FAST FACTS ABOUT THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
* Founded: 1959 - The Pats joined the American Football League in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, In 1971 they moved to Foxborough, Massachusetts, and became the New England Patriots.
* Super Bowl titles: 4 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014)
* AFC titles: 9 (1985, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016).
* 2016 regular season record: 14-2, won AFC East division
* AFC playoff seeding: 1
* Playoff path to the Super Bowl: First round bye; beat Houston Texans 34-16 in divisional round; beat Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 in AFC Championship game.
* All time v Atlanta - The teams have only ever met 13 times, all regular season games and New England lead 7-6. The last time they met was a 30-23 win for the Patriots in September 2013.
* Head coach: Bill Belichick has won four Super Bowls and seven AFC championships with the Patriots. The NFL's longest-tenured active head coach, Belichick ranks first in all-time playoff victories with 25.
* Quarterback: Tom Brady has won four Super Bowls and seven AFC titles. He has also won three Super Bowl MVP awards. His seven Super Bowl appearances are a record for a starting quarterback.
FUN FACT
* Upon relocating to Foxborough the team adopted the "Bay State Patriots" moniker that was quickly changed to New England Patriots given the unfortunate "B.S. Patriots" abbreviation.
HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION
* Boston-born actor and producer Mark Wahlberg is a routine guest inside Patriots owner Robert Kraft's luxury box, has been on the sidelines for many games and has appeared with good friend Brady in Entourage and Ted 2.
