vito Parilli threw four touchdowns, four picks, and 422 yards while Oakland's Cotton Davidson threw for 337 yards and four scores. The two teams combined for 205 rushing yards and three scores. The Patriots erased a 34-14 gap in the third quarter and led 43-40 in the fourth before Mike Mercer's 38-yard field goal ended the game tied 43-43, the highest-scoring game in the rivalry's history and the highest combined scoring game for the Patriots entering 2016.

The rivalry is defined by three events, two of them still-controversial playoff outcomes. In 1976 came the "Ben Dreith Game" as the Patriots were defeated 24-21 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs on a highly-criticized roughing the passer penalty against Ray Hamilton of the Patriots by referee Ben Dreith; aided by a subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the call set up the game-winning touchdown for the Raiders by Ken Stabler.

Two years later tragedy blackened a 21-7 preseason Patriots win as receiver Darryl Stingley was blasted in the jaw by the Raiders Jack Tatum; the hit broke two spinal bones and left Stingley paralyzed for life; indifference and an attempt to exploit the tragedy by Tatum to market his "Assassin" biographies embittered the Patriots toward Tatum. Stingley despite the injury worked for inner city youths in his native Chicago, and his passing in 2007 brought most of the 1976 Patriots squad, including elderly coach Chuck Fairbanks, to his funeral. The tragedy also proved a fatal turning point in Fairbanks' relationship with the Sullivan family, as a contract extension he'd verbally reached with Stingley was nullified by the Sullivans, and according to John Hannah Fairbanks, already angered over interference from the Sullivans over contracts with Hannah and Leon Gray the year before, decided he would quit the team after the season over the incident.

Finally in 2001 came the "Tuck Rule Game" in the Divisional Playoffs as a Brady pass attempt was knocked to the ground in an apparent fumble; the play was reviewed and the initial call of a fumble was reversed; the Patriots rallied to win 16-13 and Raiders protests never stopped.

The rivalry saw a personal milestone for coach Bill Belichick as New England's 49-26 win in 2008 was his 100th coaching win with New England.

Other memorable matchups include September 24, 1978 at Oakland - in a then-rare Sunday night game, the Raiders raced to a 14-0 lead; Steve Grogan and Ken Stabler were intercepted three times apiece but the Patriots scored 21 unanswered points for the 21-14 win; their spirits were further lifted when they visited Darryl Stingley in the Oakland-area hospital where he was still staying following his tragic injury in August.

In January 1986 the Patriots played the Raiders in the 1985 AFC Divisional Playoffs; they bullied the Raiders into three fumbles while intercepting Marc Wilson three times, winning 27-20.

On November 1, 1987 the Patriots at Foxboro clawed to a 17-7 lead but the fourth quarter exploded to 27 combined points; the Raiders tied the game 23-23 before Tony Franklin connected on a last-second 29-yard field goal.

Jim Plunkett was drafted by the Patriots in 1971 but was traded to San Francisco in 1976; the Raiders picked him up in 1979 and he became starter in 1980, winning two Super Bowls. He never played against the Patriots; in three meetings during Plunkett's tenure with the Raiders Marc Wilson started against the Patriots.

The two clubs met again in 2014 and the Patriots ground out a 16-9 win; a late Derek Carr drive saw a rushing touchdown called back on a holding penalty; Carr was then intercepted by Vince Wilfork. Rob Gronkowski caught his 43rd carrer touchdown.

Late in 2016 the Raiders reached 480 career wins while the Patriots reached 500 wins, the first team originating from the American Football League to reach 500 career wins.

Players involved with both clubs include Randy Moss, Richard Seymour, and Parilli. Ben Coates was drafted by the Patriots in 1991 with a pick acquired by the Patriots in a trade with the Raiders.

The Patriots crushed the Raiders 33-8 on November 19, 2017 at Estadio Azteca. The Patriots had played the Broncos the week before and stayed in Colorado, practicing at the US Air Force Academy for the week before flying to Mexico. Jack Del Rio kept his team in Oakland before flying into Mexico the day before the game and the Raiders were left unprepared for the game.

The Patriots won for the sixth straight time over the Raiders 36-20 on September 27, 2020; the week before the Raiders reached 500 career wins, the third of the ten teams originating in the American Football League to do so. It was also the first meeting against the Raiders as a Las Vegas team.

Josh McDaniels was hired as Raiders head coach for the 2022 season; the long time Patriots offensive coordinator defeated the Patriots 30-24 December 18, 2022 on a bizarre play at the end of regulation. Rhamondre Stevenson lateraled the ball to Jakobi Meyers and Meyers lateraled into the hands of former Patriot Chandler Jones who ran back a 48-yard touchdown. Adding to controversy Bill Belichick stated afterward embattled quarterback Mac Jones (thirteen completions on 31 throws for only 112 yards) wasn’t asked to throw a Hail Mary pass at the end after three straight incompletions because “he couldn’t throw it that far,” interpreted as criticism of Jones’s quarterbacking ability.

Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs began their existence as the Dallas Texans, spending their first three seasons playing out of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. After being swept in 1960, the Patriots swept the Texans in a six-day span in 1961. On October 29 the Patriots erased a 17-7 Dallas lead in the fourth quarter by scoring eleven unanswered points in an 18-17 win. The ensuing Friday, November 3 at a sold-out Braves Field, the Patriots and Texans traded the lead four times; in the final minute the Patriots led 28-21 when Cotton Davidson completed a deep pass to Chris Burford into the Patriots red zone; fans rushed onto the field thinking the game was over but the referees ruled the Texans had time for one more play; Davidson threw to Burford in the endzone where fans had been pushed back; a man ran across the field as the play developed and ran into the opposite stands; the ball fell incomplete for the 28-21 Patriots win. "We saw it on film the next day and laughed like hell," said Gino Cappelletti.

The Texans swept the Patriots en route to their 1962 AFL Championship, then moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs. New England's first game, on November 17, 1963, against the rebranded team ended in a 24-24 tie; the Patriots swept the Chiefs in 1964 then tied twice (in 1965 and 1966) and lost seven times in the two clubs' next nine meetings.

The highest scoring meeting until 2018 came on September 22, 2002 in New England's second ever game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots behind 400 passing yards by Tom Brady erased a 17-9 Chiefs lead, but the Chiefs behind 180 rushing yards by Priest Holmes stayed toe to toe and forced overtime, where the Patriots won 41-38.

The Patriots coming off their quest for an unbeaten season hosted the Chiefs on Sepetmber 7, 2008, and eleven plays into the game safety Bernard Pollard hit Brady in the legs, injuring his knee and knocking him out for the season. Fourth-year backup Matt Cassel threw a touchdown to Randy Moss and the Patriots won 17-10; Cassel was traded (along with Mike Vrabel) to the Chiefs for 2009.

Joining Cassel and Vrabel was Scott Pioli, who became Chiefs GM after eight years in charge of Player Personnel with the Patriots. Pioli hired former Patriots coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis, but by the end of 2012 all were gone from the Chiefs, replaced by Andy Reid.

A member of Reid's Chiefs coaching staff was former Patriot Eugene Chung.

On Monday Night Football in 2014 the Patriots were slaughtered 41-14. Tom Brady was intercepted twice and benched in the fourth quarter for rookie Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski. The loss led to scathing postgame analysis of the Patriots' roster construction philosophy by ESPN analysts Steve Young, Trent Dilfer, and former Patriot Tedy Bruschi.

The Patriots defeated the Chiefs 27-20 at Gillette Stadium on January 17, 2016 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. It was the first ever playoff meeting between the two clubs and the second playoff meeting between Bill Belichick and Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who faced the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX as coach of the Eagles.

The two teams met on September 7 of the 2017 season and the Patriots were crushed 42-27. Tom Brady failed to reach 50% completion and the Patriots twice failed on fourth-down runs.

On October 14, 2018 the highest-scoring game in the rivalry's history erupted as rookie Patrick Mahomes squared off against the Patriots; the Chiefs erased a 24-9 gap and the lead tied or changed four times in the fourth quarter as a 75-yard Mahomes touchdown tied the game 40-40. Brady then stormed the Patriots to the winning Stephen Gostkowski field goal, 43-40 final. The two teams met in the AFC Championship Game and the lead tied or changed six times after halftime. Patrick Mahomes brought the Chiefs back from down 17-7 and his last-minute drive led to the tying field goal. With the game 31-31 the Patriots won the coin toss, converted three third downs of at least eight yards, and won on a Rex Burkhead rushing score. The win set off media anger at NFL overtime rules because the Patriots had won Super Bowl LI and this game without the opponent (the Falcons or the Chiefs) ever touching the ball in overtime.

The Chiefs clawed out a 23-16 win in 2019’s meeting as four Brady passes, including fourth down targeting Julian Edelman, were stopped. The Chiefs would then roll to a spectacular playoff run and Super Bowl LIV title on the 50th anniversary of their first Superbowl.

The Chiefs won again in 2020, beating the Patriots 26-10. Brian Hoyer was forced to start in Cam Newton’s stead but poor play led to his benching in the third quarter. Jarrett Stidham threw a touchdown to N’Keal Harry.

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans
The Houston Oilers were division rivals of the Patriots throughout the AFL decade and the Patriots edged out Houston in the decade 10-9-1; the Patriots forced 63 turnovers and surrendered 44 in these twenty meetings with Houston. The Oilers swept the Patriots in 1960 en route to the first AFL championship; on October 13, 1961 the Patriots hosted the Oilers in the first game for Mike Holovak as head coach. Jacky Lee threw two touchdowns and 457 yards but was intercepted twice, while the Patriots rotated Butch Songin and newly-acquired Babe Parilli in and out under center; the game lead changed six times but George Blanda's late field goal tied the game at 31-31 and this is where it ended.

The 1961 tie came after head coach Lou Saban had been fired days earlier.

After three straight AFL Title Game appearances the Oilers faltered and in 1964 fell to last place in the AFL East. On November 6 of the 1964 season one of the tightest games in the rivalry occurred. The Patriots clawed to a 13-7 halftime lead, but George Blanda erupted to 328 passing yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by an 80-yarder to Willie Frazier in the third. Vito Parilli's 5-yard touchdown run put the Patriots up 22-21 in the fourth, but a 2-point conversion failed. Blanda booted a 10-yard field goal late in the fourth, but Parilli whipped the Patriots in range for Gino Cappelletti's 42-yard game winner and a 25-24 final.

After losing four of its last five meetings with the Oilers under the AFL, the now-New England Patriots on November 7, 1971 hosted the Oilers at Schaefer Stadium with both teams sporting heralded young quarterbacks in Jim Plunkett and Dan Pastorini. Plunkett was sacked four times but Pastorini was intercepted three times and the Patriots erased a 20-14 Oilers lead with two fourth quarter touchdowns and a 28-20 win.

The opening of 1975 saw the Oilers return to Foxboro, this time under first-year head coach Oail Andrews Phillips; both teams were coming off 7-7 seasons with the promise of even better after struggle during the 1971-3 period. The Patriots, however, were torn by a player strike against Patriots ownership following stonewalling of players by team owner Billy Sullivan's lawyer son Chuck; the strike cancelled a preseason game and was resolved only days before the season opener. New England sleepwalked through a 7-0 Oilers win, and Houston's revitalized squad began a run that netted 55 wins over the next six seasons.

New England stumbled to 3-11 in 1975, but in 1976 with the rise of quarterback Steve Grogan the Patriots became a contender, exploding to 20 wins in the 1976-77 period. In 1978 the 8-2 Patriots hosted the 6-4 Oilers and raced to a 23-0 lead, but the Oilers fought back in a turnover-plagued contest (a combined five fumbles and three picks), scoring four touchdowns, three of them by Rob Carpenter and rookie sensation Earl Campbell and a ten-yard Rich Caster reception; two missed PATs left the final score a 26-23 Oilers win. The Patriots rebounded and won the AFC East, but after posting their 11th win of the season, the Patriots were torn asunder when the Sullivans fired coach Chuck Fairbanks entering the final weekend of the season; New England clinched a playoff bye and during this Fairbanks was inexplicably rehired; the controversy between Fairbanks and the Sullivans left the team unprepared for their divisional playoff game against the Oilers; despite cracked ribs that necessitated wearing a flak jacket, Pastorini led the Oilers to an embarrassing 31-14 runaway win; it would be New England's last home playoff game until 1996.

The two clubs met again on Monday Night Football in November 1980, and the Oilers roster has changed markedly with a trade that brought former Oakland Raiders Ken Stabler, Jack Tatum, and Dave Casper to Houston. The revamped Oilers exploded to a 24-6 halftime lead but Steve Grogan erupted to three touchdowns and a Don Calhoun score; down 38-34 the Patriots recovered an onside kick but Grogan was intercepted at the end.

The two clubs met five more times in the 1980s with New England winning four as the Oilers faltered after firing Bum Phillips; the hiring of Jerry Glanville and signing of CFL great Warren Moon would revitalize the Oilers in the late 1980s before Glanville was let go after 1989 and Jack Pardee took over in 1990. The Patriots meanwhile collapsed in 1989 and in 1991 under Dick MacPherson were just beginning to climb out of the wreckage of the end of the Sullivans and the nightmarish Victor Kiam period. The Patriots hosted the Oilers on September 22, 1991 and in the fourth quarter Moon erased a 17-6 Patriots lead, but with seconds to go Greg McMurtry caught a 34-yard touchdown from Hugh Millen and the Patriots won 24-20.

The Oilers returned in 1993 still reeling from their historic 1992 playoff collapse at Buffalo; on October 17 they traveled to Foxboro coming off a hideous 35-7 slaughter by Buffalo again; both teams stood a combined 2-8, and the Oilers behind Warren Moon upended the Patriots 28-14, beginning a stirring 11-game winning streak while sending the Patriots to 1-5.

Houston's loss to Kansas City in the playoffs began a steady erosion of the club to where in 1997 the Oilers moved to Tennessee; in 1998 on September 20 the Oilers, in their final year before becoming the Titans, traveled to Foxboro. The Patriots had changed drastically in the five years since their last meeting as well, and the ensuing game was closely contested; the game lead tied or changed seven times on Al Del Greco and Adam Vinatieri field goals; Steve McNair and Drew Bledsoe traded touchdown throws to go with a Robert Edwards touchdown run before Lawyer Milloy intercepted McNair and ran back a 30-yard touchdown and a 27-16 Patriots win.

Four more years would elapse before the two clubs met again; the Titans came one yard short of a potential win in Super Bowl XXXIV while the Patriots authored the first walk-off scoring drive ever in winning Super Bowl XXXVI. On Monday Night Football on December 16, 2002 the Titans hosted the Patriots; both teams were 8-5 but it was the Titans on a run; they sacked Tom Brady three times - Brady suffered a separated right shoulder that hobbled him for two seasons until off-season surgery after 2004 - and Rich Coady picked him off in the third quarter and scored. Steve McNair ran in two touchdowns and rushed for 49 yards total, going with 186 rushing yards by Eddie George and Robert Holcombe and a 24-7 Titans win.

The 2003 season proved to be an epic year for both clubs as they met on October 5 in Foxboro. The 2003 ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics was playing in Game Four concurrent with the Patriots-Titans game, and fan cheering for Red Sox scores at Foxboro caused a stir on the sidelines and in the varied broadcast booths of the game. The game itself was perhaps the most ferocious in the rivalry's history. Nursing a shoulder and elbow injury Tom Brady unleashed a 58-yard touchdown to Troy Brown in the first quarter. McNair unleashed a deep bomb to Justin McCareins to the Patriots 1-yard line, then ran in the touchdown himself. Adam Vinatieri missed two field goal attempts but the Patriots behind Antowain Smith and Mike Cloud pounded the ball on the ground and ran in two touchdowns by the fourth quarter. McNair (360 passing yards) stormed the Titans to the Patriots one and ran in a touchdown on fourth down, putting the Titans up 27-24, but a 71-yard kick return by Bethel Johnson helped set up Cloud's second rushing touchdown; McNair was then intercepted by Ty Law, hobbled all game long by an ankle injury; Law ran a 65-yard touchdown and despite a late Titans field goal the Patriots won after recovering the onside kick, 38-30.

The win launched the Patriots on a 12-game win streak; the Titans also erupted, winning nine of their last 11 games and then edging their arch-enemy the Ravens 20-17 in the Wild Card playoffs. On January 10, 2004 in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs the Titans returned to Foxboro amid the coldest weather in years and one of the most brutally cold playoff games in NFL history. Once again the two teams were locked in a tight struggle; they swapped touchdown throws by Brady and McNair and rushing touchdowns to go with missed field goal attempts by both Vinatieri and Gary Anderson; Vinatieri connected on a 46 yard field goal in the final five minutes, then with the Titans out of timeouts and facing 4th and 12 at the Patriots 42 McNair unleashed a bomb nearly caught by Drew Bennett despite being surrounded by Patriots defenders around the 15 yard line. The 17-14 Patriots win continued them toward Super Bowl XXXVIII and would be McNair's last playoff game until 2006.

In that season the Patriots traveled to Tennessee for the season finale, and faced a changed Titans squad led by athletic rookie Vince Young. The Patriots raced to a 19-3 lead but the Titans kept fighting back; behind touchdown runs by Young and Pacman Jones the Titans clawed to within 26-23 in the fourth quarter before the Patriots put the game away 40-23. The bitterness of the rivalry nearly spilled into a brawl when Tedy Bruschi tried to go after Titans coach Jeff Fisher following injury to Rodney Harrison.

This bitterness carried over into 2007's preseason game between the two teams as the Patriots clawed to a 17-7 lead but fell 27-24; Tom Brady took a shot to the head by the Titans, leading to a Rodney Harrison shot at Vince Young in response.

The two teams met again in October 2009 in an unexpected snowstorm at Foxboro; the Patriots erupted to a 59-0 shutout, tying or breaking some nine team and league scoring records. The Titans benched starter Kerry Collins after this game and went with Vince Young. The Titans won 13 of their next 17 games but by 2012, when the Titans hosted the Patriots, Young had worn out his welcome in Tennessee, long-time coach Jeff Fisher had taken the 2011 season off before signing with the Rams, and second-year quarterback Jake Locker had taken over under center; the Patriots shut down Locker's offense and rolled to a 34-13 win, their fifth in six games since 1993; it was also the 140th win as Patriots coach for Bill Belichick. The Patriots defeated the Titans again in 2015 in a game where rookie sensation Marcus Mariota was knocked out of the game in the second quarter.

Players who have been involved with both clubs include Houston Antwine, Randy Moss, Malcolm Butler, David Givens, Jonnu Smith, Logan Ryan, and Antowain Smith; Shawn Jefferson was drafted by the Oilers in 1991 but never played for them; he joined the Titans coaching staff for 2013-15; Devin McCourty was drafted by the Patriots in 2010 while his twin brother Jason was signed by the Titans. Front office personnel involved with both clubs include Holovak (who worked in the Oilers scouting department and front office 1981 through the Titans' Super Bowl run) and Floyd Reese while Jon Robinson, a former director of college scouting with the Patriots, was named Titans general manager after two seasons as Buccanners GM in 2016; his first season as Titans GM was Tennessee's most successful since 2011. The Titans named interim coach Mike Mularkey as full-time coach for 2016 amid some media reports entering the 2015 playoffs that suggested Patriots coordinator Josh McDaniels had expressed interest in the head coaching job with the Titans, and for 2018 they named former Patriots linebacker/tight end Mike Vrabel as new head coach; Vrabel then hired former Patriots assitant Dean Pees to his staff.

The two teams met in the 2017 Divisional Round playoffs on January 13, 2018, the third career playoff game between the two, all in Foxboro. After taking a 7-0 lead the Titans were outscored 35-7 the remainder of the game, ending their first playoff season since 2008.

In 2018 the Titans won 34-10 at LP Field, their first win over the Patriots since 2002 and the first win against his former team by ex-linebacker Mike Vrabel. They then won in the wildcard round 20-13 at Foxboro in 2019; running back Derrick Henry set a franchise record of 204 all-purpose yards, 182 of them on the ground, and a rushing touchdown. The two teams combined for 27 points in the first half but went scoreless until a last-second Logan Ryan touchdown on a goalline interception.

The Patriots defeated the Titans November 28, 2021 with rookie quarterback Mac Jones who threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans rushed for 264 yards but quarterback Ryan Tannehill failed to reach 100 passing yards and was intercepted once.

Houston Texans
With the departure of the Oilers, Houston worked to build Reliant Stadium and secured a new NFL team beginning with the 2002 season; with the Tennessee Titans retiring the Oilers name and logo, the new Houston team reached back to the AFL days with the name Texans, acquired from the name's original owner the former Dallas Texans. They hosted the Patriots in November 2003, clawing to a 20-13 fourth-quarter lead before a late Tom Brady touchdown forced overtime, won in its final minute on an Adam Vinatieri field goal, 23-20.

The Patriots won twice against the Texans in 2012, winning 42-14 on Monday Night Football (highlighted by a 63-yard touchdown to recently re-signed Donte Stallworth in what turned out to be his only game of the season) then defeating the Texans 41-28 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs; the win marked Tom Brady's league-record 17th playoff win, breaking a tie with Joe Montana (ironically Montana's final playoff win was his playoff win over the Houston Oilers). The win was also the 450th in club history encompassing regular season and playoffs.

The Patriots defeated the Texans on December 1, 2013 34-31 after trailing 17-7 at halftime. Following this disasterous 2-14 season former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien was hired by the Texans as their head coach. Former defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel were hired to O'Brien's staff; Crennel became defensive coordinator while Vrabel became linebackers coach. The Texans became the landing spot for veteran nose tackle Vince Wilfork following an emotional release from the Patriots after Super Bowl XLIX.

The Patriots defeated the Texans 27-6 on December 13, 2015, and then defeated the Texans twice in 2016, first with a 27-0 shutout in Week Three having to start rookie Jacoby Brissett, then winning 34-16 at Gillette Stadium on January 14, 2017 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Despite the 34 points scored the Patriots struggled to establish rhythm on offense and committed three turnovers while Brock Osweiler was intercepted three times and subsequently traded to the Cleveland Browns six weeks later.

The Patriots rallied to defeat the Texans and rookie sensation Deshaun Watson 36-33 in Week Three of 2017; Tom Brady reached 210 career wins on his game-winning touchdown to Brandin Cooks in the final minute; he and Watson combined for 689 passing yards. The win put New England's aggregate record against Houston pro football teams (counting the Oilers and Texans) at 24-15-1, 8-1 against the Texans including a 2-1 playoff record, the one playoff loss coming in the 1978 playoffs to the Oilers.

The two teams met in preseason and Week Three of the 2017 season. The Texans won the preseason game 27-23 when Jacoby Brissett fumbled the ball through the Houston endzone for a touchback.

The Patriots won again in Week One of the 2018 season, 27-20. The win left Bill O'Brien winless against his former team in five career meetings.

O’Brien’s career losing streak ended when the Texans hosted the Patriots on Sunday Night Football on December 1, 2019, the Patriots’ first trip to Houston since Super Bowl LI. It was an ugly affair for New England as the Texans won 28-22. Sickness in days leading to the game affected several Patriots players to where the team used two separate aircraft to fly personnel. Tom Brady was noticed as angered at his receivers (an incompletion to the left side goal line pylon intended for Philip Dorsett was noted in some circles), anger that had shown earlier in the season.

The Texans won again November 22, 2020, this time 27-20. Cam Newton completed a fifty yard strike to Ryan Izzo to the Houston 10-yard line on the final play.

On October 10, 2021 rookie quarterback Mac Jones led the Patriots back from down 22-9 to defeat the Texans at Houston 25-22. Jones completed 23 passes and a score to Hunter Henry, overcoming three scores by Texans rookie Davis Mills. It was New England’s first win at NRG Stadium since winning Super Bowl LI.

Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals were the last team to join the AFL, doing so in 1968 as a part of the league's western division. The Patriots have won 14 of their first 22 meetings with the Bengals. On December 22, 1985 the Patriots led 27-23 in the game's final minutes; on a fourth down play Robert Weathers burst through Sam Wyche's defense and ran in a 42-yard touchdown. The 34-23 win secured the Patriots' first playoff spot since 1982 and only the fifth in club history; fans stormed the field in celebration and carried out the goalposts; one struck an electrical wire, injuring several fans.

The Patriots hosted the Bengals on September 12, 2010, winning 38-24. The game was notable for several off-field incidents; Tom Brady had signed a lengthy contract extension with the Patriots but was involved in a car crash in Boston, MA the Friday before the game. Following the game Randy Moss (five catches for 59 yards) addressed the media with a rambling epistle expressing disappointment that he was not receiving a contract extension from the Patriots ; in some media circles it was called "Randy Moss' train wreck." It was also the debut game for Aaron Hernandez (one catch for 45 yards) and Rob Gronkowski.

The Bengals ground out a 13-6 win over the Patriots in 2013 on their way to the AFC North title.

Following a humiliating 41-14 loss at Kansas City and a week of scathing ridicule in national and local media (including a story by Shalise Manza Young alleging a confrontation involving Aaron Dobson and coordinator Josh McDaniels that was disputed by other media before the Patriots themselves asserted the story was untrue) the Patriots hosted the Bengals in 2014 on Sunday Night Football and rolled to a 43-17 win. Tom Brady became the sixth quarterback to reach 50,000 career passing yards. Media controversy before the game was intensified in a mid-week press conference where Bill Belichick repeatedly cut off questioning (primarily by Albert Breer) about the loss at Kansas City by saying, "We're onto Cincinnati," a phrase spoofed in local and some national media circles in subsequent days.

The Patriots defeated the Bengals 35-17 at Gillette Stadium on October 16, 2016; the game marked the first in Foxboro for Tom Brady since a league-mandated four-game suspension. The Bengals took a 14-10 in the third quarter on Andy Dalton’s touchdown to former Patriot Brandon LaFell but Dalton was later sacked in the end zone by Qualin Hightower; following this safety the Patriots outscored the Bengals 23-3 the rest of the way.

Players who have been involved with both clubs include Corey Dillon, Chad Johnson, Brandon Tate, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. T.J. Houshmandzadeh was granted a workout with the Patriots around 2010 but was not signed, signing instead with the Ravens.

Entering 2021 the Bengals are the last AFL/AFC team that has yet to play the Patriots in the postseason.

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
Main article Colts-Patriots rivalry

One of the greatest rivalries in NFL history involved the Patriots and the Colts; the two first met in the 1967 football preseason and became division rivals when the 1970 merger put the Colts, then the Baltimore Colts, into the new AFC East.

The 1976 season was the first in which the two teams became playoff contenders. The Colts defeated the Patriots in Week One of the season 27-13, but in Week 10 the Patriots clawed out a 21-14 win; rookie sensation Mike Haynes intercepted Colts quarterback Bert Jones twice while the team held Lydell Mitchell to just 87 all-purpose yards.

1977 was another showdown season; the Patriots won in October at Foxboro 17-3, then in the final week of the season at Baltimore the Patriots raced to a 21-3 before Bert Jones erupted to three touchdowns and a Don McCauley score, securing a playoff spot in a 30-24 win.

In September 1978 the Colts defeated the Patriots in a rainstorm at Foxboro on Monday Night Football behind a three-touchdown, one-man scoring rampage by Joe Washington as he threw and caught touchdowns then ran back a kickoff for the winning score in a 34-27 Colts win.

The Colts won four of what turned out to be their last five meetings as a Baltimore NFL team, before their controversial move to Indianapolis in 1984; the Patriots won 23 of the first 30 meetings with the Colts as an Indianapolis team; in 1998 the Colts, with the #1 draft pick, selected Peyton Manning, and the rivalry began to change, but the Colts endured a series of heartbreaking losses, from blowing a 28-7 lead to lose 31-28 in 1999 to a season sweep in 2001 behind darkhorse starter Tom Brady, then the true beginning of the modern rivalry in November 2003's 38-34 thriller won on a Patriots goalline stand in the final minute.

Back to back playoff wins and a regular-season grinder of a win by the Patriots in 2003 and 2004 gave way to back to back Colts wins before the two squared off in the 2006 AFC Championship Game and a 38-34 Colts stunner. Both teams were unbeaten entering Week 9 of 2007 and the Patriots rallied to win 24-20. Another thrilling game came in 2009's 4th and 2 matchup before 2010 saw a last-minute Manning interception end a 31-28 Patriots win.

The rivalry changed again in 2012 with the ascension of rookie sensation Andrew Luck; the Patriots crushed the Colts 59-24; Aqib Talib picked off a Luck pass and scored his first touchdown with the Patriots in his first game with the club.

The rivalry momentarily ended here, but with a division title and stunning playoff comeback against the Chiefs the Colts met the Patriots on January 11, 2014 in the AFC Divisional playoffs. The Patriots exploded to six rushing touchdowns led by LeGarrette Blount's four rushing scores in a 43-22 rout of the Colts; Andrew Luck had two touchdown throws but was intercepted four times.

The Patriots returned to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2014, winning 42-20 behind little-known running back Jonas Gray, who rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns. The Patriots then hosted the Colts in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium; the fifth playoff meeting ever between the two clubs, it ended in a 45-7 Patriots triumph.

The bitterness of the rivalry accelerated when Ryan Grigson of the Colts claimed to the NFL (with a subsequent leak to Bob Kravitz) that the Patriots were tampering with footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship Game; media coverage all but openly accused the Patriots of cheating while Commissioner Roger Goodell gave a speech before the Super Bowl discussing "the integrity of the game," though no evidence of wrongdoing was ever produced (the allegations were refuted the Saturday before Super Bowl XLIX by Bill Belichick in a snap press conference) and the controversy took a bizarre turn when word came from Adam Schefter that Scott Miller, a low-level league official, gave a Patriots attendant an unauthorized football that was turned over to game officials, doing so to mask that footballs designated for charity were being stolen and sold illegally. The controversy continued with the suspension of Brady for the first four games of 2015 and a lawsuit between the league and the players association ensued; the lawsuit was won by Brady on September 3, 2015 when the four-game suspension was vacated by Judge Richard Berman.

The rivalry reached a comedic high in New England's 34-27 win on October 18, 2015. With New England up 27-21 with 1:13 to go in the third, the Colts lined up to punt, but instead deployed their offensive line wide right with backup receiver Griff Whalen at center and safety Colt Anderson to take the snap for a trick pass play; the play was blown up for a one-yard loss by the Patriots. The play was ridiculed by NBC broadcasters Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and also widely criticized afterward in varied media.

The Colts finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs in 2015 while the Patriots won the AFC East; as a result the two clubs did not meet in 2016. This was repeated in 2017 and as a result the two teams did not meet again until October 2018. The rivalry was enflamed yet again when Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels agreed to become Colts head coach in 2018 then backed out later that same day (February 7). The ensuing game was a 38-24 Patriots win where Tom Brady became the third quarterback to reach 500 career regular-season touchdown throws on a 34-yard strike to Josh Gordon, traded from the Browns several weeks earlier.

Baltimore Ravens
Twelve years - and the championship presence of the USFL Baltimore Stars and CFL Baltimore Stallions in the interregnum - elapsed between the departure of the Colts and the arrival of the former Cleveland Browns to Baltimore; the new Baltimore Ravens hosted the Patriots in their first season of 1996. The ensuing game was a wild affair as the Patriots exploded to three-score leads twice but could not pull away until the final minutes, winning 46-38.

The rivalry began to swell into league prominence in 2007 when the unbeaten Patriots traveled to Baltimore; the struggling 4-7 Ravens fought hard and led 24-20 in the final minutes; a shocking sequence of 4th-down plays by the Patriots were followed by a late Tom Brady touchdown to Jabar Gaffney and penalties to the Ravens protested loudly by some Ravens players; at one point Rodney Harrison yelled at Ravens coach Brian Billick and Billick mockingly blew a kiss in response.

A close 27-21 Patriots win in 2009 was followed by a huge rout of New England in the 2009 Wild Card playoffs as the Ravens posted their first career win over the Patriots, 33-14. 2010 saw a comeback win by the Patriots, erasing a 20-10 Ravens lead to win in overtime 23-20; the game was very chippy and highlighted by a vicious head-on helmet-to-helmet hit by Brandon Meriweather to Ravens tight end Todd Heap.

The two teams met in back to back AFC Championship Games; in 2011 the Patriots led 23-20 in the final minutes; a touchdown throw to Lee Evans was swatted out of his hands by Sterling Moore, and a subsequent Billy Cundiff field goal attempt sailed hideously wide left. In Week 3 of the 2012 season the Ravens rallied to a controversial last-second field goal win 31-30, then crushed the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game 28-13 en route to winning Super Bowl XLVII.

The Patriots crushed the Ravens 41-7 on December 22, 2013. The Patriots rushed for 142 yards and LeGarrette Blount ran for two touchdowns; Joe Flacco was intercepted three times; Tavon Wilson ran back a 74-yard pick six while Chandler Jones scored on a goalline fumble. The loss and subsequent defeat to the Bengals ended the Ravens' season.

The next year (January 10, 2015) the Ravens fell 35-31 to the Patriots in one of the most competitive AFC Divisional Playoff matches ever seen. The Ravens behind Joe Flacco raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but Tom Brady stormed the Patriots back and tied the game; the Ravens scored two more touchdowns but again Brady led the Patriots back to the tie. In the final five minutes Brady found Brandon LaFell for the go-ahead touchdown and Flacco was intercepted in the endzone with 1:47 to go. The Ravens, though, used their final timeout with 14 seconds to go, forcing a Patriots punt, and from his 45 Flacco unloaded a desperation heave batted down at the 5-yard line. The game became even more heated due to several controversial penalties, notably a pass interference penalty on the Patriots on a disputed push-off by ex-Panther Stevonne Smith and a holding penalty on Darrelle Revis on Smith that wiped out a Patriots strip-sack of Flacco near the Ravens goalline; coach John Harbaugh also disputed a Patriots lineup in the second half where they used only four offensive linemen (Harbaugh earned a bench penalty for his protest), a complaint dismissed by Brady in his postgame press conference. The skirmishes between Patriots and Ravens were not limited to the game; 98.5 The Sports Hub reported (Monday January 12) on Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti's show that Steve Smith confronted former Patriot and Carolina Panther teammate Jermaine Wiggins, who in interviews had belittled Smith as a bully and a locker room cancer; the two had to be separated by Brandon LaFell (like Wiggins a former Panther) and Matt Chatham.

The two clubs met again on Monday Night Football on December 12, 2016. The Patriots raced to a 20-3 lead but special teams turnovers by Cyrus Jones and Matthew Slater led to two Ravens scores; after the Ravens closed to within 23-20 Brady answered with a 79-yard touchdown to Chris Hogan en route to the 30-23 win.

The Patriots fell 37-20 in 2019 in their first meeting with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. They hosted the Ravens in 2020 and won 23-17 in heavy rain. Jakobi Meyers took a lateral and threw a 24-yard touchdown to Rex Burkhead while Cam Newton ran for another score.

Offensive tackle Michael Oher - best known for the book and subsequent film The Blind Side, about his upbringing - was drafted by the Ravens with a pick acquired in a trade with the Patriots.

The Ravens surged to a 37-26 win on September 25, 2022. Mac Jones threw three interceptions and suffered a serious ankle injury that sidelined him for multiple weeks. Lamar Jackson, in the midst of a contentious contract negotiation with the Ravens, threw four touchdowns and ran in a fifth.

Cleveland Browns
The Browns first met the Patriots in 1971, winning 27-7. They hold a winning record of 12-9 and defeated the Patriots 20-13 in the 1994 Wild Card playoffs. The Browns in the 1991-5 period before their move to Baltimore were coached by Bill Belichick, who defeated the Browns four straight games before falling 34-14 in 2010.

On December 8, 2013 the Patriots pulled off one of their most improbable comeback wins ever. The Browns bulled to a 19-3 lead in the third quarter, then after the Patriots scored eleven points the Browns answered on a Jason Campbell touchdown to Jordan Cameron. Trailing 26-14 with just 2:43 to go the Patriots scored on a Julian Edelman catch with sixty-one seconds to go; the ensuing onsides kick was touched by a Browns player and recovered by the Patriots (ironically the last successful onside kick by the Patriots was against the Browns in 1994). A subsequent pass interference penalty by Leon McFadden put the ball at the Browns 1-yard line for a Danny Amendola touchdown catch with 35 seconds to go, but a two-point conversion attempt failed. Campbell whipped the Browns to the Patriots 40, but a Billy Cundiff field goal attempt fell short and the Patriots had the 27-26 win.

The win was the 460th (regular season and playoff) in Patriots history.

Tom Brady returned from league-mandated suspension on October 9, 2016 at FirstEnergy Stadium and led the Patriots to a 33-13 win over the winless Browns. Rookie Cyrus Jones was ejected from the game on a personal foul penalty.

Belichick’s 324th career victory cane October 16, 2022 at Cleveland in a 38-15 win. With Mac Jones out with an ankle injury rookie Bailey Zappe entered his third game and second start. Zappe had two touchdowns, to Tyquan Thornton and Hunter Henry; Thornton also had a rushing score. The win tied Belichick with George Halas and was just twenty three wins short of Don Shula’s record.

Pittsburgh Steelers
The two clubs met sporadically in the 1970s and 1980s, but it was in the latter 1990s that the rivalry began to achieve prominence in league circles. The Steelers dominated the rivalry in its first two and a half decades, winning ten of thirteen meetings; in 1976 the Patriots erased a 20-9 gap to beat the defending champs 30-27.

But it was in 1996 that the rivalry changed. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs the Patriots behind a monster game by Curtis Martin crushed the Steelers 28-3.

2001 saw the rivalry truly erupt into importance, as the upstart Patriots shocked the 13-3 Steelers in the AFC Championship Game; Tom Brady was injured late in the second quarter and Drew Bledsoe, the quarterback whose own injury in September opened the door for Brady to become starter, came in and led the Patriots to the 24-17 win.

The Patriots won two Super Bowls before the 2004 Steelers behind rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger crushed the Patriots on Halloween 34-20, ending New England's league-record 21-game winning streak. The Steelers finished 15-1 and the Patriots 14-2 and met in the AFC Championship Game, where New England pummeled the Steelers 41-27 en route to their third Super Bowl triumph.

New England edged Pittsburgh 23-20 in 2005 before authoring two routs, 34-13 in the Tom Brady-Randy Moss rampage of 2007 and 39-26 in 2010; Pittsburgh beat the Patriots in 2008 and 2011. The Patriots on November 3, 2013 erupted to over 600 yards of offense and beat the Steelers 55-31, the highest point total scored on Pittsburgh in the team's history. The Patriots then hosted the Steelers to start the 2015 season; the Patriots won 28-21 and the game earned some notoriety afterward when Mike Tomlin complained that his team's radio hookups picked up the Patriots radio call and implied deliberate jamming by the Patriots; he later apologized for the comment.

The Patriots won 27-16 on October 23, 2016 at Heinz Field. Ben Roethlisberger could not play so Jarvis Landry started, completing 29 of 47 passes with a touchdown and an interception, while Tom Brady had two touchdowns and LeGarrette Blount outrushed the entire Steelers offensive backfield 127 yards (and two scores) to 94. The two teams then met in the 2016 AFC Championship Game, the third such meeting and fifth career playoff meeting, but first in Foxboro since 1996 at Foxboro Stadium; the Patriots rolled 36-17.

The Patriots rallied to win 27-24 on December 17, 2017 in the most bizarre and controversial finish of the season. After the Patriots erased a 24-16 Steelers lead with 56 seconds to go, a 69-yard catch and run by JuJu Smith-Schuster was stopped at the Patriots 10-yard line. Jesse James caught a pass initially ruled a touchdown, but the NFL's central replay base led by Alberto Riveron ruled James did not control the ball fully through the catch and it was ruled incomplete, a ruling universally attacked in social and regular media and also coming under fire in the overrule of a catch in New England's subsequent game with Buffalo. The Steelers, seemingly surprised by the overrule, ran two pass plays after burning their last timeout; a throw up the middle was intercepted by Duron Harmon and the Patriots were winners.

Two weeks after this game longtime Steelers linebacker James Harrison was cut by the Steelers; after clearing waivers he was signed to a one-year deal by the Patriots.

The Steelers won for only the sixth time in the two teams' last nineteen meetings 17-10 on December 16, 2018 as a late Patriots rally flamed out. The Patriots responded September 8, 2019 on Sunday Night Football by crushing Pittsburgh 33-3. The game was notable for a false start penalty on the Steelers in which the entire offense moved except center Maurkice Pouncey.

Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars became a playoff rival with the Patriots beginning in 1996; in the regular season the Patriots raced to a 22-0 lead but the Jaguars behind over 400 yards from Mark Brunell roared back and tied the game 25-25; a last-second throw was caught by the Jaguars at the Patriots 1-foot line but ruled down at that point. The Patriots won in overtime on a field goal by rookie Adam Vinatieri; it was the first winning field goal of Vinatieri's career. The Jaguars made the playoffs and defeated Buffalo and Denver; the Patriots hosted the Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game; two late interceptions by Otis Smith and Tedy Bruschi ended a 20-6 Patriots win.

The Jaguars crushed the Patriots 25-10 in the 1998 Wildcard playoffs, then in 2005 the two clubs met again in the Wildcard round; Ben Watson caught a short pass and broke two tackles before exploding to a 63-yard touchdown; it was a key score in New England's 28-3 rout of the Jaguars. The two met in the 2007 Divisional Round and the Patriots behind a record-breaking completion percentage (93%) by Tom Brady won 31-20.

The Patriots have won six regular season and four playoff meetings with the Jaguars. Their 2012 win over the Jaguars was the 150th win as Patriots coach for Bill Belichick. The Patriots met the Jaguars again in 2015, winning 51-17. After a 3-13 season in 2016 the Jaguars hired former coach Tom Coughlin as their director of football operations. The Jaguars raced to 10-6 and their first division title since 1999 (and first in the AFC South) in 2017, and after playoff victories over the Bills and Steelers (who'd advertised they would face the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game) the Jaguars met the Patriots in the conference title game; behind Blake Bortles and rookie sensation Leonard Fournette the Jaguars clawed to a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter but two Brady touchdowns to Danny Amendola rallied the Patriots to the 24-20 win.

The two teams meet in preseason sporadically. In 2017 the Jaguars won 31-24 when a last-minute drive by Jacoby Brissett fizzled out.

The Jaguars defeated the Patriots 31-20 on September 16, 2018, only the second win over the Patriots in the history of the Jaguars. Blake Bortles had four touchdown throws.

New York Giants
The 2007 New England Patriots-New York Giants game and Super Bowls XLII and XLVI are the defining games of this interconference rivalry. Other memorable games took place in 1974 as the Patriots edged the Giants in New Haven, CT; 1987 in the debut of ESPN's Sunday Night Football coverage; and 1996, when the Patriots erased a 22-0 gap to win 23-22.

The two clubs are regular combatants in the NFL preseason; one of the most dramatic such meetings came in 2009 when the Giants raced to a 21-0 lead but the Patriots behind Brian Hoyer stormed to a 38-27 win. 2013's 28-20 Patriots preseason win over the Giants was the last action for the Patriots by Tim Tebow; Tebow threw two touchdowns to Quentin Sims, his only scores in three preseason games with the Patriots; Tebow was cut from the team two days later. In August 2017 the Giants won 40-38 in a game where Jacoby Brissett threw for four touchdowns and ran in a fifth while erasing a 34-14 gap to lead 38-37 with 44 seconds to go.

Schaefer Stadium debuted in August 1971 by hosting a Patriots preseason game against the Giants; in addition to the stadium's debut, it was also the debut of the Patriots after their name change from Boston to New England; it was the first game for rookie Jim Plunkett.

The Patriots ended their three-game losing streak to the Giants on November 15, 2015, winning 27-26 on a last-second Stephen Gostkowski field goal.

In 2020 the Giants hired Patriots receivers coach Joe Judge as head coach.

St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals
Games against the Cardinals have been sporadic; the two clubs have met only fourteen times from the 1970 merger through 2016. The Cardinals have won seven of fourteen meetings, including 2012's 20-18 win in Foxboro on a missed Stephen Gostkowski field goal attempt. The two clubs have authored 31-0 shutouts - the Cardinals won by that score in 1970 while the Patriots did so in 1996 despite postgame criticism by Bill Parcells of rookie kicker Adam Vinatieri.

1993's 23-21 Patriots win was the first win for Bill Parcells as Patriots coach. The two clubs met again in 1996 (31-0 Patriots win) and then in 1999 when the Patriots won 27-3; the game proved costly to the Patriots as Ben Coates was held without a catch for the second time that season and publicly objected to his use in the offense; it soured his relationship with Drew Bledsoe and coach Pete Carroll as the Patriots, after starting 6-2, lost six of their last eight games.

The highest-scoring game in the rivalry (a combined 56 points) is also the most lopsided game - in 2008 the Super Bowl-bound Cardinals under Kurt Warner were crushed 47-7 in a snowstorm. The Patriots put up 526 yards of offense as Matt Cassel threw three touchdowns; Randy Moss caught a short pass and ran in a 76-yard touchdown. Warner was limited to just six completions and was benched for Matt Leinart.

Jimmy Garoppolo made his NFL debut on September 11, 2016 at University of Phoenix Stadium as Tom Brady was forced to serve a four-game suspension; Garoppolo led the Patriots to a 23-21 win; the game-winning drive ended in a Stephen Gostkowski field goal with 3:44 to go, but Carson Palmer threw eleven straight passes and the Cardinals drove to the Patriots 29-yard line, but a 47-yard kick by Chandler Catanzaro failed.

The Patriots rallied to win 20-17 on November 29, 2020 amid criticisms of Cam Newton for poor play. Newton was intercepted twice and completed just nine passes. Kyler Murray of the Cardinals though was held to 170 yards and intercepted once. The Patriots stopped the Cardinals at the goal line at the end of the first half, then after kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a 45-yard field goal in the final two minutes Newton ran for fourteen yards then was hit out of bounds and Isaiah Simmons of the Cardinals drew a fifteen-hard penalty; the Patriots reached the Cardinals 32 and Nick Folk’s fifty yard kick was good.

Minnesota Vikings
One of the most important games in Patriots history occurred against the Vikings in 1994; the tenth game under Robert Kraft ownership, the Patriots at 3-6 fell behind 20-0 but then rallied behind Drew Bledsoe; Bledsoe threw 70 passes with 45 completions - both still-standing single-game NFL records as of the 2020 season - for 426 yards and three touchdowns. A missed Matt Bahr field goal attempt in the third quarter meant that his tying field goal at the end of the fourth quarter put the game into overtime; Bledsoe won it on a touchdown to Kevin Turner. The 26-20 win launched a seven-game winning streak for the Patriots, and 202 of Kraft's first 205 wins (plus 20 playoff wins) started with this win.

The two clubs have clashed in several memorable games. In October 1974 the Patriots behind a last-second touchdown catch by Bob Windsor defeated the Vikings 17-14; the game was a penalty-laden affair as New England gave up 122 yards in fouls; a brief brawl erupted between Ron Bolton and Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton following a late game-tying Tarkenton score.

In October 1991 Rich Gannon (a former Patriots draft pick) threw 63 passes with 35 completions for 317 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown; the Vikings put up 458 yards of offense in erasing a 23-13 gap in the fourth quarter; the game went to overtime and Jason Staurovsky booted a last-second 42-yard field goal for the 26-23 Patriots win.

2010 saw the final meeting between the Patriots and quarterback Brett Favre; Favre was sacked out of the game by Myron Pryor.

Bill Belichick reached a milestone 200th regular season coaching win in 2014 as the Patriots defeated the Vikings 30-7 at University of Minnesota's home stadium. Former Patriot Matt Cassel was intercepted four times.

Detroit Lions
The Patriots have met the Lions ten times, winning six. On October 10, 1976 the Patriots, fresh off a three-game winning streak, were crushed 30-10; Steve Grogan was intercepted five times and managed just 131 passing yards. A member of the Lions' coaching staff was a second-year assistant who'd worked with the Colts the year before named Bill Belichick; other front office personnel who have worked for both clubs include Robert Quinn, the head of the Patriots scouting department, who was named general manager of the Lions for 2016.

In 1993 Drew Bledsoe barely missed his first NFL win as a late touchdown to fellow rookie Vincent Brisby forced overtime, only to see the Lions win on Jason Hanson's field goal, 19-16. Barry Sanders rushed for 148 yards in this game. In New England's 24-17 win in 1994 Sanders rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns; among the most replayed highlights of Sanders' career is a twisting touchdown run against Patriots defenders Harlon Barnett and Myron Guyton.

The Patriots defeated the Lions 34-9 win in 2014.

Former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was hired as Lions head coach for 2018 and his first win came in Week 3 against the Patriots, 26-10. The Patriots offense was stifled all game and criticism of the Patriots' wide receivers was one issue in postgame analyses.

The two teams have met in preseason games; the Lions won in 2011 and again in 2013. Their first preseason meeting came on August 25, 1969 in Montreal, where the Lions won 22-9. In August 2017 the Patriots won 30-28 after racing to a 24-0 lead; the win was costly as Julian Edelman was lost for the year with a torn ACL after catching three passes for 52 yards.

The two teams met in the 2019 preseason as the Patriots won 31-3 on touchdowns by Brian Hoyer and rookie Jarrett Stidham.

Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys' first game at Texas Stadium was a 44-21 win over the Patriots on October 24, 1971. The Patriots lost their first seven meetings with the Cowboys, including a 34-31 loss at Schaefer Stadium despite two Jim Plunkett touchdowns to Darryl Stingley in 1975 and a 20-17 loss on Thanksgiving Day 1984 decided on a late Cowboys field goal.

New England's first win in the rivalry came on December 5, 1999; a sluggish 498 combined yards of offense reflected a low-scoring affair as the Patriots won 13-6. On November 16, 2003 the Patriots under Bill Belichick hosted Bill Parcells and Terry Glenn in a 12-0 Patriots win; Glenn was held to one catch for eight yards.

Tom Brady's 100th career start came against the Cowboys on October 14, 2007, and he threw a then-career high five touchdowns; two additional scores to Randy Moss were wiped out on penalties. The Patriots won 48-27. Brady authored a last-minute touchdown drive to beat the Cowboys in 2011 and then defeated the Cowboys at Dallas in 2015. The game saw the return of the Cowboys' Greg Hardy to action after a league-mandated suspension; Hardy's pre-game commentary about Brady included a reference to his wife Gisele Bundchen, causing controversy as Hardy had been convicted of domestic abuse.

The Patriots hosted the Cowboys October 17, 2021 as part of the NFL’s expanded 17-game schedule formula where the 17th game is an interconference game with the teams facing the corresponding interconference opponent from the division they faced two seasons earlier. The game became a bitterly competitive affair as the lead tied or changed eight times. Dakota Prescott forced overtime then threw the game-winning 35-yard touchdown on the Cowboys’ first overtime possession. The loss offset a strong performance by Patriots rookie Mac Jones who threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

San Francisco 49ers
Team owner Robert Kraft wanted to model the Patriots upon his 1994 purchase of the team along the lines of the 49ers of the 1980s and 1990s, while San Mateo, California native Tom Brady attended the 49ers' 1981 playoff win over the Cowboys and was a devotee of Joe Montana.

The two clubs have met twelve times with the 49ers winning eight. The highest scoring game of the rivalry came in 2012 on Sunday Night Football when the 49ers raced to a 31-3 lead, but the Patriots behind Brady scored 28 points. A huge kick return and subsequent touchdown by Colin Kaepernick sealed the 49ers' 41-34 win.

Jimmy Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers halfway through the 2017 season and on October 25, 2020 defeated the Patriots 33-6.

Atlanta Falcons
See also Super Bowl LI

The first meeting between the Patriots and Falcons was a 34-16 Falcons win in August 1969 in the preseason; the Patriots led 6-0 after the first quarter before the Falcons erupted to the win. The two teams met in the preseason September 5, 1971 at Schaefer Stadium; the game was threatened with cancellation because of poor plumbing in two previous preseason games so after adjusting the plumbing some one hundred sixty Stadium staff flushed all the toilets the day before. The Falcons won 45-35.

The Patriots have met the Falcons fourteen times with eight wins and six losses. Two of New England's ugliest losses have been to the Falcons, who won 34-0 in 1992 and 41-10 in their first Super Bowl season.

The closest game in terms of final points margin occurred in 2005; Falcons starter Michael Vick was listed as probable for the game on October 9 to ensure strong walk-up ticket sales at the Georgia Dome; backup Matt Schaub started and threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns; he erased a 28-13 Patriots lead and tied the game in the final minute, before Tom Brady led the game-winning field goal drive and a 31-28 Patriots win.

Former Patriots scout Thomas Dimitroff joined the Falcons in 2008 in their front office; among his moves was drafting Boston College Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan.

The Patriots edged the Falcons 30-23 in 2013; the win moved Bill Belichick past Chuck Noll into fifth in all-time NFL head coaching wins; the win was also the 430th regular season win in Patriots history.

The Patriots staged the biggest comeback win in their history in winning Super Bowl LI 34-28, erasing a 28-3 Falcons lead to force the first overtime in Superbowl history. Brady led the drive for the touchdown in the game's overtime and became the first quarterback to ever win five Superbowl titles; he is also the only quarterback in Super Bowl history to lead two walkoff scoring drives.

The Patriots manhandled the Falcons 23-7 on October 22, 2017.

Washington Redskins
The Redskins were once the Boston Redskins before moving to Washington in the 1930s. As with other interconference matchups this rivalry is quadrennial due to interconference scheduling rotation. The Redskins have won six of nine career games in the matchup.

The Redskins' last win in the rivalry was on September 28, 2003, 20-17. It was the last Patriots loss until Halloween 2004.

Joe Gibbs got his first home win (at RFK Stadium) as Redskins coach in a 24-22 win over the Patriots in 1981.

The highest scoring game in the rivalry was on October 28, 2007 as the Patriots hung 52 points on the Redskins for a 52-7 win; the Patriots came under fire in some media circles for maintaining an attacking offense instead of focusing more on running out clock.

The teams are periodic opponents in preseason games. They first met at Harvard Stadium in August 1967 where the Redskins won 13-7 on two late field goals. In 2009 Tedy Bruschi played what turned out to be his final game in a preseason game at FedEx Field. In 2014 Jimmy Garoppolo made his debut with the Patriots in the third quarter in the preseason, also at FedEx Field. In 2021 Mac Jones, the highest drafted Patriots quarterback since Drew Bledsoe, made his NFL debut.

New Orleans Saints
New England's first game against New Orleans was a 1968 preseason game on August 10 at Tulane Stadium; the Saints won 19-0 despite two blocked field goal attempts by Jim Lee Hunt before a crowd of 54,000.

The Patriots have won ten of fourteen career meetings. Of the Patriots' four losses, three came in the Jim E. Mora era (1989, 1992, and 1995) while the Patriots fell in New Orleans' Super Bowl season.

The most competitive game in the rivalry came in October 1998 as the Patriots played in the Superdome two seasons removed from their Super Bowl XXXI loss there, facing against the coach who'd beaten them in the same building in Super Bowl XX - Mike Ditka. With the Patriots leading 27-17 the Saints in the fourth quarter scored on a Lamar Smith touchdown catch. Following a Patriots punt Andre Hastings ran back the kick 76 yards, setting up the tying field goal. The Patriots won 30-27 on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal.

On October 13, 2013 the Patriots rallied from down 27-23 in the final ninty seconds to beat the Saints. Tom Brady connected with Austin Collie (signed a week earlier) twice on the final drive and found Kenbrell Thompkins for the winning touchdown with five seconds to go. The 30-27 win was Brady's first ever win (in four tries) over Drew Brees, the 455th win in franchise history, and 225th win under Robert Kraft; the day became one of the wildest in Boston sports history when the Red Sox later that night rallied to defeat the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS, winning on a very late grand slam by David Ortiz.

The Saints authored a 28-13 win in 2021. Ex-Buc Jameis Winston completed 13 passes and two touchdowns while rookie Mac Jones completed 31 passes and a touchdown to Kendrick Bourne but was intercepted three times.

Chicago Bears
One game defines this rivalry - Super Bowl XX as the Bears and their famed 46 defense rampaged through the NFL, winning 15 games, then shutting out the NY Giants and the Rams before obliterating the Patriots 46-10.

The irony is that the Patriots have completely owned the rivalry, winning eight of the first twelve meetings between the two clubs. On Halloween eve in 1988 Doug Flutie's 80-yard touchdown to Irving Fryar set off a scoring rampage; Flutie threw four touchdowns while the Patriots shut down the Bears offense to the tune of just 208 total yards and a 30-7 New England win.

In November 2002 Tom Brady authored the biggest comeback win for the Patriots since 1999. The Bears erupted to a 27-6 lead in the third quarter but Brady erupted with three touchdowns, the last to David Patten with 30 seconds to go for a 33-30 Patriots win.

One of the most competitive games between the two clubs was a 17-13 Patriots win on November 26, 2006. Gillette Stadium was resodded with Field Turf after the field's natural grass became unplayable. The two clubs moved up and down the field but the two defenses bullied the offenses into a combined nine turnovers - fumbles by Ben Watson twice, Laurence Maroney, Reche Caldwell, and Corey Dillon for the Patriots and a fumble by Rex Grossman to go with three interceptions by Asante Samuel, the first Patriot with three picks since Roland James picked off Joe Ferguson of the Bills in 1983. The third quarter saw a chaotic sequence as Watson fumbled to Caldwell and then Caldwell fumbled to the Bears; twelve plays later Grossman was intercepted for the second time by Samuel, then a pass to Troy Brown was picked off by Charles Tillman. Dillon's fourth quarter fumble was followed by Samuel's third interception to finish the game.

New England authored a 51-23 rout of the Bears at Gillette Stadium in 2014. It was the first game in three tries where Jay Cutler managed more than one score against the Patriots. The Patriots won the subsequent 2018 meeting 38-31 at Soldier Field; Mitchell Trubisky threw fifty passes and ran six times for a combined 414 yards and three touchdowns. The game lead tied or changed five times.

Philadelphia Eagles
Super Bowl LII forever defines the rivalry as the Eagles shocked the Patriots 41-33. Backup quarterback Nick Foles, a former Eagles starter, had to replace injured Carson Wentz and led the Eagles to their first league championship since 1960.

Jeffrey Lurie was one of the men involved in the 1993 sale of the Patriots from James Orthwein but was outbid by Robert Kraft; Lurie subsequently purchased the Philadelphia Eagles. The two teams have met thirteen times in total and the Eagles lead the series 7-6.

They met in Super Bowl XXXIX and a 24-21 Patriots win.

On November 25, 2007 the Eagles behind backup quarterback A.J. Feeley made a determined effort to end New England's push to a perfect season; the game lead tied or changed eight times before Asante Samuel intercepted Feeley in the Patriots endzone for the 31-28 New England win.

Twenty years earlier the Eagles won a wild overtime game in Foxboro. The Eagles raced to a 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter behind Randall Cunningham scores to Mike Quick and a 1-yard Cunningham rush. Patriots backup Tom Ramsey erupted to 402 passing yards and two touchdown passes and his own 1-yard run. The Eagles won 34-31 on a 38-yard field goal in overtime.

Following New England's 24-14 win on October 8, 1978 linebacker Bill Bergey telephoned Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks, saying, "That's the worst whipping I ever received." The Patriots had rushed for 205 yards and two scores on the ground.

The Eagles defeated the Patriots 35-28 on December 6, 2015, scoring on a punt return and a blocked kick before their first NFL championship since 1960 in Super Bowl LII.

The two teams often meet in the preseason; the first such meeting was at Harvard Stadium on September 2, 1968; the Eagles won 22-20 after Gino Cappelletti missed a 32-yard field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter; the Patriots erased a 19-0 Eagles lead but a late two-point conversion attempt failed.

In other preseason action between the two, the Patriots won 31-22 at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2013. The game saw the first game action with the Patriots of Tim Tebow. In 2014 the Patriots won 42-35 as Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Ryan Mallett all scored touchdowns; the NFL entered the 2014 season with renewed emphasis on cracking down on holding penalties and the game saw over twenty penalties between both clubs; the head referee was John Parry, and his crew included one of the first female referees in the NFL, Maia Chaka.

Players who have been involved with both clubs include Kevin Turner, Michael Timpson, Patrick Chung, Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, LeGarrette Blount, and Irving Fryar.

Green Bay Packers
The defining game of this sporadic rivalry is Super Bowl XXXI, won by the Packers 35-21 behind a third-quarter kick return touchdown by Desmond Howard. The rivalry is presently tied 5-5.

The first link between the two teams came with the promotion of former Packers coach Phil Bengston to head coach for the final five games of the 1972 season following the firing of John Mazur. Bengston's only win as Patriots coach was a 17-10 win over the New Orleans Saints (which proved to be the first meeting between the Patriots and a member of the Manning football family).

The two teams first met in November 1973 at Schaefer Stadium. The Patriots erased a 24-9 Packers lead and won 33-24. Jim Plunkett threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns behind an offensive line with rookie guard John Hannah.

The most lopsided games were on October 9, 1988 as Doug Flutie was intercepted three times and the Packers put up 400 yards of offense en route to winning 45-3; 18 years later on November 19, 2006 the Patriots authored the first shutout of the series, 35-0. Tom Brady threw four touchdowns while Brett Favre was sacked out of the game and Aaron Rodgers was limited to just four completions in twelve throws.

The Packers defeated the Patriots 26-21 in 2014. Despite holding the Packers to three points in the second half the Patriots' rally in the fourth floundered on a redzone sack and a missed field goal kick. The Patriots won the subsequent meeting in 2018, 31-17, holding Rodgers to two completions in the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams
The defining game of the rivalry remains Super Bowl XXXVI; Rams receiver Ricky Proehl pronounced "The dynasty starts tonight!" to NFL Films before the game, but it was the Patriots who began their dynasty with the first walk-off scoring drive in Super Bowl history. The loss began a slow-motion collapse of the Rams; quarterback Kurt Warner never won another game with the Rams while the club made the playoffs in 2003 and 2004 but has not made the postseasion since.

The rivalry has been fairly equal, as the Patriots own a 7-5 record. The two clubs clashed in a dramatic affair at Anaheim Stadium on November 16, 1986. The Patriots raced to a 13-0 lead but the Rams raced back and led 28-16 in the fourth quarter. Tony Eason then threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns; in the game's final seconds Eason's pass to Stanley Morgan was tipped but caught for the score by Irving Fryar.

The two clubs have met in preseason games. In 2010 Sam Bradford got his first major NFL game action at Foxboro; he raced the Rams to a 27-14 lead before Brady unleashed three touchdowns, one an 85-yard bomb to Randy Moss. The Rams scored twice more for the 36-35 win.

The Patriots defeated the Rams 26-10 on December 4, 2016 in their first meeting with them as a Los Angeles team since 1992. Tom Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 201 wins, while coach Jeff Fisher, who'd signed a two-year extension with the Rams, was fired after the game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In the first seven career games the Patriots won five, losing only in 1997 and 2000; the 2000 loss was Bill Belichick's first game as Patriots head coach. They met on September 26, 2013 and the Patriots won 23-3; the game came after heavy media criticism of Tom Brady for angry reaction to rookie receivers in a 13-10 win over the Jets over a week before; following the game the Bucs benched quarterback Josh Freeman before trading him to the Vikings.

They have met in preseason games and also inter-team scrimmages. In August 2013 Tom Brady suffered a hit in his legs during a scrimmage; he was not seriously hurt and in the subsequent preseason game the Patriots defeated the Bucs 25-21. Brady threw twelve passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. The story of the game became the performance of Tim Tebow in relief; Tebow was held to minus-one yard passing and was intercepted once.

The Patriots won 19-14 at Raymond James Stadium on October 5, 2017. Three missed Nick Folk FGAs proved to be the difference and Tom Brady tied Peyton Manning and Brett Favre for most regular-season wins (186). The Patriots made changes in their defensive scheme prior to this game in response to struggle earlier in the season by defensive back Stephon Gilmore.

When Tom Brady left the Patriots after twenty seasons he signed with the Bucs for 2020 and won Super Bowl LV. The Patriots hosted the Bucs in Week Four of 2021. The lead changed six times as rookie Mac Jones clawed the Patriots to lead three times; Jake Bailey missed a 56-yard field goal attempt thus ending in a 19-17 Bucs win.

Seattle Seahawks
The most unique rivalry is with the Seahawks. The Patriots have played the Seahawks when Seattle was involved with both conferences in the NFL. The two clubs have clashed in several memorable games.

Following a 31-0 shutout win in October 1977, the Patriots played the Seahawks at the Kingdome on September 21, 1980. The two teams combined for 907 yards of offense and the game lead tied or changed eight times. Jim Zorn and Steve Grogan combined for seven touchdown throws; a late interception of Zorn sealed a 37-31 Patriots win.

On September 16, 1984 at Sullivan Stadium the Seahawks, en route to their best season to that point, raced to a 23-0 lead on the Patriots. Grogan, held without a reception, threw an interception returned by Kenny Easley for a touchdown. Grogan was benched in the second quarter (and wound up inactive for the rest of the 1984 season) and Tony Eason erupted with 151 yards of offense and three touchdowns while Tony Collins led a rushing attack that ate up 189 yards. Dave Krieg was intercepted twice as the Patriots won 38-23; it was the largest comeback win in the team's history to that point and wasn't topped until 2013's showdown with the Broncos.

Two years later on September 21 the Seahawks returned to Foxboro; Tony Eason threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns but two blocked kicks led to Seahawks scores and Seattle scored 21 unanswered points to win 38-31.

Due to a scheduling quirk the Patriots faced the Seahawks twice in 1993. On September 19 at Foxboro the Patriots fell 17-14 despite two fourth-quarter touchdowns; it was the first meeting between the 1993 draft's 1-2 picks in Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer. On October 24 at the Kingdome a last-minute Mirer touchdown iced a 10-9 Seahawks win.

The two clubs did not meet again until 2004, when divisional realignment in the league put the Seahawks into the NFC West (where they'd started in 1976 before switching to the AFC West); the Seahawks were coming off an emotional playoff run and were quarterbacked by Matt Hasselback, whose father Don had been a Patriots tight end in the late 1970s (and caught two touchdowns against the Seahawks). The Patriots defeated the Seahawks 30-20 on October 17, 2004.

On October 14, 2012 the Patriots traveled to Seattle to face Pete Carroll, who had coached the Patriots in the 1990s. Carroll had revamped the Seahawks roster and they rallied to a 24-23 win.

The Patriots met the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX and fought back to win 28-24. Tom Brady tied Joe Montana's record of Superbowl wins (four) and broke his record of Superbowl touchdowns. Brady became the first quarterback to erase a two-score gap to win a Superbowl, but the game was not decided until Malcolm Butler intercepted a goalline pass from Russell Wilson in the game's final minute; a brawl erupted between the two clubs before the final kneeldown. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll came under fire for not running Marshawn Lynch at the Patriots goalline; Lynch had been stopped three times on short yardage earlier in the game and during the season had one touchdown and four failures on goal to go from the One..

The Patriots fell 31-24 to the Seahawks on November 13, 2016. The game was the first since the Patriots traded Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns and the performance of the Patriots defense came under fire after this game. The Patriots failed on a goalline drive in the final seconds.

The Seahawks won again 35-30 on September 20, 2020. Cam Newton in his first road game as Patriots quarterback threw for 397 yards but was stopped at the Seahawks 2-yard line as time expired. Russell Wilson threw five touchdowns.

Carolina Panthers
Super Bowl XXXVIII defined the rivalry with the Panthers as the two clubs exploded to what is still considered one of the greatest Super Bowls ever. The bitterness of the rivalry was on display in the 2004 preseason as the Panthers fanbase treated their game with the Patriots as a Super Bowl rematch; the Panthers won 20-19 on a missed Adam Vinatieri field goal attempt.

The two clubs have met only five times. The Panthers defeated the Patriots 20-17 in overtime in their 1995 debut season. In 2001's season finale, the Patriots annihilated the 1-15 Panthers 38-6 en route to Super Bowl XXXVI.

The two clubs did not meet after their Super Bowl clash until 2005. The Panthers got a measure of revenge when they defeated the Patriots 27-17 on September 18.

The Patriots won 20-10 over the Panthers on December 13, 2009. The game took a back seat, though, to fines to several Patriots players for arriving late to the stadium the previous Wednesday; Adalius Thomas spoke out against coach Bill Belichick because of the fines and was subsequently released from the team. Tom Brady was among those fined; he had been late because of the birth of his child to Gisele Bundchen; in August 2007 there was speculation Brady would miss a preseason game against the Panthers because of the birth of his first child (to Bridget Moynahan); Brady attended the birth and then started the game (a 24-7 Patriots win) at Carolina.

It was in 2013 that the rivalry began to achieve prominence in league circles, for Monday Night Football on November 18 of that season produced the most controversial finish since the infamous 2012 Packers-Seahawks touchdown. Down 24-20 following a Cam Newton touchdown with 59 seconds to go, the Patriots drove to the Panthers 18, but a Tom Brady throw for Rob Gronkowski was intercepted when Gronkowski was drilled; the back judge threw a flag for pass interference, but was overruled by head referee Clete Blakeman and the outcome stood; the overrule of the penalty was widely criticized in the media. Another bitterly-fought affair took place in 2017 off back-to-back Superbowl appearances - Carolina in Super Bowl 50, New England in Super Bowl LI - where the Panthers stormed to a 30-16 lead late in the third quarter but the Patriots tied the game; on the Panthers final drive Cam Newton was sacked but Stephon Gilmore was flagged and the ensuing first down led to the winning field goal, a 33-30 Panthers win; the win left Cam Newton 2-0 in his career against the Patriots; Newton’s career with Carolina fell apart after 2017 and he was released in 2020, then unexpectedly signed with the Patriots.

The two teams have met eleven times in preseason games. The two clubs first met in preseason action in 1999 when the Panthers hosted the Patriots and won 23-20. The two clubs met at Foxboro Stadium in 2000 and the Patriots won 30-21 in Bill Belichick's first season as Patriots coach. In 2001 the Panthers hosted the Patriots and lost 23-8; the game became notable for the strong performance of the Patriots' second-year backup quarterback. They met for the fourth straight preseason in 2002, this time at new Gillette Stadium; the Panthers and new head coach John Fox lost 23-3. They did not meet in a preseason contest in 2003 but the Panthers hosted the Patriots in the 2004 preseason in a game hyped as a Superbowl rematch; a missed Adam Vinatieri kick sealed a 20-17 Panthers win. In the 2014 preseason came their first meeting since the controversial 2013 game. The Patriots shut out the Panthers 31-0. The Panthers won 25-14 in the 2018 preseason; following this game Patriots receiver Eric Decker retired from football after struggling throughout Patriots camp.

Players involved with both clubs include Brandon LaFell, Jermaine Wiggins, Tyrone Poole, and Donald Hayes. Dom Capers was the first ever head coach of the Panthers and was a coaching assistant in New England in 2008. Kony Ealy was acquired from the Panthers for a draft pick for 2017 after Ealy sparkled in Super Bowl 50, but played poorly in preseason and was benched during training camp, and was released after New England's preseason win over the Lions.

Peyton Manning
Main Article Brady-Manning rivalry

A curious angle of Patriots rivalries has been team rivalries with specific players. The most famous remains the rivalry with Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. The rivalry with Manning began in his rookie season at a time when the Colts were AFC East rivals. The Patriots swept Manning's Colts that year, 29-6 at Foxboro and 21-16 at the RCA Dome; Manning had two touchdowns and two interceptions in his first home game against the Patriots.

One of Manning's bitterest losses came in Week Two of the 1999 season at Foxboro Stadium. Manning raced the Colts to a 28-7 halftime lead but Drew Bledsoe roared the Patriots to a 31-28 win.

It was in 2001 following injury to Bledsoe that Manning's rivalry with Tom Brady began.

With a split of two 2013 meetings with Manning's Denver Broncos squad, the Patriots entered 2014 with an aggregate record of 14-8 against Peyton Manning. They defeated Manning 43-21 at Foxboro in 2014.

The next scheduled meeting on November 29, 2015 at Denver was put in doubt when Manning was benched during a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs; he was subsequently ruled out with a foot injury for Denver's November 22 game against the Bears. The Broncos won against the Patriots in overtime (30-24) and Osweiler was named starter against the Patriots. He was then benched during a late-season game against San Diego and Manning became starter again. Manning emerged triumphant in the AFC Championship Game on January 24, 2016; a late Brady touchdown put the score 20-18 but a missed two-point conversion attempt derailed New England's rally. Manning's retirement after Super Bowl 50 ended the rivalry.

Andrew Luck
The number one pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, Andrew Luck pushed the Indianapolis Colts from the wreckage of a 2-14 "Suck For Luck" campaign back to playoff power immediately. The Colts went 33-15 in Luck's first three seasons and won three playoff games, highlighted by 2013's 45-44 win over Kansas City after erasing a 38-10 gap, and his success made his encounters with the Patriots an extension of the multi-faceted rivalry with New England. Luck, though, not only lost all six meetings with the Patriots, he never truly got his team in contention in any of them, being outscored 261-124, lowlighted by 2015's "Punt Fumble" fiasco in a late-third-quarter fake punt by the Colts blown up for a one-yard loss by the Patriots. Luck's Colts also gave up Brady's 500th career touchdown, in 2018's meeting.

Eli Manning
Peyton's brother Eli has had substantially greater success against the Patriots, winning two Super Bowls and one regular season game; in 2011 the game lead tied or changed five times in the fourth quarter before Manning connected with Jake Ballard for the winning score in the final seconds, 24-20.

New England got its second win over Eli on November 15, 2015, 27-26; the Patriots' previous win was the 2007 game that wrapped up the 16-0 regular season.

Brett Favre
New England's Super Bowl XXXI loss came at the hands of Favre and cemented a close rivalry. The Patriots faced Favre five times with the Packers, twice with the NY Jets, and once with the Vikings; the 2010 meeting was one of Favre's final games.

The Patriots' aggregate record against Favre was 4-4.

Dan Marino
Marino was a division rival of the Patriots for the entirety of his 17-year career with the Miami Dolphins. Marino compiled a record of seventeen wins in thirty career starts; he lost both of his playoff games against the Patriots (1985 and 1997; the combined score was 61-45 for the Patriots). He had his weakest divisional stats in his career against the Patriots, throwing 42 touchdowns and also 46 interceptions.

Jim Kelly
Playing his entire career with the Buffalo Bills, Kelly won twelve of twenty career games against the Patriots; curiously he managed only 29 touchdowns to 28 interceptions against New England. His biggest win over the Patriots was a 41-7 massacre in September 1992; he also authored a 14-0 shutout in November 1990.

O. J. Simpson
The top pick in the 1969 NFL Draft, Simpson posted ten wins in fourteen career games against the Patriots, rushing 280 times for 1,514 yards and fourteen touchdowns; he also caught ten passes for 118 yards and three scores against New England.

Terrell Owens
One of the most mercurial personalities in league history, Terrell Owens curiously was winless in his career (0-6) against the Patriots. The Patriots faced him with the 49ers, in Super Bowl XXXIX, with the Cowboys, twice with the Bills, and with the Bengals. Owens managed only two touchdowns in his career against the Patriots; in San Francisco's 1998 meeting Owens caught a seven-yard score but a Ty Law interception later in the game came as Law was covering Owens.

John Elway
The Patriots' rivalry with the Denver Broncos' all-time passing leader (51,475 yards) has encompassed both his careers as a player and also as Broncos de-facto GM. Elway won all eleven career meetings as a player with the Patriots, though curiously he had twelve career touchdowns and ten interceptions against the Patriots. His record in the Broncos front office has been different, as the Patriots won their first four meetings against Denver in Elway's role there; this included the largest comeback win (erasing a 24-0 gap) in Patriots history before the Broncos won the AFC Championship Game before Super Bowl XLVIII. The Patriots then crushed the Broncos 43-21 in the 2014 regular season. The Broncos swept the Patriots in the 2015 season, then fell 16-3 to New England in 2016 - the loss ended all hope of a playoff run for the defending champions - and then were crushed 41-16 in 2017, New England's first two-game road winning streak over the Broncos since the 1960s.

New England's 2011 season sweep of Denver was instrumental in Elway's decision to release Tim Tebow and sign Peyton Manning. Elway's GM role against the Patriots entering 2018 is 3-7, for an aggregate record of 14-7 as player and front office boss.

The two teams meet again in 2020.

Warren Moon
The all-time leading passer in Houston Oilers history struggled against the Patriots in four career meetings. His only win came in 1993, a win that launched a run of eleven straight wins. His most famous matchup came in 1994 where he raced the Vikings to a 20-0 lead only to see the Patriots roar back to win 26-20 in overtime.

Dan Pastorini
Drafted by the Oilers in 1971 along with Jim Plunkett, Pastorini won three of his five career meetings with the Patriots. He won in 1975 in Bum Phillips' first game as Oilers head coach; in 1978 he erased a 23-0 Patriots lead to win 26-23, then won 31-14 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs at Schaefer Stadium.

Ken Stabler
Known as "The Snake," Stabler won three of eight career starts against the Patriots, most notably the 1976 "Ben Dreith Game" playoff meeting. His other notable win was with the Oilers on Monday Night Football in 1980, a 38-34 shootout win.

Joe Namath
The zenith of New York Jets success against the Patriots came in the Joe Namath era, as Broadway Joe won fifteen of twenty career starts with one tie, the 24-24 tie in 1966. Namath threw 25 touchdowns and 27 interceptions against the Patriots, five of them in November 1976's 38-24 New England win.

Troy Polamalu
Drafted in 2003, Troy Polamalu became one of the most successful and celebrated defensive backs in Pittsburgh Steelers history, going to eight Pro Bowls and being voted All-Pro four times. But in six career games against the Patriots he had his weakest performances, with just one interception and fifteen tackles. His poor performances against Tom Brady were noted on the NBC Sports Network series NFL Turning Point in its coverage of New England's 55-31 win over the Steelers in 2013.

Michael Vick
A curious rivalry that never developed was with Michael Vick. Acquired by the Falcons in a trade with San Diego, Vick in 2002 became a force with his powerful running leading the Falcons to the playoffs; after missing much of 2003 with injury he led the Falcons in 2004 to the NFC Championship Game before his career spiraled out of control. Vick's only significant play against the Patriots came in his rookie season when Chris Chandler was knocked out of Atlanta's game against the Patriots in Week Eight. Vick ran for 50 yards but completed just two passes for 56 yards. In 2005 Vick was injured before Atlanta's Week Five game against the Patriots and unable to play, but the Falcons listed him as probable for the game until gameday to ensure strong walk-up ticket sales; Matt Schaub played instead. Vick later signed with the Eagles and became starter in 2010, but again missed a game with the Patriots due to injury in 2011; Vince Young played in his stead. Vick signed with the Jets in 2014 and ran once for six yards in a Wildcat play against the Patriots in New England's 27-25 mid-season win.