Weird, Interesting, and Cool Facts About The Patriots 

Love them or hate them, the New England Patriots have been the most talked-about NFL team this century. 

 

They have been involved in multiple scandals, won 6 Super Bowls, and set multiple NFL records along the way. 

 

If you follow the NFL, then you probably know a lot about the Patriots already, so today, we thought we’d share with you 10 facts you probably didn’t know about them. 

 

You can find the NFL betting odds on them winning the Super Bowl next year, here. 

 

#1 – Their Leader Scorer Is… 

While Tom Brady holds the league’s all-time record in most categories, he didn’t actually break the franchise scoring record while with the Patriots. 

 

That honor is held by Stephen Gostkowski. 

 

Stephen Gostkowski played for the New England Patriots between 2006 and 2019. He scored a total of 1,775 points for the Patriots. 

 

He also holds the league record for most seasons as lead scorer – 5 seasons. 

 

#2 – Least Yards Allowed… 

In a game against the Chargers in 1961, the Patriots set their least yards allowed record. 

 

In this game, which ended 41-0 to the Patriots, they only allowed the Chargers to rush for a total of 2 yards. 

 

Can you imagine seeing a team doing that these days? We can’t… 

 

#3 – Spy-Gate Was Way Worse Than Deflate-Gate 

In the last 20 years, the Patriots have been involved in two major scandals – Spy-Gate and Deflate-Gate. 

 

People were horrified by Deflate-Gate, but the actions carried out by the Patriots during Spy-Gate still shock us. 

 

During Spy-Gate, the Patriots secretly filmed the New York Jets coaches and tapped into their team coms to try and get an advantage over them. 

 

This happened just before the 2008 Super Bowl. The team was fined $250,000 and the coach was fined $500,000. 

 

#4 – They Won The First Ever AFL Pre-Season Game 

Let’s roll back the clock to the formation of the AFL. 

 

The very first match staged by the league was a pre-season match between the Patriots and the Buffalos. 

 

Both teams had been created for the league, so this was a premiere game for both of them. The Boston Patriots (this was their name at the time) went on to win the match 28-7. 

 

#5 – They Were Almost Known As… 

After the AFL was absorbed into the NFL, many teams had to change their names. The Patriots had to drop their Boston title and find something new. 

 

They went through many ideas before almost settling on the Bay State Patriots. Until someone pointed out what it would be abbreviated to. 

 

The B.S. Patriots… 

 

It was probably best for everyone that they went with New England instead. 

 

#6 – Prisoner Saves The Day In 1982 

Patriots fans will remember the day when the groundskeeper and snowplow operator Mark Henderson cleared part of the pitch during the game for Patriots kicker John Smith. 

This kick won the team the match. 

 

What many people might not know about Mark Henderson is that at the time he was a prisoner on work leave from the local prison. 

 

Clearly, the Patriots have always had the urge to bend the rules. 

 

#7 – They Hold The Longest NFL Winning Streak 

You may be surprised to learn that despite being the only team to record a perfect season (regular season through to Super Bowl), the Dolphins do not have the longest regular season winning streak in the NFL. 

 

The Patriots hold that. 

 

Between 2002 and 2004, they won 21 regular season games in a row. No other team has come close to this level of dominance since. 

 

Just in case you’re wondering, it was the 49ers who broke this streak. 

 

#8 – Putin Stole What From Robert Kraft?! 

Bear with us on this one. 

 

During a meeting with the Super Bowl champion, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told Robert Kraft that he would “kill someone” to own a Super Bowl ring. 

 

Kraft then said that Putin laughed and then put the ring in his jacket pocket. 

 

Putin claims to have never met Kraft and that he knows nothing about what happened to his missing ring while he was in Russia. 

 

#9 – A Lannister Always Pays His Debts 

Any fantasy fans will know that instead of writing the next book in his Song Of Ice And Fire series (the book series Game Of Thrones was “based” on), writer G. R. R. Martin has been looking for a million ways to procrastinate. 

 

This started by helping the TV show write the Game of Thrones, then he started writing short stories, and eventually, he turned his hand to sports journalism. 

 

In an article where he compared the NFL teams to houses, he said that the Patriots were most definitely the Lannisters.  

 

#10 – They Are The Most Penalized Team In Draft History 

Finally, the Patriots are the only team to be subject to 4 Draft forfeitures. 

 

Once for using their injury reserve list illegally, once for Spy-Gate, and twice for Deflate-Gate-related issues. 

 

They are the most punished team in NFL history.