What You Need to Know About Tonight's Patriots' Game Against the Denver Broncos

The New England Patriots will play a primetime nationally televised game for the second consecutive week when they host the Denver Broncos. Last week, the Patriots traveled to Carolina for a Monday Night Football matchup with the

Panthers and dropped to 7-3 on the season after a 24-20 loss.
This week’s game will mark the third straight season that the Patriots will play back-to-back prime time games. In 2011, the Patriots beat the New York Jets 37- 16 on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 13 followed by a 34-3 win vs. Kansas City on Monday Night Football. Last season, the Patriots beat Houston, 42-14 on Dec. 10 on Monday Night Football and then lost to San Francisco on Sunday Night Football on Dec. 16. It will be the ninth time under Bill Belichick that the Patriots will play back-to-back Sunday Night football or Monday Night Football games.

Since Belichick took over as head coach in 2000, the Patriots have compiled a regular-season winning record against 30 of their 31 NFL opponents. As of 2013, the Denver Broncos remain the only team since 2000 that does not trail New England in their regular-season series. The Broncos have compiled a 5-5 record in 10 regular-season games against the Patriots in that span.

A victory over Denver this week would guarantee the Patriots a record of .500 or better for the 13 consecutive year. The Patriots are the only team in the NFL to finish with a record of .500 or better in each of the last 12 years (2001-12). Each of the other 31 NFL teams had at least one losing season between 2001 and 2012.

Since the 2010 season, the Patriots are now a combined 24-2 in the second half of the regular season. Since Bill Belichick became Patriots head coach in 2000, New England is 84-22 in the second half of the season.

To help you get ready for tonight’s game, here is what you need to know!

TV and Radio Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience by NBC and can be seen in Boston on WHDH-TV Channel 7. Al Michaels will handle play-by-play duties with Cris Collinsworth providing color. Michele Tafoya will serve as the sideline reporter.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by Westwood One Sports. Kevin Kugler and James Lofton will call the game. Hub Arkush will report from the sidelines.
RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network’s 37 stations can be found at the back of the press release on the Patriots Football Network page. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.

RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.

Parking Lot Information

The stadium lots will open four hours before game time. Parking at Gillette Stadium is $40 for cars and motorcycles and $150 for busses, RVs, and limos.

In addition, the following vehicles will not be allowed in the lots:

• Any vehicle towing a trailer (this includes fifth-wheel RV units).
• Professional catering trucks and or services without prior written approval from Stadium Management.
• Excessive tailgate setups that impede on customers parked around your vehicles, emergency access or deemed to be unsafe or inappropriate by Stadium Management.
• Any type of swimming pool, portable pool, hot tubs, water filled pickup trucks, or the like.

Allow Plenty of Time for Traffic Around the Stadium

With a capacity crowd expected, drivers are advised to allow themselves plenty of time when traveling near the stadium on game day. Traffic restrictions will be in place on local roads before and after the game. Fans must use I-95, I-495 or Route 140 to access Gillette Stadium. 

Those not going to the game should seek alternate routes to their destination.

Series History

The Patriots and Broncos will meet for the 47th time in series history, including three times in the postseason. It will mark Denver’s third straight visit to New England, including a 45-10 Patriots win in the 2011 AFC Divisional playoffs and last season’s 31-21 win on Oct. 7, 2012.

Denver leads the all-time regular-season series with a 25-18 advantage and is 2-1 in the postseason against New England. In addition to the 2011 postseason win, New England lost a Divisional Playoff game at Denver during the 1986 and 2005 playoffs. Both of those games were played in Denver.

Of the 46 previous games in the series, 27 have been played in Denver. The Patriots have played more games against the Broncos than any other team that has never been in New England’s division. The Patriots are 10-9 all-time against Denver in home games, including 3-2 against Denver at Gillette Stadium.

The history between the teams dates back to the first days of the American Football League in 1960. The Patriots played the Broncos in the inaugural game of each franchise, a 13-10 Denver win on Sept. 9, 1960 at BU Field. The teams squared off twice a year in the decade prior to the AFL-NFL merger, except for 1967 and 1969.

Brady vs. Manning

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have had many epic games against each other over the course of their careers. This week’s game will be the second Brady-Manning game since Peyton Manning’s departure from the Indianapolis Colts. Despite playing in separate divisions following the 2002 NFL division reformatting, the Patriots and the Colts played each other an astounding 15 times since 2001 overall. With the exception of the 2011 regular season matchup—a game which Peyton Manning missed due to a neck injury—and the 2008 regular season game that Tom Brady missed following an ACL tear, Brady and Manning have started at quarterback for their respective teams in every game dating back to Sept. 30, 2001. Sunday’s game between the Patriots and the Broncos will mark the 14th time that Brady and Manning have started opposite one another.

Although Manning holds a regular season advantage over Brady in touchdowns, yards and completions, the Patriots have won seven of the 10 regular season games in which the two quarterbacks have faced each other.

Brady and Manning have also faced each other three times in the postseason. The Patriots are 2-1 in those three playoff games with Brady posting a better passer rating (81.7) than Manning (61.0).

What to Look For

TOM BRADY

• Tom Brady (2,552) needs 448 yards to reach 3,000 passing yards for the 11th time in his career. He will become one of just six players with at least 11 3,000 yard passing seasons.

JULIAN EDELMAN

• Julian Edelman needs one more punt return for a touchdown to set the team mark with his fourth punt returned for a touchdown. He is tied with Irving Fryar and Troy Brown with three returns for a touchdown.

STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI

• Stephen Gostkowski has 10 field goals of 40 or more yards in 2013. He needs one more field goal of 40 or more yards to tie the Patriots record for most 40-yard field goals in a single season. Adam Vinatieri had 11 field goals of 40 or more yards in 2004 and 1998 and Gostkowski had 11 such field goals in 2012.
• Gostkowski needs to convert one field goal to extend his streak to 20 consecutive field goals. The team record is 23 by Adam Vinatieri in 2004.
• Gostkowski has scored in 101 consecutive games and needs to score in the next game to break a tie with Adam Vinatieri and John Smith for the team’s all-time record with 102 consecutive games scored. 
• Gostkowski has scored 98 points and needs two more points to reach 100 points. He has scored at least 100 points in six of his previous seven seasons. 

CHANDLER JONES 

• Chandler Jones has a team-leading 9 1⁄2 sacks and needs a half a sack to register the team’s 15th 10-sack
  season. 

CHRIS JONES 

• Chris Jones can add to his 2013 sack total of 5.0, which leads all rookies. 

STEVAN RIDLEY 

• Stevan Ridley to score a rushing touchdown in his sixth straight game. In 2012, Ridley had a streak of six straight games with at least one rushing touchdown, which is tied for the second longest streak in team history. 
• Ridley has 13 20-yard runs and needs one more to have the most for the Patriots since 2000. He is currently tied at 13 with Antowain Smith and Corey Dillon.

BRANDON SPIKES

• Brandon Spikes leads the team with 91 total tackles and needs nine tackles to secure his second straight 100-tackle season. He had a career-high of 128 total tackles in 2012.

TEAM

• The Patriots can earn their eighth win of the 2013 season and guarantee to finish the season with a record of .500 or better for the 13th consecutive season. 
• A Patriots win and an Oakland loss will give the Patriots a tie for the most wins in the regular season among the original AFL teams. Oakland has 434 wins, while the Patriots have 433.