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In the months and years after Kraft's purchase of the Patriots, relations between Kraft and Parcells were increasingly strained. This was primarily due to a struggle over Parcells' authority over football operations as Kraft wanted Parcells to yield some of his authority over personnel moves to a separate general manager. The conflict climaxed in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, with rumors that Parcells would leave the Patriots after the season to take the vacant head coaching job with the New York Jets. During the game the Patriots were close to the Packers for much of the game, and took the lead briefly in the 2nd quarter.
Additionally, Sam Jankovich, who had been athletic director at the University of Miami and oversaw the improvement of their athletic program, was brought on as CEO of the Patriots. By the start of 1988, the Sullivans were heading for bankruptcy and at one point had to get a $4 million advance from the league to make payroll. Instead, it appointed a four-man committee vested with what amounted to "wartime powers" to resolve the Patriots' finances by any means necessary–up to and including selling the team.
Boston/New England Patriots
Bledsoe started the season as the starting quarterback, but was injured and replaced with former Dolphins backup Scott Secules. After the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the league required that all teams reside in stadiums with at least 50,000 seats. Nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium, served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. None of the four stadiums the Patriots had used up to that point qualified, and there was little room in Boston for a new stadium. Due to this, discussions about a possible relocation to Tampa, Florida occurred. The Patriots also employ a corps known as the End Zone Militia, a group of American Revolutionary War reenactors founded in 1996 by Geoff Campbell, a reenactor for the 9th Massachusetts Regiment .
The 1963 season saw the franchise's first playoff win over Buffalo to clinch the division. They subsequently lost the AFL championship game to the San Diego Chargers 51–10. They did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years.
AFC Championship Loss
In 2003, the Patriots changed their alternate to a silver jersey with blue pants. The uniform was identical to the white jersey with any areas of white replaced by silver. In 2009, the red alternate was reintroduced, again accompanied by the "Pat Patriot" helmet.
Kicker John Smith's 33-yard attempt was good, and they were the only points scored by either team that afternoon. The win helped put the Patriots in the playoffs, but the first-round rematch in Miami was won by the Dolphins. The Patriots first played the Miami Dolphins in 1966 in the AFL, when Miami was one of two expansion teams to debut that year in that league. The Dolphins dominated the Patriots in the 1970s and 1990s, but the two teams remained competitive with each other for years before the rise of Tom Brady. Brady, however, struggled occasionally against the Dolphins in the 2000s before reasserting dominance in the 2010s.
Game Notes: Patriots reach at least six sacks in a game for second time in 2022
After an attempt to sell a stake in the team to Reebok CEO Paul Fireman fell through, the Sullivans sold the team to Remington Products magnate Victor Kiam in 1988 for $90 million, though Billy Sullivan remained team president. However, the stadium lapsed into bankruptcy, and Kiam was outbid for it by Boston paper magnate Robert Kraft. As a part of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Jones was listed as a linebacker due to his time with the Arizona Cardinals, in New England however he was specifically listed as a defensive end . Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" has become an unofficial theme song and entrance anthem for the Patriots at their home games and Super Bowls, starting when they hosted the NFL Kickoff at Gillette Stadium on September 8, 2005. Former cornerback Stephon Gilmore was an integral member of the Patriots' late 2010s defense, achieving 2x First-team All-Pro honors and the franchise's first NFL DPOY recipient in 2019. Periodically, the Patriots Hall of Fame committee will release an anniversary team to celebrate the greatest members of the team at every position up to the year of publication.
The team then had a pair of wins against the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, but lost 24–20 on Monday Night Football to the Carolina Panthers following the bye week on a controversial end-game interception by Luke Kuechly. New England finished as the AFC East champions, earning the No. 2 seed and a first round bye. The Patriots went into 2010 without either a named offensive or defensive coordinator following the departure of defensive coordinator Dean Pees. After beating Cincinnati in the season opener, they lost 28–14 to the Jets. By defeating the Bills in Week 16, New England swept that team for the sixth consecutive season, along with earning another AFC East title and the #1 seed. Tom Brady finished the regular season with an NFL-record 335 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, while the Patriots committed an NFL-record low 10 turnovers on the season.
The team would not wear an all-blue set again until the introduction of the Color Rush uniforms in 2016. Tight end Rob Gronkowski was a staple of the 2010s offense, fortifying what is widely known as the greatest QB-TE duo of all-time with Tom Brady. Gronkowski, nicknamed "Gronk", holds many league and Patriots franchise records, including a NFL-record most total and receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a single season , as well as most receiving touchdowns in Patriots history.
In 2007, the Patriots added Donte' Stallworth, a free agent, and traded for Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Welker led the NFL in receptions in 2007, and Moss set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches. In September, head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots were penalized by the NFL for videotaping opponents' defensive signals from an unauthorized location during their Week 1 game against the New York Jets. Belichick was fined $500,000, the maximum allowed under league rules, and the Patriots were fined $250,000 and required to forfeit their first round pick in the 2008 draft. In the final game played at Foxboro Stadium, the Patriots hosted the Oakland Raiders in a snowstorm. Instead, the Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri tied the game with a 45-yard field goal in the final 30 seconds.
In the Bill Belichick era, the main period of the rivalry, the Patriots have a 12–4 record against the Steelers. In their last matchup, the Patriots beat the Steelers 33–3 on Sunday Night Football. Bill Belichick achieved his 200th career head coaching win on November 22, 2012, defeating the Jets 49–19; it was his 163rd such win as Patriots coach.
Stephen Gostkowski was a perfect 3-for-3 in windy conditions against the Broncos, and has made 24 of 25 field goals this season. Stephen Gostkowski has 24 field goals so far in 2014, putting him on pace to finish with 43 field goals, which would be the second highest single-season total in NFL history. Tom Brady had his 22nd game with four or more touchdowns and moved out of a fourth-place tie with Dan Marino.
Within the first few seasons of the 21st century, the team won three Super Bowls in four seasons , over the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. After advancing to Super Bowl XLII, the team's fourth Super Bowl in seven years, the Patriots were upset by the Giants to end their bid for a 19–0 season. With the loss, the Patriots ended the year at 18–1, becoming only one of three teams to go 18–1 along with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1985 Chicago Bears. However, both the Bears and 49ers lost their only game during the regular season, and both would win their respective Super Bowl. Before that, the Patriots also lost a playoff game in 1976 to the Raiders; the game is unofficially known as "The Ben Dreith Game" due to a controversial penalty by head referee Dreith.
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