Sports

What You Should Know About Today's Patriots' Game Against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium

It’s week 14 of the NFL season and the Patriots are back home for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Cleveland Browns.

The Patriots come into the game with a record of 9-3 while the Browns enter Foxboro with a record of 4-8.

A win over Cleveland on Sunday will be the Patriots 11th straight season with at least 10 wins. Bill Belichick became the first coach in NFL history with nine straight seasons with at least 10 victories in 2011 and extended that streak to 10 last season and looks to extend the streak once again in 2013. 

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To help you get ready for the game, here is what you need to know:

TV and Radio Information

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast to a regional audience by CBS and can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV. Bill Macatee will handle play-by-play duties with Steve Tasker providing color. The game will be produced by Victor Frank and directed by John Coleman. 

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 Browns will meet for the 23rd time overall, including one postseason meeting, when the clubs square off on Sunday. 

The Browns will make their third visit to Gillette Stadium  and their first since a 34-17 loss on Oct. 7, 2007. 

The Browns snapped a four-game losing streak to the Patriots when they won, 34-14, in the last meeting between the two teams at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Nov. 7, 2010. That loss was one of only two losses the Patriots had during the 2010 regular season. 

Cleveland leads the all-time series with a 13-9 mark, including the one postseason game when the Bill Belichick-led Browns claimed a 20-13 victory over the Patriots on New Year’s Day, 1995 in a Wild Card Playoff game at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium 

Cleveland is 5-5 all-time against the Patriots in games played in New England, including 0-2 at Gillette Stadium following losses in 2003 and 2007. Overall, the Browns have lost four straight times in New England. 

The Patriots are 4-8 overall in games played in Cleveland, including a 2-2 record against the Browns in Cleveland. 


December Has Been Good For New England

The Patriots own the NFL’s best December record since 2001 with a 46-6 record. The Patriots are 22-2 at home in December since Gillette Stadium was opened in 2002. 

A win over Cleveland on Sunday will be the Patriots 11th straight season with at least 10 wins. Bill Belichick became the first coach in NFL history with nine straight seasons with at least 10 victories in 2011 and extended that streak to 10 last season and looks to extend the streak once again in 2013. 


What to Look For Against the Browns

BILL BELICHICK 

  • Bill Belichick to extend his NFL record by coaching his team to his 11th straight 10-win season. 
  • Belichick is 48-8 (.857) in December with New England, the best record in December among head coaches with one team in NFL history (min. 25 games). George Seifert is second (27-6, .818).

TOM BRADY 

  • Tom Brady (19) needs one touchdown to finish with 20 touchdowns in a season for the 11th time in his career. 
  • Brady to throw for 300 yards for the third straight week. 

AARON DOBSON 

  • Aaron Dobson (35) needs nine receptions to move past Deion Branch (43 in 2002) for the most receptions by a rookie receiver for the Patriots in the Bill Belichick era. Dobson’s 492 yards are the most by a rookie receiver under Belichick. Dobson moved past Branch, who had 489 yards in 2002. Dobson’s four touchdowns are tied with fellow rookie Kenbrell Thompkins for the most by a Patriots rookie receiver under Belichick. Chad Jackson had three touchdowns in 2006. 

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. 
  • Edelman has 711 yards receiving in 2013 and needs to average 72 yards over the final four games to reach 1,000 yards. 
  • Edelman has 70 receptions in 2013 and needs to average 7.5 over the final four games to reach 100 receptions. He has had seven or more receptions in a game six times so far in 2013. 
  • Edelman can extend his streak to three straight games with nine receptions. 

STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI 

  • Stephen Gostkowski has scored in a team record 103 consecutive games and needs to score at least one point against Cleveland to extend that mark. 
  • Gostkowski (28) needs two more field goals for his second season with 30 or more field goals. He set a franchise record with 36 field goals in 2008. 
  • Gostkowski (198) needs two more field goals to become the second Patriots player to reach 200 field goals. 
  • Adam Vinatieri has 262 career field goals. Gostkowski has made 21 straight fourth quarter field goals. 

ROB GRONKOWSKI 

  • Gronkowski has scored a touchdown in four straight games and can extend that streak to five with one against Cleveland. 
  • Gronkowski (42) needs one more touchdown reception to move past Gino Cappelletti for sole possession of fourth place on the team’s all-time list, behind the 67 by Stanley Morgan and 50 by Ben Coates and Randy Moss. 

BRANDON SPIKES 

  • Brandon Spikes leads the team with 111 total tackles after a 14-tackle performance vs. Denver pushed him over 100 tackles for the second straight season. He has five 10-plus tackle games in 2013 and needs one more to match the six 10-tackle games he had in 2012. 

KENBRELL THOMPKINS 

  • Kenbrell Thompkins (466) needs 37 yards to pass Wes Moore for the most receiving yards (502 in 1995) by a Patriots rookie free agent. Thompkins already has the most touchdowns by a Patriots undrafted rookie (4)and needs 12 receptions to tie Moore for the most receptions by a Patriots undrafted rookie receiver. 

TEAM 

  • The Patriots can earn their 10th win of the season, which would be their 11th straight 10-win season. San Francisco (16-1983-98) is the only team that has more consecutive 10-win seasons. 
  • A Patriots win and an Oakland loss will give the Patriots the most wins overall among the original AFL teams. The Patriots and Raiders have 459 wins, including the postseason. 
  • A Patriots win can extend their NFL-best December record with a win vs. Cleveland. The Patriots are 46-6 in the month of December since the 2001 season. The next best team is Philadelphia with a 37-17 record.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here