10 Things You Didn’t Know About the New England Patriots

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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. 

 

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Betting on the 2019-20 NFC Championship Game? Things to Know!

2024-25 NFL Computer Predictions and Rankings things style color championship betting 013369 Sunday 6:40 p.m. ET: Green Bay Packers (14-3) at San Francisco 49ers (14-3)

This true heavyweight battle features the top two seeds in the NFC. Both teams are 14-3 and both are coming off a first round bye followed by a home win and cover in the Divisional Round. Green Bay raced out to a 21-3 against the Seahawks and held on for a 28-23 victory, covering as 4.5-point favorites. The Packers are riding a six-game winning streak and have gone 11-6 ATS on the season, including 5-3 ATS on the road. The 49ers took care of business in their playoff opener, beating the Vikings 27-10 as 7-point home favorites for their third straight win. San Francisco has gone 10-6-1 ATS on the season but just 4-4-1 ATS at home.

The NFC Championship game opened with the 49ers listed as a 7-point home favorite. Two-thirds of bets, including some early sharps, are backing San Francisco which has pushed the line up a half point to -7.5. Similar to the AFC Championship game, the juice is leaning on the road dog (Packers +7.5 at -115), signaling a possible drop back down to 7. Green Bay has value as a playoff dog +7 or more (37-26 ATS, 59% since 2003, including 6-2 ATS, 75% in conference title games). Home favorites like the 49ers are 14-12 ATS (53.8%) in conference title games. When the line moves toward a team in a conference title game (think -7 to -7.5), those teams have gone 16-9 ATS (64%) since 2003, including 10-5 ATS (66.7%) for favorites.

The total opened at 45. Two-thirds of bets are taking the over, yet the total hasn’t budged. Conference championship overs are 18-11 (62%) since 2003. But outdoor playoff unders are 77-58 (57%), including 4-2 this postseason. John Hussey, the lead ref, has historically favored home teams (54.7% ATS) and unders (56.6%). The forecast looks clear in Santa Clara with temperatures in the high 50s with little to no wind. The under is 10-7 in Packers games and 8-8-1 in 49ers games. San Francisco beat Green Bay 37-8 as 3-point home favorites in Week 12.


Betting on the AFC Championship Game? Things to Know!

2024-25 NFL Computer Predictions and Rankings things championship betting

Sunday 3:05 p.m. ET: Tennessee Titans (11-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)

The Titans have quickly become the top storyline of the playoffs. Tennessee snuck in as the 6th seed and then proceeded to upset the Patriots 20-13 as a 4.5-point road dog on wild-card weekend then take down the top-seeded Ravens 28-12 as a 10-point road dog in the divisional round. Tennessee cashed %plussign0 on the moneyline in Round 1 and then %plussign@0 in Round 2. The Titans have gone 11-7 ATS this season including 7-3 ATS on the road. Derrick Henry has been unstoppable this postseason, rushing 64 times for 377 yards and a touchdown. Kansas City enters as the 2nd seed. The Chiefs fell behind big to the Texans 24-0 early in the divisional round, but stormed back to win 51-31 as 10-point favorites. Kansas City has gone 12-5 ATS this season, including 6-3 ATS at home. At Circa Sports, the Chiefs are the favorite to win the Super Bowl while the Titans have the longest odds of the four remaining teams

The AFC championship game, which kicks off at 3:05 p.m. ET, opened with Kansas City listed as a 7.5-point home favorite. The public is rushing to the window to lay the points with the Chiefs at Arrowhead. However, despite two-thirds of bets backing Kansas City the line has remained frozen at 7.5 and the juice is trending toward Tennessee (+7.5 at -115), signaling liability on the road dog and a possible move down to 7. Playoff dogs +7 or more are 37-26 ATS (59%) since 2003, including 6-2 ATS (75%) in conference title games. When the line stays the same or moves toward a dog they’ve gone 59-42 ATS (58%), including 3-1 ATS this postseason. Home favorites like the Chiefs are 14-12 ATS (53.8%) in conference title games.

The total opened at 51.5 and has risen to 52 behind two-thirds of bets taking the over. Conference championship overs are 18-11 (62%) since 2003. The forecast calls for frigid temperatures (20 degrees) but no precipitation and only 3-4 MPH winds. When the temperature is less than 30 degrees the over is 116-81 (58.9%), including 24-14 (63.2%) in the postseason. Outdoor playoff unders are 4-2 this postseason and 77-58 (57%) since 2003. Tony Corrente, the lead ref, has historically favored unders (56.7%). Both teams have been profitable to the over this season, with the Titans 10-8 and Chiefs 9-8. The Titans beat the Chiefs 35-32 in Week 10, winning straight up as 5-point home dogs.