Patriots-Broncos Fun Facts
BOSTON (CBS) - Here are some fun facts about the Broncos and the Patriots, who play Sunday afternoon at Gillette.
Series Stuff
- The history between these two teams dates back to the first days of the American Football League in 1960. The Pats played the Broncos in the inaugural game of each franchise.
- This will be the 46th meeting between the Pats and the Broncos. with Denver leading the regular season series 25-17 and the Pats holding a 2-1 advantage in the playoffs.
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- The Pats have played more games against Denver than any other team that has never been in New England's division.
- The last two times the Patriots have played the Broncos have been victories, and both times they have scored over 40 points. In Denver last year on Dec. 18th, New England beat the Broncos 41-23, and followed that up with a 45-10 victory in the AFC Divisional round on January 14 at Gillette.
Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning
- This game will be the 13th time Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will face one another. The Pats have won six of the nine regular season games against Manning, and are 2-1 against in the post season.
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- Tom Brady is 2-5 against the Broncos in the regular season and 1-1 against them in the postseason. Denver is the only team that Tom Brady has a losing record against.
Connections
- This will be the third game this year that the Pats will be involved in a brother vs. brother match up. First it was the McCourty's when the Pats took on Tennessee. Then it was the Jones' when the Pats took on the Baltimore Ravens. Now it's the Gronkowski's. Rob Gronkowski is the Pats all world tight end and his brother Chris Gronkowski is the Broncos fullback.
- Dan Koppen was the Patriots center from 2003-11, starting 120 games for New England. He won two Super Bowl titles during his time here, but is now the center for Denver.
- Bill Belichick was the assistant special teams coach/assistant to the defensive coordinator for the Broncos during the 1978 season.
- Brandon Lloyd played for the Broncos from 2009-11. In 2010, he posted a career year with 77 receptions for 1, 448 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Milestones
- Tom Brady has 48 career 300-yard games in the regular season, and needs one more to tie Warren Moon for 7th place all-time on that list.
- If Brady reaches 300-yards against Denver, it will be the third time in his career he's had at least a four-game stretch of 300-yard per game.
- Wes Welker needs one more touchdown reception to break out of a tie for 7th place with Troy Brown on the Pats all-time touchdown receptions list.
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- The Pats have had two straight games with a pair of 100-yard receivers. It's the fourth time in team history that's happened, and if they can pull it off on Sunday, it will mark the first time they've pulled off the feat in three straight games.
- The Pats are looking for their first back-to-back games with a 100- yard rusher since Laurence Maroney did it in 2007.
Tune in to Patriots-Broncos this Sunday at 4:25pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV. Pregame coverage begins with Patriots Gameday at 11:30am on WBZ-TV, and with Patriots Preview at 1pm on 98.5. Following the game, tune in to 3-hours of post game coverage on the Hub, and Patriots 5th Quarter on MyTV38.
