The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are tied for the third most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Jets play their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of New York City. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey. The franchise is legally organized as a limited liability company under the name New York Jets, LLC.
Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 to 1990, where he won two Super Bowl titles. Parcells was later the head coach of the New England Patriots from 1993 to 1996, the New York Jets from 1997 to 2000, and the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006. Nicknamed "the Big Tuna", he is the only NFL coach to lead four different franchises to the playoffs and three to a conference championship game.
William Stephen Belichick is an American football coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for the record of eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position. During his tenure with the Patriots, he was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law is a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. During his 10 seasons in New England, he received four Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro honors. A three-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots, Law also holds the franchise record for interceptions. Law spent his final five seasons as a member of the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos, earning a fifth Pro Bowl selection with the Jets. Ranking 24th in NFL career interceptions, he twice led the league in interceptions during the 1998 and 2005 seasons. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Drew McQueen Bledsoe is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State University, where he won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year as a junior, and was selected by the Patriots first overall in the 1993 NFL Draft. Considered the face of the Patriots franchise during his nine seasons with the team, Bledsoe helped improve New England's fortunes from 1993 to 2001. Under Bledsoe, the Patriots ended a seven-year postseason drought, qualified for the playoffs four times, clinched their division twice, and made a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. He was also named to three Pro Bowls and became the youngest quarterback to play in the NFL's Pro Bowl game in 1995.
Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami, where he earned consensus All-American and won the Heisman Trophy in 1986.
Robert R. "Ray" Handley is a former American football player and coach who is best remembered for his stormy two seasons as head coach of the National Football League's New York Giants from 1991 to 1992.
This article contains an in-depth explanation of the history of the New England Patriots, a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL).
Ray Lucas is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He played in the NFL for three teams, the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins during his seven-year career from 1996 to 2002. He is currently a studio analyst for the show Jets Nation on New York City-based sports network SportsNet New York.
The history of the New York Jets American football team began in 1959 with the founding of the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League (AFL); they began actual play the following year. The team had little success in its early years. After playing three seasons at the Polo Grounds, the team changed its name to the New York Jets, and moved into newly built Shea Stadium in 1964. In January 1965, the Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to a then-record contract. The team showed gradual improvement in the late 1960s, posting its first winning record in 1967 and winning its only American Football League championship in 1968. By winning the title, New York earned the right to play in Super Bowl III against the champions of the National Football League (NFL), the Baltimore Colts. The Jets defeated the Colts in the game; in the aftermath of the upset, the AFL was deemed a worthy partner to the NFL as the two leagues merged.
The 1994 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 45th season with the National Football League and 49th overall. It was the only season that the Browns qualified for the playoffs under head coach Bill Belichick. The Browns finished as the NFL's number one defense in terms of points surrendered per game. In the playoffs, Belichick got his first playoff victory as a head coach in the AFC wild card game against the New England Patriots by a score of 20–13. The Browns would lose to the Steelers 29–9 in the divisional round.
The 1997 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League and the 38th overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 1999 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 30th season in the National Football League and the 40th overall. They finished with an 8–8 record and tied for fourth place in the division. They did not qualify for the playoffs.
The 2000 season was the New England Patriots' 31st in the National Football League (NFL) and their 41st overall. They finished with a 5–11 record and in last place in the division. It would be the first season the franchise would have involving quarterback Tom Brady. He would play 20 seasons as a Patriot, a franchise record. However, he wasn't given the starting job until next season. This was Tom Brady's only season on a team with a losing record until 2022, and the only time that his team lost twice to the same AFC East team during the regular season.
The 2000 New York Jets season was the 41st season for the team, and the 31st in the National Football League. It was also their first under the ownership of Woody and Christopher Johnson, who purchased the team in January 2000 from the estate of former owner Leon Hess.
The 1997 New York Jets season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 38th overall. Sparked by the arrival of head coach Bill Parcells, who replaced Rich Kotite, and was coming off a Super Bowl berth the previous season, they improved upon its league-worst and franchise-worst 1–15 record from 1996 finishing at 9–7, but narrowly missed the playoffs after losing their final game of the season. It was their first winning season since 1988 when they finished with an 8–7–1 record.
The Jets–Patriots rivalry is a rivalry between the New York Jets and New England Patriots of the National Football League. The teams both play in the AFC East. They have been in the same division since the two teams' inception in 1960 in the American Football League, and have played each other at least twice a year since then.
The Tom Brady–Bill Belichick era, also known as the Brady–Belichick era, the New England Patriots dynasty, or the Patriots dynasty, was a sports dynasty of the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL) that lasted from the 2001 to the 2019 season. The dynasty is named after quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, who are regarded as among the greatest in their respective positions. Belichick and Brady are consistently credited with the Patriots' success and are considered responsible for one of the sport's longest and most dominant dynasties. They are also credited with helping to create and sustain the culture around the team, dubbed the "Patriot Way", where there is an emphasis on personal accountability, consistent improvement, and a focus on team success over personal gain.
The Giants–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. The all-time series is currently tied, 7–7. The two teams met twice in the Super Bowl, both won by the Giants. They play in different conferences, and thus they only meet once every four regular seasons and at least once every eight seasons at each team's home stadium, occasionally in the preseason, sometimes more often if they meet in the Super Bowl or share a common finish position in their respective divisions in the year before the 17th game. This rivalry sparked debates among sports fans in Boston and New York City, evoking comparisons to the fierce Yankees–Red Sox rivalry in Major League Baseball.
