Patriots at Philadelphia Game Notes
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GAME NOTES 2014 AFC Championship Game New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts– January 18, 2015 TEAM NOTES PATRIOTS ADVANCE TO EIGHTH SUPER BOWL OVERALL; SEVENTH OF THE KRAFT ERA New England has advanced to its eighth Super Bowl in franchise history, a total that is tied with Dallas and Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl berths. The Patriots’ appearance in Super Bowl XLIX will be its seventh Super Bowl appearance since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, a total that is the most in the league over that span (Pittsburgh, 4). Kraft is the first owner in NFL history to have his team in seven Super Bowls. ALL-TIME SUPER BOWL BERTHS 8 New England 8 Dallas 8 Pittsburgh 7 Denver 6 San Francisco 5 Green Bay Packers 5 New York Giants 5 Washington Redskins 5 Oakland Raiders 5 Miami Dolphins PATRIOTS IN THE SUPER BOWL (3-4) Date Game Opponent W/L Score 02/05/12 XLVI New York Giants L 17-21- 02/03/08 XLII New York Giants L 14-17 02/06/05 XXXIX Philadelphia W 24-21 02/01/04 XXXVIII Carolina W 32-29 02/03/02 XXXVI St. Louis W 20-17 01/26/97 XXXI Green Bay L 21-35 01/26/86 XX Chicago L 10-46 PATRIOTS SET NFL RECORD WITH SIXTH SUPER BOWL TRIP IN 15-SEASONS The Patriots have advanced to the Super Bowl for the sixth time since 2001, setting a league record for most Super Bowl berths in any 15-season span. The Patriots are the only team to achieve the feat in the salary cap era (since 1993). Four teams have been to five Super Bowls in a 15-season span. All of those teams achieved the feat prior to the imposition of the salary cap and the modern NFL free agency system in 1993. The teams with the most Super Bowl appearances in a 15-season span are listed below. MOST SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES IN ANY 15-SEASON SPAN Team Super Bowl Berths Seasons New England Patriots 6 2000-2014 Dallas Cowboys 5 1970-1984 Denver Broncos 5 1986-2000 Miami Dolphins 5 1971-1985 San Francisco 5 1981-1995 KRAFT’S SEVEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE MOST OF ANY NFL OWNER IN SUPER BOWL ERA The 2014 AFC Championship is the seventh conference championship for Robert Kraft as Patriots owner, more than any other owner in NFL history in the Super Bowl Era (since 1966). MOST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS BY AN OWNER IN SUPER BOWL ERA Owner Team(s) Super Bowl Appearances Robert Kraft New England 7 Pat Bowlen Denver 6 Jack Kent Cooke Washington 5 Al Davis Oakland/L.A. Raiders 5 Eddie DeBartolo San Francisco 5 Clint Murchison Dallas 5 Packers Stockholders Green Bay 5 Joe Robbie Miami 5 ROBERT KRAFT EARNS HIS 23rd POSTSEASON WIN Robert Kraft has 23 career postseason wins and out of a tie with Eddie DeBartolo., Jr for sole possession of fourth place for most wins by an ownership group in NFL history. WINS OWNERSHIP 33 The Rooney Family, Pittsburgh (1933-present) 31 Green Bay Packers, Inc., Green Bay (1919-present) 24 The Mara Family, New York Giants (1925-present) 23 Robert Kraft, New England (1994-present) 22 Eddie DeBartalo, Jr., San Francisco (1977-1999) 21 Al Davis, Oakland/Los Angeles (1972-2011) 20 Clint Murchison, Jr., Dallas (1960-1984) PATRIOTS IMPROVE TO 8-3 IN AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES The Patriots are 8-3 in AFC Championship Games, including a 4-1 record at home and a 3-1 record at Gillette Stadium. PATRIOTS AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RESULTS (8-3) Date Round Opponent W/L Score 01/12/86 AFC Championship at Miami W 31-14 01/12/97 AFC Championship Jacksonville W 20-6 01/27/02 AFC Championship at Pittsburgh W 24-17 01/18/04 AFC Championship Indianapolis W 24-14 01/23/05 AFC Championship at Pittsburgh W 41-27 01/21/07 AFC Championship at Indianapolis L 34-38 01/20/08 AFC Championship San Diego W 21-12 01/22/12 AFC Championship Baltimore W 23-20 01/20/13 AFC Championship Baltimore L 13-28 01/19/14 AFC Championship at Denver L 16-26 01/18/15 AFC Championship Indianapolis W 45-7 MOST APPEARANCES IN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Pittsburgh 15 San Francisco 15 Dallas 14 New England 11 Oakland 11 St. Louis Rams 9 Denver 9 PATRIOTS ALL-TIME IN PLAYOFF GAMES The Patriots have compiled a 27-18 record in their 45 playoff games and their .600 playoff winning percentage is tied for third in NFL history among teams that have played at least 15 playoff games. ALL-TIME BEST NFL PLAYOFF RECORDS (Min. 15 Games) TEAM W L Pct. Baltimore Ravens ............... 15....... 8................. .652 Green Bay Packers ............. 31..... 20................. .608 Patriots .......................... 27 ... 18 ............... .600 Pittsburgh Steelers ............. 33..... 22................ .600 San Francisco 49ers ........... 30..... 20................ .600 Oakland/L.A. Raiders .......... 25..... 18................ .581 Dallas Cowboys .................. 34..... 26................ .567 PATRIOTS HAVE SECOND-BEST POSTSEASON WINNING PERCENTAGE AT HOME The Patriots have a 17-4 (.810) all-time record in home playoff games. The Patriots’ .810 winning percentage at home in the postseason ranks second among teams with at least 10 home playoff games. HIGHEST POSTSEASON HOME WINNING PERCENTAGE (MIN. 10 GAMES) Team Record Winning Percentage Seattle 11-2 .846 New England 17-4 .810 Oakland 19-5 .792 Green Bay 17-5 .773 Buffalo 10-3 .769 Washington 13-4 .765 Denver 15-5 .750 PATRIOTS TIE POSTSEASON HIGH WITH 45 POINTS; SET RECORD FOR TEAM PLAYOFF VICTORY MARGIN The Patriots’ 45 points tied the franchise record for most points in a playoff game, equaling their total against Denver in the 2011 Divisional Playoffs (1/14/12). The Patriots’ 38-point margin of victory is the largest in franchise history for a playoff game, topping the 35-point margin of victory (45-10) over Denver in the 2011 Divisional Playoffs (1/14/12). New England’s 45 points are its second highest total of the 2014 season (including regular season and playoffs), trailing only the 51 points that New England scored against Chicago on Oct. 26, 2014. The game marked the sixth time in 18 games in the 2014 season that the Patriots have topped 40 points. PATRIOTS TOTAL 177 RUSH YARDS The Patriots had 177 rushing yards against Indianapolis, marking the fifth time in the team’s 45 playoff games that they broke the 175-yard mark on the ground. Three of the franchise’s five 175-yard days have come against the Colts. PATRIOTS SOLID ON THIRD DOWN AGAINST COLTS The Patriots converted 12-of-18 third-down opportunities against the Colts, with their 66.7% third down conversion rate standing as the second-best in the team’s 45-game playoff history, trailing only the franchise-record 68.8% conversion rate against the New York Jets on Jan. 7, 2007 (11-of-16). THE PATRIOTS DEFENSE DOES WELL AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS Including a pair of interceptions in the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots defense has 10 interceptions in four meetings against Andrew Luck. In the last four games against Indianapolis, including two playoff games, the Patriots have outscored the Colts 189-73 with a 59-24 win on Nov. 18, 2012, a 43-22 win on Jan. 11, 2014, a 42-20 win on Nov. 16, 2014, and a 45-7 win on Jan. 18, 2015. PATRIOTS HAVE SUCCESS ON THE GROUND AGAINST INDY The Patriots victory marked the third consecutive game that the Patriots have topped 175 rushing yards as a team against the Colts. New England finished the AFC Championship victory with 177 rushing yards on 40 carries (with three rushing touchdowns). LeGarrette Blount led the way with 148 yards on 30 carries and scored all three of New England’s rushing touchdowns. In the 2014 regular season on Nov. 16, 2014, New England had 246 yards rushing against the Colts, with Jonas Gray leading the charge with 201 yards and four rushing touchdowns. In the 2013 Divisional Playoffs on Jan. 11, 2014, the Patriots had 234 rushing yards, with LeGarrett Blount leading the charge with a franchise-record 166 yards and four rushing touchdowns HALFTIME HELP During the 2014 regular season, the Patriots scored in 10 of the 16 games in the final two minutes of the first half with 66 points. Against Indianapolis, the Patriots scored on a 21-yard field goal with 10 seconds to play. INDIVIDUAL NOTES BELICHICK HAS MOST POSTSEASON WINS With the victory over Indianapolis, Bill Belichick collected his 21st career playoff win, the most postseason wins by a head coach. Most Playoff Wins By an NFL Head Coach Coach Team (s) Wins Bill Belichick Cleveland/New England 21 Tom Landry Dallas Cowboys 20 Don Shula Baltimore Colts/Miami 19 Joe Gibbs Washington 17 Chuck Noll Pittsburgh 16 BELICHICK EARNS SIXTH CONFERENCE TITLE; TIES DON SHULA FOR MOST CONFERENCE TITLES IN SUPER BOWL ERA The 2014 AFC Championship was Bill Belichick’s sixth conference championship as a head coach. Belichick’s six conference titles are tied with Don Shula for the most in NFL history during the Super Bowl era (since 1966). MOST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS BY A HEAD COACH IN SUPER BOWL ERA Head Coach Team(s) # Seasons Super Bowl Appearances Bill Belichick New England 6 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014 XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, XLVI, XLIX Don Shula Balt. Colts/Miami 6 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1984 III, VI, VII, VIII, XVII, XIX Tom Landry Dallas 5 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978 V, VI, X, XII, XIII Joe Gibbs Washington 4 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991 XVII, XVIII, XXII, XXVI Bud Grant Minnesota 4 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976 IV, VII, IX, XI Marv Levy Buffalo 4 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII Chuck Noll Pittsburgh 4 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979 IX, X, XIII, XIV Dan Reeves Denver/Atlanta 4 1986, 1987, 1989, 1998 XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXIII BEST POSTSEASON RECORD IN NFL HISTORTY (Min 10 games) Head Coach Team (s) W L PCT Vince Lombardi GB/WAS 9 1 .900 Tom Flores Oakland 8 3 .727 Bill Walsh SF 10 4 .714 Joe Gibbs WAS 17 7 .708 Bill Belichick CLE/NE 21 9 .700 Jimmy Johnson DAL/MIA 9 4 .692 MOST POSTSEASON GAMES AS A HEAD COACH Head Coach GAMES Tom Landry (Dallas) 36 Don Shula (Baltimore/Miami) 36 Bill Belichick (Cleveland/New England 30 Chuck Noll (Pittsburgh) 24 Mike Holmgren (Green Bay/Seattle) 24 Joe Gibbs (Washington) 24 BELICHICK REACHES NINTH SUPER BOWL OVERALL Belichick secured his ninth Super Bowl during his coaching career, the most among any head coach or assistant coach in NFL history.