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116-458: Founder Ed Sabol was a World War II veteran who worked selling topcoats after returning to the United States . In his spare time, he used a motion picture camera , received as a wedding gift, to record his son Steve's high school football games. Inspired by his work, Sabol founded a small film company called Blair Motion Pictures, named after his daughter Blair. Sabol won the bidding for

232-771: A 22–17 victory over the Jets. As of 2023, the Patriots lead the all-time series 75–55–1. The Patriots and the Bills were both charter members of the AFL, and even competed with each other in an AFL playoff game. They have remained divisional rivals since the AFL–NFL merger. Prior to the rise of Tom Brady, the two teams shared a mellow, yet occasionally competitive rivalry, featuring highlights from players such as O. J. Simpson , Steve Grogan , Joe Ferguson , Jim Kelly , and Drew Bledsoe . However, Brady dominated

348-514: A 31–28 Patriots win. In 2012, the Patriots faced the Colts, quarterbacked now by Andrew Luck , on November 18; the Patriots defeated the Colts 59–24. The Patriots also beat the Colts on January 12, 2014, 43–22. The Patriots played the Colts in the playoffs again on January 18, 2015, in the AFC title game, winning 45–7. As of the 2023 season, the Patriots lead the all-time series 53–31. The Ravens first met

464-412: A 8–9 record and missed the postseason in the 2022 season. After a gloomy 4–13 record in the 2023 season, the Patriots mutually parted ways with Bill Belichick after 24 years on January 11, 2024, notably due to a series of poor decisions in his final years as general manager regarding offensive personnel, which culminated in a sharp decline of offensive production following the 2021 season. One day later,

580-547: A back and forth game; the Ravens erased a 13–0 lead in the first half and led 14–13, but the Patriots scored at the end of the second quarter for a 20–14 lead. The lead changed twice in the third quarter and the Patriots led 30–21 in the fourth, but the Ravens scored on Smith's second touchdown catch. The Ravens were stopped on fourth down but the Patriots had to punt; in the final two minutes a pass interference penalty on Devin McCourty put

696-538: A berth in Super Bowl XX , which they lost to the Chicago Bears 46–10. Following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. Berry left the team following a disappointing 1989 season, and his replacement Rod Rust only lasted one season, 1990, during which the Patriots went 1–15. During the late 1980s and early 1990s they changed ownership several times, being purchased from

812-467: A blue outline around the numbers in 2010 and this was worn through 2012. The Patriots temporarily retired their alternate red uniforms in 2013, thanks to a new NFL rule outlawing throwback alternate helmets, and restricting teams to one helmet shell only. However, after the NFL reinstated the use of alternate helmets in 2022, the Patriots brought back the throwback red uniforms. In 2016, the Patriots took part in

928-552: A complete identity overhaul before the 1993 season, starting with the introduction of the aforementioned "Flying Elvis" logo. The new uniforms consisted of a royal blue home jersey and a white away jersey. The helmet was silver with the Flying Elvis logo and no additional striping. Both uniforms used silver pants, originally with stripes designed to look like those flowing from the Flying Elvis, but these were changed to simple red and blue stripes after one season. When they debuted, both

1044-660: A minute to go, New England rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler made a critical interception on Seattle's final offensive play that helped to seal the victory. In the 2015 season, the Patriots won the division with a 12–4 record. The team defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round before falling to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship. New England became the first team to reach nine Super Bowls in

1160-404: A new era during the 2024 NFL draft , selecting Drake Maye third overall, the highest draft pick held by the Patriots in 31 years up to that point. The Patriots original helmet logo was a simple tricorne hat, used only for the 1960 season. From 1961 to 1992, the Patriots used a logo of a Revolutionary War minuteman hiking a football. The Patriots wordmark logo during this time consisted of

1276-579: A new visual identity and logo, and changed their primary colors from the traditional red, white and blue to blue and silver for the team uniforms. Orthwein intended to move the team to his native St. Louis (where it would have been renamed as the St. Louis Stallions ), but instead sold the team in 1994 for $ 175   million to Boston paper magnate Robert Kraft , who had bought the Patriots' then-home, Foxboro Stadium , out of bankruptcy in 1988. Continuing on as head coach under Kraft's ownership, Parcells would bring

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1392-486: A nod to the "Pat Patriot" uniforms. Coincidentally, the arrival of new jerseys occurred with the departure of long-time quarterback, Tom Brady , from the Patriots. Brady was in New England exactly between the last uniform change in 2000, and left before the 2020 uniform change in 2019. The Patriots brought back the silver pants to pair with the current uniforms in a 2022 Week 7 home game on Monday Night Football against

1508-521: A number of fields in or around Boston . The Patriots hold training camp and practices just outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, with twin practice fields available for team use. Prior to 2003, the Patriots held training camp and practice at numerous locations. From 1976 to 2002, the team held training camp at Bryant College in Smithfield, Rhode Island . From 1960 to 1961, then from 1969 to 1975,

1624-512: A perfect 16–0 record, becoming only the fourth team in league history to go undefeated in the regular season, and the only one since the league expanded its regular season schedule to 16 games. 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

1740-646: A professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the 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

1856-641: A staple of Inside the NFL for its entire run, starting at HBO in 1977 and going on to air on Showtime and Paramount+ through to its current home at The CW . NFL Films also produced for Showtime the five-part miniseries Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League , which aired in the fall of 2009 as part of the American Football League 50th anniversary celebration. NFL Films produces an annual highlight film for each team every season, distributed by home video . If

1972-461: A starter, and would serve as the franchise's starting quarterback for the next 18 years. Under Belichick and Brady, the Patriots became one of the most consistently dominant teams in the NFL, with many describing the team as a " dynasty ". Within the first few seasons of the 21st century, the team won three Super Bowls in four seasons ( 2001 , 2003 , and 2004 ), over the St. Louis Rams , Carolina Panthers , and Philadelphia Eagles , respectively. In

2088-414: A team had a good year, the film often revels in each victory, while breezing through, or skipping altogether, losses during the season. Inversely, if a team suffered through a poor season, the highlights commonly still attempt to show the team in a good light, however difficult that may be. Losses and pitiful play is commonly, and conveniently, edited out, leaving only isolated moments of success. This prompts

2204-409: A tricorne and transitions into a flowing banner-like design. It became popularly known as the "Flying Elvis" due to many observing its resemblance to the profile of a young Elvis Presley . A new script logo was introduced as well in tandem with the "Flying Elvis", utilizing a cursive font. In 2000, the blue color used on the tricorne of the "Flying Elvis" as well as the outline of the cursive wordmark

2320-463: A western-style font. The minuteman logo became known as the " Pat Patriot " logo, which later became the name of the team's mascot. In 1979, the Patriots worked with NFL Properties to design a new, streamlined logo, to replace the complex Pat Patriot logo. The new logo featured the blue and white profile of a minuteman in a tricorne hat set against a flag showing three red stripes separated by two white stripes. Team owner Billy Sullivan decided to put

2436-416: A year since then. The rivalry between the Jets and Patriots has escalated since 1996, when Patriots head coach Bill Parcells left the Patriots under controversy to become the head coach of the Jets; he was replaced by former Jets coach Pete Carroll . Four years later, Carroll was fired, and Parcells's assistant, Bill Belichick , resigned the day he was named the Jets' head coach to become the head coach of

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2552-686: Is World War II." In 1995, he officially retired from NFL Films in his role as president and chairman. In 1996, he was elected to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame . On February 5, 2011, Sabol was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio . Sabol died on February 9, 2015, at his home in Arizona. New England Patriots National Football League ( 1970 –present) The New England Patriots are

2668-538: 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. In the first game of the 2008 season, Brady suffered a torn ACL against the Chiefs. Matt Cassell stepped in for the rest of the season and the team finished 11–5 but missed the postseason. In the 2009 season, Brady returned from his injury and led

2784-590: The 2016–17 playoffs and faced the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI . Losing 28–3 midway through the third quarter, the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. In the first overtime in Super Bowl history, the Patriots won the coin toss and scored a touchdown to claim their fifth Super Bowl victory. The Patriots extended their record to ten Super Bowl appearances in

2900-696: The 2017–18 playoffs but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII . The Patriots returned to the championship game for a third consecutive season in Super Bowl LIII , where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3 to win their sixth Super Bowl, tying them with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowl victories in NFL history. Following a disappointing 2019 season, in which

3016-516: The American Football League (AFL) in 1968 , ostensibly under a newly established "AFL Films" division. In reality, "AFL Films" crews these were simply regular NFL Films personnel wearing separate jackets to appease AFL loyalists. On August 6, 2011, Ed Sabol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a major contributor to the National Football League. Sabol died on February 9, 2015, at his home in Arizona. Much has been made of

3132-763: The Baltimore Ravens , the Denver Broncos , the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Las Vegas Raiders . Outside of the AFC, the Patriots also had a memorable rivalry with the New York Giants . The closest rivalry geographically has been that with the New York Jets . The Patriots and Jets have been in the same division (what is now the AFC East) since both teams' foundings in 1960, and have played each other at least twice

3248-562: The Chicago Bears . Unlike the previous silver pants the team wore from 2000 to 2019, this design featured thicker red stripes, matching the same width as the middle blue stripe. During a Week 7 2024 road game at Wembley Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars , the Patriots paired their silver pants with the road white uniform for the first time since 1999. In 1994, the Patriots wore the "Pat Patriot" helmets and plain white striped pants from two seasons prior as alternates as part of

3364-407: The Denver Broncos ). Generally unsuccessful prior to the 21st century, the franchise enjoyed a period of dominance under head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady from 2001 to 2019. The Brady–Belichick era , regarded as one of the greatest sports dynasties , would see the Patriots claim nearly every major Super Bowl record . Other NFL records held by the franchise include

3480-638: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Since 2002, the Patriots' home stadium has been Gillette Stadium , a $ 350   million facility privately financed by Robert Kraft , located in Foxborough, Massachusetts . It houses the team's practice facilities, the team's administrative offices, as well as its owning entity's, The Kraft Group , along with the Kraft-owned Major League Soccer team, the New England Revolution . The field, which

3596-689: The World Series ( MLB Productions ). It also produced the video for Journey 's 1983 hit single " Faithfully ". NFL Films also has worked with Volkswagen Group in producing Audi's Truth in 24 series about Audi's efforts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans using the signature style to package and sell the marque's efforts in France. NFL Films has also produced television commercials for convenience store chain Sheetz . The company has also done films for major college football programs, such as Colorado State University ;

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3712-573: The 2002 season. On two consecutive home games that season, the Patriots wore blue tops with their road blue pants and white socks; they lost both games (Week 6 vs. the Packers, and Week 8 vs. the Broncos). The team would not wear an all-blue set again until the introduction of the Color Rush uniforms in 2016. Throughout the 2011 season , the Patriots wore dark patches with white lettering on their uniforms with

3828-589: The 2005 season, the Patriots went 10–6 and won the division. The Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round before falling to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. In the 2006 season, the Patriots went 12–4 and won the division. After defeating the Jets and the Chargers, the Patriots lost in the AFC Championship to the Colts. The Patriots finished the 2007 regular season with

3944-457: The AFC Championship, where the Ravens won 28–13. The Patriots led at halftime, 13–7, but the Ravens defense gave up no points in the 2nd half. It was the first time ever that Tom Brady lost a game at home after leading at halftime, and the first time a road team beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship. The two teams met once again at Gillette Stadium in the playoffs on January 10, 2015. The Patriots trailed by as much as 14 twice, before beating

4060-606: The AFL. Boston University Field , Harvard Stadium , Fenway Park (shared with baseball's Boston Red Sox ), and Boston College 's Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. 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. When

4176-564: The Bills during his tenure as the Patriots' franchise quarterback, holding a 32–3 regular-season record over them. Though Patriots fans usually felt apathetic towards the Bills during the Brady era, Bills fans came to despise the Patriots more than any other rival. With the departure of Tom Brady after the 2019 season, the Bills swept the Pats in 2020, including a 38–9 Monday Night Football win that stands as

4292-639: The Colts at the RCA Dome 38–17. After the Colts left the AFC East in 2002, they first met on November 30, 2003, in a 38–34 Patriots win decided on a last-second goal line stand by the Patriots. The Colts broke a six-game Patriot winning streak in the rivalry in November 2005, then won twice in 2006; in the AFC Championship Game the Colts erased a 21–6 halftime lead; the game lead tied or changed seven times in

4408-496: The Colts rallied to defeat the Patriots 34–27 on Monday Night Football on a virtual one-man scoring rampage by running back Joe Washington ; on September 4, 1983, the Colts defeated the Patriots in overtime 29–23 in their final season in Baltimore. The Patriots defeated the Colts in back-to-back overtime games, 23–17 on December 8, 1991, and 37–34 on November 15, 1992. Even though the two clubs were placed in separate divisions in

4524-702: The Dolphins revealing their Wildcat offense against the Patriots, and the Miracle in Miami . As of 2023, the Dolphins lead the all-time series 62–55. The Patriots rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts ran through the two clubs' tenure together in the AFC East (1970–2001). The two clubs clashed in several close games, such as on December 19, 1971, as a late Patriots touchdown decided a 21–17 New England win; on September 18, 1978,

4640-506: The Films style. Salon.com television critic, Matt Zoller Seitz, has called NFL Films "the greatest in-house P.R. machine in pro sports history...an outfit that could make even a tedious stalemate seem as momentous as the battle for the Alamo ." NFL Films productions follow certain patterns. Film is mostly used. One camera is dedicated entirely to slow motion shots and microphones are present on

4756-496: The League would return the document to him. Spence alleged that NFL Films claimed that his music was "stolen" and signing the document would empower them to protect the music in court. NFL Films operates its own in-house 16mm and 35mm Color Negative Processing Lab. This enables the film that is shot at each game to be rushed back to the Mt. Laurel facility and processed immediately so as to give

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4872-536: The NFL and AFL merged in 1970 , the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference (AFC) East division, where they still play. The following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts , which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots , after

4988-519: The NFL's 2002 divisional realignment, their rivalry did not diminish. At that time, both teams were among the best in the AFC, and both were led by likely Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Peyton Manning (for the Colts) and Tom Brady (for the Patriots). The teams met three times in four years (2003, 2004, 2006) in the playoffs, with the winner going on to win that season's Super Bowl each time. The Manning portion of

5104-404: The NFL's 75th-anniversary celebration. In 2002, NFL teams were allowed to add a permanent third jersey to be worn in a maximum of two games. The Patriots reintroduced a red jersey as their alternate, complemented with the old-style "Pat Patriot" helmet. In 2003, the Patriots changed their alternate to a silver jersey with blue pants. For this uniform, the "Flying Elvis" helmet was used. The uniform

5220-472: The NFL's Color Rush program, wearing monochrome navy uniforms on September 22 against the Houston Texans . The uniform tops were patterned after the 1980s Pat Patriot-era uniforms, while the pants featured thick white stripes with red accents. They have worn them a total of four times since 2016. In 2017, an all-white Color Rush uniform was introduced and used for the Patriots' Thursday night road game against

5336-496: The NFL's first "perfect offensive game" in history and the worst playoff loss of Belichick's career. As of 2023, the Patriots lead the all-time series 78–50–1. 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

5452-404: The NFL's sponsors, including Sprint Nextel and Burger King . NFL Films has won 112 Sports Emmys . Sam Spence was long involved in a controversial situation with the NFL regarding the rights to perform or use his music in any media outlets. In an interview, Spence reported he was convinced to sign a contract that relinquished all of the rights to his music to NFL Films under the promise that

5568-490: The New England Patriots in 1996, but the rivalry truly started in 2007 when the Ravens suffered a bitter 27–24 loss in the Patriots' quest for perfection . The rivalry began to escalate in 2009 when the Ravens lost to the Patriots 27–21 in a game that involved a confrontation between Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs . Both players would go on to take verbal shots at each other through

5684-410: The Patriots for the third consecutive season in the 2011 AFC Championship Game, which the Ravens lost 23–20. The rivalry reached a new level of friction with this, the second career playoff game between the two clubs. The Ravens clawed to a 20–16 lead in the fourth quarter, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dove into the end zone to make the score 23–20 with around 11 minutes remaining; this proved to be

5800-477: The Patriots have competed most against other teams in the AFC East division: the Buffalo Bills , Miami Dolphins , and New York Jets , who were all a part of the AFC East division since the AFL–NFL merger, as well as the former AFL Eastern division. The Patriots also share rivalries with several teams outside of their division, including the Indianapolis Colts , who were members of the AFC East from 1970 to 2001,

5916-530: The Patriots held training camp at University of Massachusetts Amherst . Between 1962 and 1968, the Patriots held training camp at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts . From 1971 until 2001, the Patriots would simply practice at Foxboro Stadium whenever the field was available, otherwise they would use the public football fields that were available in Foxborough. In 2017, the Patriots purchased two Boeing 767-300ERs for use as team planes, with one serving as

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6032-437: The Patriots promoted the pair of Jerod Mayo , then-current linebackers coach and former player, and Eliot Wolf , director of scouting and son of Pro Football Hall of Fame general manager Ron Wolf , as head coach and de facto general manager to each succeed Belichick's duties. Mac Jones, after three seasons as the incumbent starter, was traded in the 2024 offseason due to his insufficient play. The Mayo-Wolf regime kickstarted

6148-428: The Patriots then became one of the few teams at the time to drop the rounded numbers and switch back to block numbers. The shade of blue was switched for the first time in the franchises' history, from royal to nautical blue. The jerseys once again had the number on the shoulders while the logo moved back to the sleeves. "New Century" silver stripes were also added to the home jersey, with nautical blue stripes appearing on

6264-607: The Patriots to two playoff appearances, including Super Bowl XXXI (following the 1996 season ), which they lost to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 35–21. Pete Carroll , Parcells's successor, would also take the team to the playoffs twice in 1997 and 1998 before being dismissed as head coach after the 1999 season. In 2000, the Patriots hired head coach Bill Belichick , who had served as defensive coordinator under Parcells including during Super Bowl XXXI. Their new home field, Gillette Stadium , opened in 2002 to replace

6380-646: The Patriots won the AFC East with a 12–4 record. The team defeated the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round before falling to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship. In the 2013 season, the Patriots went 12–4 and won the division. The Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 43–22 in the Divisional Round before falling to the Denver Bronos 26–16 in the AFC Championship. In 2014, the Patriots won

6496-457: The Patriots. Six years after that, Eric Mangini , an assistant under Belichick, became the head coach of the Jets. Bill Belichick achieved his 200th career head coaching win (regular season and playoffs) on November 22, 2012, defeating the Jets 49–19 ; it was his 163rd such win as Patriots coach. Belichick also passed George Halas for second most career head coaching wins (regular season and playoffs) with his 325th win on October 30, 2022, in

6612-454: The Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992. Though Orthwein's period as owner was short and controversial, he did oversee major changes to the team, first with the hiring of former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells in 1993. Orthwein and his marketing team then defied Patriots fans' overwhelming preference and commissioned the NFL to develop

6728-443: The aging Foxboro Stadium. Long-time starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe , who was the franchise's star throughout the 1990s, went down with a sheared blood vessel in his chest in a week two match-up in 2001 against the rival New York Jets . Backup quarterback Tom Brady , drafted by the Patriots in sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft , became the starting quarterback. Brady's successful play led to Bledsoe never getting his job back as

6844-444: The away jersey. The Patriots, unsatisfied with the 1990s white-on-silver road look, also took the opportunity to introduce blue pants to be worn with the white jersey, offering a better contrast. To better match the blue pants, the number on the white jersey was switched from red to blue. Though the Patriots had generally worn silver pants with the blue jerseys, and navy pants with the white jerseys, they did wear an all-blue set during

6960-592: The backup, which were ready in time for the 2017 NFL season . This made them the first team in league history to own their own planes. At the time it was getting more difficult for professional sports teams to book private charter flights, with eight teams being dropped that season, as major commercial airlines were instead focusing on more profitable scheduled flights. The two jet airliners, N366AA and N39367, were previously operated by American Airlines from 1991 to 2016. The planes are known affectionately as "AirKrafts" after team owner Robert Kraft . Kraft has lent one of

7076-486: The ball at the Patriots 7-yard line; new Ravens kicker Justin Tucker booted a 27-yard field goal on the final play; the ball sailed directly over the upright and was ruled good; the quality of officiating by replacement referees caused controversy as Bill Belichick angrily reached for one of the referees as they were leaving the field, leading to a $ 50,000 fine later that week. The two teams met again on January 20, 2013, in

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7192-441: The clock, the kicker missed the 32-yard field goal attempt, allowing the Patriots to kill the clock on their way to Super Bowl XLVI for a rematch with the New York Giants . The Ravens' first regular-season win over the Patriots came on September 23, 2012. The game was emotional as receiver Torrey Smith was competing following the death of his brother in a motorcycle accident just the night before. Smith caught two touchdowns in

7308-574: The colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation, which heavily involved the then-colony of Massachusetts. Immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the " Pat Patriot " logo. The Patriots never had a regular home stadium in

7424-436: The company's 1968 Minnesota Vikings season highlight reel and also the psychedelic-flavored jazz track "Artful Dodger" on the film recap of Super Bowl V , specifically during the montage which shows Johnny Unitas 's 75-yard touchdown pass to John Mackey which was tipped in flight by Eddie Hinton and Mel Renfro before landing in the hands of Mackey. The company also makes prolific use of footage of players and coaches in

7540-465: The company's 1977 film on CSU's football program used John Denver 's song " Rocky Mountain High " as well as an instrumental cover of The Beatles ' song " Tell Me What You See ", and noted alumni of the team who had gone on to NFL careers, such as Bill Larson of the Lions and Bill Kennedy of the Colts , Kevin McClain of the Rams , and Greg Stamrick of the Oilers . NFL Films' distinctive style has been parodied in numerous commercials, particularly for

7656-436: The conclusion of the 2019 NFL season , the AFC playoffs consistently had the Patriots playing from home in 2001–2019. The area around the stadium was developed, beginning in 2007, into a $ 375   million "lifestyle and entertainment center" called Patriot Place ; among its largest structures is a multi-floor restaurant and bar called CBS Scene . Prior to 2002, the Patriots played in Foxboro Stadium dating back to 1971,

7772-518: The current host of NFL Films Presents ). NFL Films also produces the NFL Game of the Week , which showcases a previous week's game. ION Television purchased the rights to air Game of the Week during the 2007 season. Among other television programs, NFL Films is credited for producing NFL Total Access and much of the NFL Network 's programming output. NFL Films also has a dedicated channel on free over-the-top service Pluto TV that launched in August 2019. NFL Films' game highlights have been

7888-414: The division with a 12–4 record. The Patrios defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round and the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship. The Patriots reached a record-tying eighth Super Bowl, where they defeated the defending champion Seattle Seahawks by a score of 28–24 to win Super Bowl XLIX for their fourth title. After Seattle had driven the ball to New England's 1-yard line with under

8004-484: The entire processing lab. Those on morning tours can often watch as employees develop film for use in weekly shows. NFL Films Lab is also in charge of the archiving and maintenance of the vault. Containing over 100 continuous years of football footage, the vault houses all of the film that NFL Films has shot or acquired from other sources in its entire history. Currently, NFL Films is in the process of re-transferring all of its footage into high-definition format, although

8120-610: The field and the NFL Films facility, NFL Films and HBO follow one NFL team as they go through training camp, leading up to the beginning of the season. NFL Films also produces the Greatest Moments series, which details classic games from the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's (decade); the Lost Treasures series, which uses old NFL Films footage, which had previously never been shown on television, to look at football players, coaches, and referees; and NFL Films Presents , an umbrella title for other NFL Films productions that do not neatly fit an existing series ( Katie Nolan serves as

8236-405: The first series in 1969 to 1978 are unavailable. Source: Although NFL Films earns more than $ 50 million in revenue a year and is expanding at a double digit rate, compared to the $ 18 billion in revenue that the NFL earns from television alone, most consider this to be minor. The real value of NFL Films is how it packages and sells the game and many credit it as a key reason that the NFL has become

8352-466: The franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium. The team began utilizing Gillette Stadium for home games the same year. The Patriots hold the records for most Super Bowl wins (6, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers ), appearances (11), and losses (5, tied with

8468-491: The highest postseason winning percentage (.638). On November 16, 1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth and final franchise of the developing American Football League (AFL). The following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football team's official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the "Boston Patriots", with " Patriots " referring to

8584-417: The home and away jerseys used red block numbers with a blue and white outline, but after one season the home uniforms switched to the now-familiar white with a red outline. In 1995, the Patriots switched the block numbers to a more modern rounded number font with a dropshadow. The Patriots were one of the first adopters of custom numbers, a trend that would grow drastically over the next 20 years. In 2000,

8700-434: The initials 'MHK' in honor of Myra Kraft , the late long-time spouse of owner Robert Kraft. In 2020, the Patriots made some changes to their uniform. The all-blue "Color Rush" design became the primary home uniform, complete with a tweaked nameplate font and numbers, and blue/red/white socks. A corresponding white uniform was also unveiled, also paired with the blue pants. Both uniforms featured truncated shoulder striping as

8816-430: The league's 14 owners, and in return would shoot all NFL games and produce an annual highlight film for each team. In June 1966, the NFL agreed with the rival American Football League to merge in 1970. One of the reasons the leagues initially remained separate entities was to give Sabol adequate time to expand NFL Films in order to service a significantly enlarged league. Under the merger terms, NFL Films began covering

8932-407: The locker room after the game. With these techniques, NFL Films turns football games into events that mimic ballet , opera , and epic battles. Among the company's most famous creation is the poem and accompanying music cue " The Autumn Wind ", which have become official themes for the Las Vegas Raiders . One of NFL Films' most popular series is Hard Knocks . With production run entirely from

9048-425: The media after the game. The Ravens defeated the Patriots in the 2009 AFC Wild Card playoff game, 33–14. This was the first time the Ravens had ever defeated the Patriots. The Ravens faced the Patriots in week six of the 2010 season. The Patriots ended up winning 23–20 in overtime; the game caused controversy from a hit to the helmet of tight end Todd Heap by Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather . The Ravens played

9164-662: The most watched sports league in the United States. In addition to covering the National Football League, NFL Films has also ventured into other unrelated documentary films, such as documenting the Munich Olympics massacre for one of NBC 's Olympics telecasts and serving as back-up film photography for other major events, including the Stanley Cup Finals ( NHL Original Productions ), the NBA Finals ( NBA Entertainment ) and

9280-420: The most wins in a 10-year period (126 from 2003 to 2012), the longest winning streak of regular season and playoff games (21 from October 2003 to October 2004), the most consecutive winning seasons (19 from 2001 to 2019), the most consecutive conference championship appearances (8 from 2011 to 2018), the most consecutive division titles (11 from 2009 to 2019), the only undefeated 16-game regular season (2007), and

9396-740: The network television broadcasters. In addition, NFL Films often uses multiple camera angles (with an emphasis on close-up shots that often exaggerate the speed of the players in real-time). The company's films also employ muscular orchestral scores from a wide variety of musicians, notably Sam Spence , Johnny Pearson (whose " Heavy Action " became the theme for Monday Night Football ) Frank Rothman, Ralph Dollimore, Udi Harpaz, Malcolm Lockyer , Jan Stoeckart (under his varied stage names such as Jack Trombey), Peter Reno , Paul Lewis, Prameela Tomashek, Dave Robidoux and Tom Hedden . The company's use of KPM Musichouse (Now KPM Music) tracks also notably included Syd Dale ; tracks include "Maelstrom" for

9512-459: The new logo up to a vote against Pat Patriot with the fans at the September 23 home game against the San Diego Chargers , using a sound level meter to judge the crowd's reaction. The new logo was decidedly rejected by the crowd in favor of Pat, and the concept was shelved. In 1993, a new logo was unveiled involving the gray face of a minuteman wearing a red, white and royal blue hat that begins as

9628-454: The original film will always be kept as it's likely to outlast tape medium in terms of degradation. 39°57′33″N 74°53′52″W  /  39.9591°N 74.8977°W  / 39.9591; -74.8977 Ed Sabol Edwin Milton Sabol (September 11, 1916 – February 9, 2015) was an American filmmaker and the founder (with his son Steve Sabol , among others) of NFL Films . He

9744-539: The planes to transport students to the March for Our Lives demonstration in Washington, D.C. In 2020, the New England Patriots signed an agreement with Eastern Airlines to handle the operations of their planes. In July 2023, the Patriots filed a lawsuit against Eastern Airlines over an alleged breach of contract. Since February 2024, both planes now operate with Omni Air International . In terms of number of games played,

9860-479: The player's number, then with the "Pat Patriot" logo starting in 1961. A blue stripe was added to the two red helmet stripes in 1964. The numbers on both the home and away jerseys gained a blue outline in 1973. In 1979, the Patriots began the first of many sporadic runs of wearing red pants with the white jerseys. The red pants were dropped in 1981, but returned in 1984. After being dropped again in 1988, they were used again from 1990 to 1992. The Patriots underwent

9976-495: The playoffs with their first losing record, 7–9, in two decades. The team drafted Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft , and released Newton after naming Jones the starting quarterback prior to the team's first game of the 2021 season. Jones led the team to their first playoff berth without Brady since 1998, but they would lose 47–17 to the division rival Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. The Patriots finished with

10092-538: The presence of NFL Films, there would be no surviving footage of the early Super Bowls . In comparison, other sports that lacked the film resources that the NFL had to have archives missing up through the 1970s, with much of the time before that preserved only by Canadian television broadcasters. For instance, in Major League Baseball , the broadcast of many World Series games before 1975 have been lost; nearly all broadcasts of League Championship Series from

10208-482: The production team the maximum amount of time to produce its weekly shows. The lab is open to the public for development needs. Clients include feature length and short films shot on location in Philadelphia as well as students at local universities. The current lab is the third incarnation. The original lab was located in a building next to NFL Films original offices at 230 N 13th St in Philadelphia. The second lab

10324-443: The quarterback lining up behind the guard instead of the center, disorganization, outtakes and silly narration. The presence of NFL Films' cameras allowed for the preservation of video footage from many of the NFL's 1960s-era games in an era when sports telecasts were either broadcast live without any recording or whose films and tapes were destroyed and recycled for later use. This practice did not fully stop until 1978 . Without

10440-423: The rights to film the 1962 NFL championship game for $ 5,000, double the bid for the 1961 championship game . The film of that game so impressed NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle , he asked the owners of the NFL to agree to buy out Sabol's company. Although the owners rejected Rozelle's proposal in 1964, they agreed a year later and renamed Sabol's company NFL Films . He received $ 20,000 in seed money from each of

10556-468: The rise of Tom Brady. Brady, however, struggled occasionally against the Dolphins in the 2000s before reasserting dominance in the 2010s. The Patriots and Dolphins are the only two teams in the Super Bowl era to post undefeated regular season records, with Miami going 14–0 in 1972 and the Patriots going 16–0 in 2007 . Notable moments between the clubs include the Snowplow Game , three playoff matchups,

10672-521: The rivalry began in Manning's rookie season, 1998; in 1999 Manning suffered a bitter 31–28 loss in September as the Patriots behind Drew Bledsoe erased a 28–7 Colts lead, then defeated the Patriots 20–15 in Indianapolis on December 12. The Brady–Manning portion of the rivalry began on September 30, 2001, as Brady made his first NFL start in a 44–13 Patriots win at Foxboro; on October 21 the Patriots defeated

10788-413: The second half before a late touchdown led to a 38–34 Colts win. The November 4, 2007, meeting involved both teams being unbeaten to that point; the 8–0 Patriots and the 7–0 Colts. The Patriots rallied to win 24–20. The Colts won again in 2008 and then erased a large Patriots lead in 2009's 4th and 2 game. Manning's final meeting with the Patriots as a Colt came in November 2010; a late interception sealed

10904-519: The sidelines and near the field to pick up both the sounds of the game as well as the talk on the sidelines. The narrators have deep, powerful, baritone voices. Narrators have usually been from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, with well-known announcers such as Jefferson Kaye , Harry Kalas , John Facenda , Andy Musser , Jack Whitaker , William Woodson , and current announcer Scott Graham , all having narrated NFL Films presentations. J.K. Simmons

11020-499: The spinning football as it travels from the quarterback's hand to the receiver. This shot usually consists of showing the quarterback throwing the football, then the camera zooming in to focus on the spinning ball, as the ball starts to descend, the camera zooms out, showing the result of the ball landing into the receiver's hands. NFL Films also dubs sound bites of local radio broadcasts over key plays, because radio announcers are typically more enthusiastic about their home teams than are

11136-441: The state of Massachusetts . The name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22, 1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England . During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success under head coach Chuck Fairbanks , earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976 – as a wild card team – and in 1978 – as AFC East champions. They lost in the first round both times. Under his successor, Ron Erhardt ,

11252-431: The team finished one game out of the playoffs his first two years. The next coach, Ron Meyer , led the team to the playoffs in the strike-shortened 1982 season, and despite not having a losing record during his career, he was fired in 1984 due to poor relationships with players and management. Hall-of-Fame player Raymond Berry was hired as his replacement, and in 1985 , he brought the team to its first AFC Championship and

11368-504: 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. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots , the team was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) before joining the NFL in 1970 through the AFL–NFL merger . The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston, including Fenway Park from 1963 to 1969 until

11484-515: The team in question. Examples include the 1985 , 2000 , and 2001 Oakland Raiders season reviews being narrated by actor and former Raiders player Carl Weathers . Former Giant Frank Gifford periodically narrated New York Giants season reviews (notably the company's throwback -themed 2013 season recap ) until he died in 2015, and ex-Giant's teammate Pat Summerall narrated highlight films for many teams until he died in 2013. New England Patriots play-by-play announcer Gil Santos narrated

11600-472: The team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Tennessee Titans, and in which the long-time Brady–Belichick partnership was strained due to Brady wanting to have more input in organizational decisions, Brady departed the Patriots after 20 seasons for free agency, signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . To replace him, the Patriots signed veteran quarterback Cam Newton . In 2020, the team missed

11716-471: The team to a 10–6 record and a division title. The team's season in the Wild Card Round with a 33–14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots went 14–2 and won the division in the 2010 season but were one-and-done in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the New York Jets in a 28–21 loss. The Patriots returned to the Super Bowl in 2011 but lost again to the Giants , 21–17. In the 2012 season,

11832-437: The team's PA announcer at Acrisure Stadium and continues to do so today. (Richert is also the brother-in-law to Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino .) Other programming such as "NFL Films Presents" and its Super Bowl Recap hosted by Carissa Thompson has been narrated by veteran actor and voice actor Leonard Dozier. The style of film has been called tight on the spiral , a reference to the frequently-used slow-motion shot of

11948-482: The team's second year in the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger, and this venue was also privately funded. The final game in this stadium was the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game which was a 16–13 overtime win over the visiting Oakland Raiders , known for the raging snowstorm and the "tuck rule" call. During the team's days in the American Football League and its first year in the NFL, the Boston Patriots were hosted by

12064-424: The viewer to not realize how bad the team might have been. Most films conclude by portraying teams optimistically for the upcoming season, whether founded or not. The Sabols have used NFL Films to showcase their sense of humour. This is the case in the series titled, Football Follies . The Follies use blooper plays, such as fumbles, dropped passes, deflected or bobbled passes, players slipping and falling, mascots,

12180-421: The winning touchdown. On the Ravens' last possession of the game, quarterback Joe Flacco threw a pass to wide receiver Lee Evans in the corner of the end zone which looked to be the game-winning touchdown, before a last-second strip by Sterling Moore forced the ball from the hands of Evans, forcing the game to be decided on a last-minute field goal by Ravens placekicker Billy Cundiff. With 11 seconds remaining on

12296-478: The worst home loss of the Belichick era. It was their first time doing so since 1999, Belichick's first year as head coach and the year before Brady was drafted. In the 2021–22 NFL playoffs , the Bills defeated the Patriots 47–17 in the rivalry's first playoff matchup in nearly 60 years, with the Bills scoring seven consecutive touchdowns and never punting or attempting a field goal against the Pats defense, making for

12412-477: The year-in-review films of the 1974 , 1976 , and 1978 seasons, and New Orleans Saints films from their inception in 1967 through 1979 were narrated by Don Criqui , who called Saints games for the NFL on CBS in the team's early years, along with radio announcers Al Wester and Wayne Mack. Longtime KDKA radio & KDKA-TV personality Larry Richert often narrated films of the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to becoming

12528-504: Was housed in the center of the NFL Films offices at 330 Fellowship Rd in Mt. Laurel, NJ. That entire one-story building has since been razed and replaced with a modern 4 story office building. The third lab is located at the NFL Films current location in the Bishop's Gate industrial park in Mt. Laurel behind a two-story glass wall. This allows visitors to the offices to see the inner workings of

12644-420: Was identical to the white jersey with any areas of white replaced by silver. These uniforms were dropped after 2007. No alternate uniform was used in 2008. In 2009, the red alternate was reintroduced, again accompanied by the "Pat Patriot" helmet. An alternate white road jersey was also worn with the older helmet for one game, using red numbers, in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the AFL. The red alternate gained

12760-569: Was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 as a contributor due to his works with NFL Films. Sabol was born to a Jewish mother and Romanian father in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1916 and raised in Blairstown, New Jersey . While attending Blair Academy , he excelled in several sports, and set a World Interscholastic Swimming record in the 100-yard freestyle race. He continued his noted swimming career at Ohio State University . He

12876-407: Was not applied on the uniforms until the 2015 season due to NFL uniform policies. The Patriots' primary uniforms remained largely unchanged from the franchises' inaugural season until 1993. The Patriots originally wore red jerseys with white block numbering at home, and white jerseys with red block numbering on the road. Both uniforms used white pants and white helmets, first with the hat logo over

12992-404: Was originally natural grass, was replaced with a FieldTurf surface during the 2006 season. The Patriots installed a new video board, the largest in the United States, in 2023. Despite not being around for more than 20 years, Gillette Stadium is home to the second most postseason games ever, Candlestick Park being first with 27 total. The Patriots have a 19–4 playoff record in this stadium as of

13108-554: Was selected for the 1936 Olympic team but refused to participate because of the games being held in Nazi Germany . He had some success in the theater as an actor, appearing on Broadway for the production of Where Do We Go from Here . He served in World War II, and upon returning to civilian life, worked as a clothing salesman out of his father-in-law's factory. Sabol founded Blair Motion Pictures in 1962 . Its first major contract

13224-453: Was switched from royal blue to nautical blue to coincide with the uniform change in the new millennium. On July 3, 2013, the Patriots unveiled a new wordmark to accompany the "Flying Elvis", which replaced the script of their previous cursive typeface with modernized block letters (colored in blue or white depending on the background), and modified the "Flying Elvis" to be underneath instead of flowing up-top. While appearing everywhere else, it

13340-400: Was tapped to narrate the company's one-hour recap of the 16–0 regular season of the 2007 New England Patriots , while actor Burt Lancaster was tabbed for narrations in 1969. Burl Ives was also called upon to narrate the 1971 Washington Redskins highlight film. Team-specific films such as "year-in-review films" have occasionally been narrated by broadcasters or personalities involved with

13456-453: Was to film the 1962 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers at Yankee Stadium in New York. In 1964 , Blair Motion Pictures became NFL Films, with an exclusive deal to preserve NFL games on film. It has been said by his son Steve Sabol , of NFL Films, "The only other human endeavor more thoroughly captured on 16-mm film than the National Football League

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