Today in Patriots History

[jmt57]

Today In Patriots History: November 10
Gino Cappelletti becomes the first player
in AFL history to score 1,000 points​

November 10, 1963:
San Diego Chargers 7, Boston Patriots 3 at Fenway Park

Future Hall of Famer Lance Alworth‘s first quarter touchdown pass from Tobin Rote turned out to be the winning score in a defensive battle of what turned out to be the prequel to the 1963 AFL title game.

The Patriots defense held San Diego to 21 points below their season average with something modern day Pats fans can relate to, a bend-don’t-break defense. The Chargers offense was a one-man show as Alworth, in his second year of pro football, went for 210 yards on 13 receptions. However when San Diego got close the Pats D stood tall, limiting the Chargers to that one 27-yard score early in the game and holding San Diego to just 32 yards on the ground on 21 rushes.

On this rainy day the Patriots’ offense was unable to capitalize, turning the ball over five times. Larry Garron ran for 91 yards and Art Graham had 64 yards receiving for the Pats. The loss, coupled with a win by Buffalo dropped the Patriots to second place, a half game behind the Bills in the AFL East.



November 10, 1968:
San Diego Chargers 27, Boston Patriots 17 at Fenway Park

A late rally fell short and the Pats lost their third game in a row to fall to 3-6, while the Chargers improved to 7-2.

The Patriots defense limited John Hadl to just five completions in 23 attempts and only one completion to Lance Alworth, but Hadl hit SE Gary Garrison on a 67-yard bomb to give the Chargers a 17-3 halftime lead. The Pats came back with a touchdown run by Jim Nance (23 carries for 96 yards) and a Gino Cappelletti 19-yard TD reception, but it was too little, too late. That score was very noteworthy from an historical perspective though. With that TD Gino became the first player in AFL history to score more than 1,000 points in his career.



November 10, 1974:
Cleveland Browns 21, New England Patriots 14 at Schaefer Stadium

Cleveland’s Greg Pruitt returned the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown in what was a sign of things to come, and the Browns upset the Pats. Following that score the Patriots got the ball, and Cleveland’s Thom Dardsen recovered a fumble 29 yards for another touchdown for a 14-0 lead.

The Pats regrouped and scored twice in the second quarter on a pair of runs by Sam Cunningham, but by the time the game was over. The Patriots had turned the ball over six times; Darden had two interceptions to go with his fumble recovery to lead the Browns. For the Patriots Cunningham finished with 75 yards rushing while Mack Herron had 103 yards from scrimmage with 61 yards rushing and another 42 yards on four receptions.



November 10, 1980:
Houston Oilers 38, New England Patriots 34 at the Houston Astrodome

This Monday Night Football matchup between two of the league’s best teams lived up to the hype in an exciting game, though the Patriots did not emerge victorious. Just as was the case two years earlier in the Pats first ever home playoff game, Earl Campbell carried the Oilers to a victory on his back.

Houston dominated early and went into halftime with a 24-6 lead on two Ken Stabler touchdown passes and a TD by Campbell. The Pats came back with a touchdown run by Don Calhoun and 39-yard pass from Steve Grogan to Harold Jackson to cut the lead to 24-20 at the end of three quarters.

Campbell, who finished with 130 yards rushing, scored again on a short run to put Houston back up by 11, but the Pats came back with a 21-yard touchdown from Grogan to Russ Francis. Stabler responded by throwing his third touchdown pass, and then the Pats came right back with another Grogan-to-Francis score, this one from 15 yards to pull the Pats within four – but Houston held on for the win.

Campbell went on to rush for 1,934 yards, including four 200-yard rushing games that year – and also went on to Canton as a well-deserving member of the Hall of Fame. Grogan finished with three touchdowns and 374 yards, the second highest total of his NFL career.



November 10, 1985:
New England Patriots 34, Indianapolis Colts 15 at Sullivan Stadium

The Pats scored 34 unanswered points to win their fifth straight game and improve to 7-3 on the season.

On defense Fred Marion had a 36 yard interception return, a fumble recovery and made nine tackles. Raymond Clayborn added a pick, and the Pats pass rush came up with seven sacks: three by Andre Tippett, two by Don Blackmon, and two by Garon Veris.

Stanley Morgan got the Pats on the scoreboard with a 19-yard pass from Steve Grogan to give the Patriots a 7-6 halftime lead. After a Tony Franklin field goal, Irving Fryar scored twice – first on a 5-yard pass from Grogan, and then on a 77-yard punt return - and the Pats were up 24-6 after three quarters. Tony Collins scored on a 2-yard run and Franklin added another field goal to give the Patriots an insurmountable 34-6 4th quarter lead before the Colts scored in garbage time for the final score.

Stanley Morgan led Pats’ receivers with seven receptions for 120 yards, while Craig James was the leading rusher with 92 yards on 18 carries.



November 10, 1991:
Miami Dolphins 30, New England Patriots 20 at Joe Robbie Stadium

On Sunday Night Football the Pats rallied to tie the score in the 4th quarter, but Dan Marino did his thing after that for a Miami victory.

Marino threw a pair of touchdowns early, including a 31-yarder to Mark Clayton, to put the Dolphins up by two touchdowns before Charlie Baumann kicked his second field goal to make the score 17-6 at halftime.

The Pats came back with a pair of Hugh Millen touchdown passes, 40 yards to Irving Fryar and five yards to Marv Cook, and the score was tied 20-20 in the 4th quarter.

After Pete Stoyanavich missed a 49-yard field goal with 5:30 remaining the Pats had the ball with good field position, but Millen stumbled and fell on third-and-4 on the next drive, and the Pats had to punt.

Marino noticed that Clayton was in single coverage and audibled with a hand signal to his receiver, and Clayton burned CB David Pool with 1:54 remaining for a 32-yard game winning touchdown.



November 10, 1996:
New England Patriots 31, New York Jets 27 at East Rutherford

Gang Green blew a 21-0 lead, stumbling to 1-9 while the Patriots improved to 7-3.

The Jets, who were earlier embarrassed by the famous fake spike by Dan Marino, bit hard on multiple fakes that turned into highly successful plays for the Pats. The Patriots had a 28-yard flea-flicker, a 26-yard reverse, and two screen passes for 43 yards – all plays in which the Jets were caught out of position.

Drew Bledsoe finished with 297 yards and three touchdowns, Curtis Martin had 124 yards (43 yards rushing, 81 receiving), and Terry Glenn had 109 yards (83 receiving and 26 rushing); Willie Clay also had a 35-yard interception return.



November 10, 2002:
New England Patriots 33, Chicago Bears 30 in Champaign IL

The defending Super Bowl champs overcame a 27-6 deficit to defeat the Bears. Chicago was leading 30-25 with under three minutes to go but the Pats defense forced a three and out. Troy Brown returned a short (32-yard) punt eleven yards, and the Pats had the ball on their own 44-yard line.

Chicago’s DL Bryan Robinson appeared to seal the win with an interception but rather than go down with the ball he tried to run with it – and dropped it, for an incomplete pass. Then on a 4th-and-3 at the 30 the Pats got a first down on a quarterback sneak by Tom Brady. David Pattenthen beat Bears’ CB R.W. McQuarters in the corner of the end zone, was able to drag both feet just in bounds, and the Patriots got the win.

Kevin Faulk had seven catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, including a 36-yard 4th quarter TD that set up the winning score. Troy Brown had 11 receptions for 90 yards to go with 47 yards on punt returns, and Brady finished the game with 328 yards passing and three touchdowns.

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November 10, 1997:
The most listened-to guitar player that you never hear of died on this day.

Tommy Tedesco was a session guitarist who had recorded with the Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, Supremes, Monkees, Association, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Sam Cooke, Cher, and Nancy and Frank Sinatra. The Wrecking Crew musician also played on many television theme songs including Bonanza, the Twilight Zone, M*A*S*H and Batman.

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November 10, 1948:
Greg Lake, singer and bass player for King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, was born in Poole, Dorsett, England.

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[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 11​

November 11, 1960:
Boston Patriots 38, New York Titans 21 at Nickerson Field

The Pats get a sweep in their inaugural season against the team that would later become known as the Jete, despite a 100-yard receiving day by future Hall of Famer Don Maynard.

FB Alan Miller had five receptions for 83 yards, including a 48-yard pass play from Butch Songin to open up scoring in the first quarter. Songin also had two touchdown passes (31 yards, 9 yards) to Jim Colclough, who finished with six catches for 85 yards. After Maynard scored to cut the Titans’ deficit to three at the end of three quarters, Patriot HB **** Christy (11 rushes for 105 yards) scored on a 46-yard run, and then threw a 10-yard option pass to TE Thomas Stephens to ice the game.



November 11, 1962:
Boston Patriots 33, Denver Broncos 29 at Bears Stadium

The Pats rallied for two 4th quarter scores to break open a tie game late, and improve their record to 6-2-1.

Babe Parilli (15-23, 236 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) threw touchdown passes of 7 yards and 67 yards to Jim Colclough (123 yards) to give the Patriots a first half lead. The Broncos scored twice to tie the game and looked to take the lead when Ron Burton returned a missed field goal attempt 91 yards for the game winning score. Burton finished with a grand total of 264 yards: 81 rushing, 25 receiving, 67 on kickoff returns, plus the 91 yards on the field goal return.



November 11, 1973:
New York Jets 33, New England Patriots 13 at Shea Stadium

TE Bob Windsor scored two touchdowns on 22 and 21 yard passes from Jim Plunkett, but the Pats could not hang on to the ball and gifted the Jets a victory.

The Patriots fumbled the ball six times, losing five of those drops, and Plunkett was picked off three times in the game. The defense did its job, forcing the Jets to settle four field goals, but the turnovers were too much to overcome. WR Reggie Rucker had five catches for 55 yards and Mack Herron had 187 return yards for the Pats.



November 11, 1979:
Denver Broncos 45, New England Patriots 10 at Mile High Stadium

The Denver defense totally shut down the Pats and rolled to an easy win. Sam Cunningham scored on a 2-yard run and Don Calhoun had 61 yards from scrimmage for the Pats.



November 11, 1984:
New England Patriots 38, Buffalo Bills 10 at Sullivan Stadium

The Pats cruised to an easy victory over the winless Bills to improve to 7-4. Cedric Jones scored on 17 and 7 yard passes from Tony Eason; Tony Collins ran for two touchdowns; Stanley Morgan had five receptions for 68 yards, including a 24-yard TD; and Ronnie Lippett had two interceptions for the Patriots.



November 11, 1990:
Indianapolis Colts 13, New England Patriots 10 at Foxboro Stadium

Jeff George threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Bill Brooks with 2:05 remaining, as the Colts came from behind to beat the Pats. In a strong wind the Patriots offense mostly stayed on the ground, led by 11th round pick Marvin Allen (71 yards and a TD), John Stephens (64 yards), and FB George Adams (37 yards rushing, 1 yards on two receptions). If you are a diehard Pats fan but don’t recall either Allen or Adams, don’t worry about it; you are not alone.



November 11, 2001:
New England Patriots 21, Buffalo Bills 11 at Foxboro Stadium

For the first time since Bill Belichick became head coach of the Patriots the team had a winning record, and they also matched the previous season’s win total, upping their record to 5-4.

The Pats offense was fueled by RB Antowain Smith, who ran for touchdowns of 1 and 42 yards against the team he played for the previous year, as part of a 100-yard rushing game.

New England’s defense sacked Rob Johnson five times before he left with a shoulder injury, but his replacement, Alex Van Pelt, threw a 17-yard TD to Peerless Price to bring the Bills within three points with 2:43 left to play. Buffalo tried an onside kick but that was recovered by Mike Vrabel; with everyone up close to the line of scrimmage Smith then burst through the line for his 42-yard TD to clinch the victory. For the first time in four meetings between the two teams the game did not go in to overtime. Kevin Faulk had seven receptions for the Pats, including a 6-yard TD from Tom Brady.



November 11, 2012:
New England Patriots 37, Buffalo Bills 31 at Gillette Stadium

Devin McCourty picked off a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass in the end zone with 23 seconds remaining to play, and the Patriots held on for a six-point victory. New England improved to 6-3 while the Bills dropped to 3-6. New England held a comfortable 17-3 first half lead but Fitzpatrick's 2-yard touchdown pass to future Patriot (offseason) WR Donald Jones cut the lead to three midway through the fourth quarter. Stephen Gostkowski (13 points) followed with his third field goal of the game, before McCourty's game-winning interception.

Stevan Ridley rushed for 98 yards (4.5 ypc and 1 TD), Wes Welker had 74 receiving yards and Jerod Mayo led the Pats with 12 total tackles (4 solo).



November 11 Birthdays include:

- LaMont Jordan (11/11/78): Patriot RB, 2008; #32
Originally a 2nd round pick out of Maryland in 2001, the RB spent four seasons with the Jets and then three with Oakland. In his first year with the Raiders (2005), he rushed for 1,025 yards and totaled 1,588 yards from scrimmage, with 11 touchdowns. Jordan's playing time the next two years dwindled due to injuries: a torn MCL in 2006, and then a back injury the following year. The Pats signed Jordan at the age of 29 at the start of training camp in 2008, one day after being released by Oakland.

Jordan appeared in eight games with the Pats in 2008, rushing for 363 yards and four touchdowns, and averaging 4.5 yards per carry. His highlight play came late in the season when he broke off a 49-yard touchdown run against his old team in a 49-26 Pats victory at Oakland. In 2009 he followed Josh McDaniels to Denver, signing a two-year $2.5 million contract with a $500k signing bonus. Jordan had just 29 touches and 86 yards rushing for the Broncos, in what was the final year of pro football. He finished his career with 31 touchdowns and 5,035 yards from scrimmage in 114 games over nine seasons.


- James Sanders (11/11/83); Patriot S, 2005-10; #36
Pats 4th round (133rd overall) selection of the 2005 draft, from Fresno State.
From his Patriots.com profile:

• Sanders has played in 84 games with 49 starts over his first six NFL seasons (2005-10), totaling 300 tackles (217 solo), one sack, eight interceptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, 19 passes defensed and 30 special teams tackles.
• Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after returning an interception 32 yards for a touchdown at Pittsburgh (11/14). It was the second time in his career that he returned an interception for a touchdown (at Buffalo, 12/11/05 as a rookie).
• In 2006, Sanders was part of a Patriots secondary that allowed just 10 touchdown passes by opponents, a mark that led the NFL and stands as the fewest allowed in team history for a single season.
• Sanders returned his first career interception 39 yards for a touchdown at Buffalo (12/11/05), grabbing a pass that had been tipped by Tedy Bruschi and racing into the end zone for the score.

In a move that surprised many, Sanders was released on August 29, 2011. He spent the 2011 season with Atlanta, and then finished his pro football career in 2012 with Arizona. Sanders played in 114 regular season games and 11 playoff games over eight seasons. He had eight interceptions, six fumble recoveries, two touchdowns and 36 total tackles (250 solo).


- Austin Collie (11/11/85): Patriot WR, 2013; #10
The Canadian-born WR was a 4th round pick out of BYU by the Colts in 2009. He quickly developed great rapport with Peyton Manning, catching 15 touchdown passes despite the options of Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark on Indy's offense. In 2010 Collie was on the receiving end of a t-bone collision that resulted in the first of several concussions. The reaction from two of those well publicized hits - neither of which were fined- led to the NFL calling more helmet-to-helmet penalties, fines and suspensions. Collie blew out his knee early in the 2012 season, and the Colts released him the following off season.

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The Patriots signed Collie on October 3, 2013 to a split contract that would pay Collie 50% if he was released due to an injury. He was released on November 5 after a knee injury, then re-signed in December after Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins were injured. Collie appeared in eight games with one start with the Pats, averaging 10.5 yards on six receptions. He also played in the two playoff games that season, with four catches for 57 yards in the game at Denver. Collie went on to play one year in the CFL before retiring from pro football. He now works for Cognitive FX, a neuro rehabilitation clinic in Provo UT that is proactive in the treatment of concussions and deals with the treatment of brain injuries.


One other birthday to mention, since he is the key figure of a play that is immortalized in the folklore of the Patriots history: Mark Sanchez (11/11/86).

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November 11, 1946:
Chris Dreja, rhythm guitar player and then later the bass player for the Yardbirds, was born in Surbiton, England.

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[Actual Pats Fan]

1968(?)
I was the new kid in my elementary school, sixth grade.

Teacher made an assignment for an oral report, not sure now exactly what it was, but essentially a 'brush with fame' or semi-famous relative, etc.

For me I had recently found out that Vic Gatto was a distant relative. Told the story of the genealogical connection, and then recounted the 29-29 win.

Perfect timing.

After having been the ostracized new kid for two months I was suddenly accepted with everyone willing to talk to me, able to play in our inter-school sports teams, etc.

By comparison the fact that my uncle was the US assistant secretary of commerce of the current administration was met by total indifference, even by my teacher.

The rivalry between old time Harvardites and Yalies is beyond anyone's comprehension today.

They wouldn't be caught dead in those Chick Fil-A T.V. ads.

After the '68 Game, professors ran out onto the field and hugged players.

My mom was a professor at Tufts, and one day she came home and asked who Mario Andretti was. I buried my face in my arms; it turned out that a student was paying her a compliment: "That would be like telling Mario how drive..."

But she was totally star struck when they hired Vic Gatto as their head football coach.

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 12​

November 12, 1961:
Houston Oilers 27, Boston Patriots 15 at Jeppesen Stadium

The 1961 Houston Oilers were one of the greatest offenses in pro football history. They scored 513 points (36.6 points per game) and to this day are the only NFL or AFL team to score 45 or more points six times in a season. While the Pats defense did its job limiting the George Blanda (36 TD passes) led offense, the Houston defense was very good too. Over the last ten games of the season the Oilers allowed an average of only 13.2 point per game and they finished with an incredible point differential of 271 points, or 19.4 points per game en route to their second straight AFL title.

After spotting the Oilers a 20-0 lead the Pats clawed their way back into the game. Butch Songin hit Jim Colclough for a touchdown, Gino Cappelletti kicked a field goal, and then Babe Parilli came in and scored on touchdown run - but the comeback fell short. Defensively Clyde Washington and Don Webb each had an interception off Blanda, while Cappelletti (5 catches for 68 yards) and Colclough (5 catches for led the offense for the Pats.



November 12, 1967:
Kansas City Chiefs 33, Boston Patriots 10 at Fenway Park

The Pats jumped out to a 10-7 lead but the Chiefs scored four times in the second quarter to cruise to their sixth win of the year. Gino Cappelletti scored all ten point for the Patriots. Mr. Patriot had a 24-yard field goal, a touchdown reception, and then kicked the extra point. Larry Garron had a 66-yard reception, Jim Whalen had 6 catches for 65 yards and Art Graham had 3 catches for 60 yards for the Pats.



November 12, 1972:
Miami Dolphins 52, New England Patriots 0 at the Orange Bowl

The Pats suffered the most lopsided loss in franchise history, losing their sixth straight game to the the undefeated Dolphins. Miami’s legendary Killer B’s defense dominated, limiting Jim Plunkett and Brian Dowling to a combined 11-28 passing for just 117 yards, zero touchdowns and three picks.



November 12, 1978:
Houston Oilers 26, New England Patriots 23 at Schaefer Stadium

The Pats’ seven game winning streak came to an end as the Oilers scored 26 unanswered points to overcome a 23-0 2nd quarter deficit.

Although the lead looked safe at the time, in retrospect the Pats settled for too many field goal attempts (making three and missing two), while scoring only two touchdowns: a 3-yard run by Horace Ivory and a 7-yard run by Steve Grogan. The Pats were taking the ball away early but then they were giving the ball away late; each team finished the game with four turnovers.

Sam Cunningham finished with 132 yards from scrimmage: 87 yards on 16 rushes and 45 yards on three receptions.



November 12, 1989:
New Orleans Saints 28, New England Patriots 24 at Foxboro Stadium

The Pats come back from a turnover-induced 28-0 deficit, but the rally falls just short as the Saints get their fifth win of the year. Hart Lee Dykes led the Pats with five catches for 105 yards, including a 13-yard TD from Steve Grogan, and Bob Perryman rushed for two touchdowns.



November 12, 1995:
New England Patriots 34, Miami Dolphins 17 at Joe Robbie Stadium

For the second week in a row the Patriots won a division game on the road, as they forced three turnovers to upset the Dolphins.

Willie McGinest had two sacks, Myron Guyton returned an interception 45 yards and Vincent Brown also picked off a Dan Marino pass to lead the defense. Offensively it was the Curtis Martin show as he ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, and added another 45 yards on three receptions.

Vincent Brisby (6 receptions, 118 yards) caught a 47-yard touchdown from Drew Bledsoe early in the third quarter to put the Pats up 17-10. After the Dolphins tied it on a Marino pass to O.J. McDuffie the Pats took the lead again on an 8-yard pass from Bledsoe to Ben Coates. The Pats then pulled away in the 4th quarter on Martin’s second touchdown run, and Matt Bahr‘s second field goal for the final score.



November 12, 2000:
Cleveland Browns 19, New England Patriots 11 at Browns Stadium

In a battle of two-win teams the Browns took advantage of four New England turnovers for their third win. The Pats only touchdown came in the 4th quarter on a 2-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe to Rod Rutledge. Kevin Faulk had 231 all-purpose yards: 96 yards on 8 receptions, 26 yards on 5 carries, and 109 yards 5 kickoff returns. J.R. Redmond added 60 yards rushing on just 10 carries for the Patriots.



November 12, 2006:
New York Jets 17, New England Patriots 14 at Gillette Stadium

In an extreme rarity a Bill Belichick coached Pats team lost back-to-back home games in an upset loss to the Jets.

The Pats only touchdown came in the 4th quarter on a 15-yard pass from Tom Brady (24-26 for 253 yards) to Reche Caldwell (9 receptions for 90 yards). Corey Dillon rushed for 98 yards on 11 carries, including a 50-yard run. Though the loss dropped the Pats to 6-3 on the season they would go 6-1 the rest of the way to win the AFC East with a 12-4 record, and gaining a bit of revenge on the Jets with 37-16 victory in the playoffs.

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November 12, 1945:
Neil Young was born.

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[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Today in Patriots History: November 12​

November 12, 2006:
New York Jets 17, New England Patriots 14 at Gillette Stadium

In an extreme rarity a Bill Belichick coached Pats team lost back-to-back home games in an upset loss to the Jets.

The Pats only touchdown came in the 4th quarter on a 15-yard pass from Tom Brady (24-26 for 253 yards) to Reche Caldwell (9 receptions for 90 yards). Corey Dillon rushed for 98 yards on 11 carries, including a 50-yard run. Though the loss dropped the Pats to 6-3 on the season they would go 6-1 the rest of the way to win the AFC East with a 12-4 record, and gaining a bit of revenge on the Jets with 37-16 victory in the playoffs.

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The sand game which spawned the installation of artificial turf.

Regards,
Chris

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 13
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November 13, 1966:
Boston Patriots 27, Houston Oilers 21 at Fenway Park

Gino Cappelletti had 118 yards receiving, scored two touchdowns, and kicked three field goals to lead the Pats to a win, improving their record to 5-3-1.

The Patriots opened up scoring on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Babe Parilli to Jim Whalen. Cappelletti’s first field goal sandwiched between two Houston touchdowns gave the Oilers a 14-10 lead, and then Parilli hit Gino on a 63-yard bomb to regain the lead. Cappelletti connected on a 44-yard field goal to give the Pats a 20-14 halftime lead, and then scored again on a 33-yard pass from Parilli in the 3rd quarter. Jim Nance ran for 104 yards, Whalen had 90 yards on five receptions, and Parilli finished with 242 yards passing, three touchdowns and no interceptions.



November 13, 1977:
Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 5 at the Orange Bowl

In a defensive masterpiece Miami broke open a 7-0 game in the 4th quarter on a touchdown pass from Bob Griese to Nat Moore. The Dolphins took an intentional safety in order to avoid a potential block late in the game for the odd point total. The loss dropped the pats two games behind the Dolphins, critically impacting their playoff chances.



November 13, 1983:
New England Patriots 17, Miami Dolphins 6 at Sullivan Stadium

The Pats ran over the Dolphins, rushing for 224 yards while the defense limited Miami to just 207 yards of total offense. The win ended a four-game winning streak by the Dolphins and pulled the Patriots within one game of first-place Miami in the AFC East.

Mosi Tatupu rushed for 95 yards, Tony Collins ran for 82 and a touchdown, and Steve Grogan ran for another TD for the Pats. The New England defense was stellar, holding Miami to only two field goals while limiting Dan Marino to one of his worst days as a pro: 14-37 passing for just 141 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.



November 13, 1988:
New England Patriots 14, New York Jets 13 at the Meadowlands

John Stephens‘ 4th quarter 3-yard touchdown proved to be the game winner as the Pats held on for the win; the victory moved the Pats ahead of the Jets and Dolphins, into second place in the AFC East behind Buffalo. Stephens finished with 87 yards rushing and Stanley Morgan scored on a 19-yard pass from Doug Flutie for the Patriots.



November 13, 1994:
New England Patriots 26, Minnesota Vikings 20 in OT at Foxboro

Drew Bledsoe set NFL records for the most completions and most passes thrown in a game, as the Pats stunned Minnesota, coming back from a 20-0 deficit to win in overtime.

After falling behind 20-0 and out-gained 286 yards to 89 the Pats abandoned the run and went to a no-huddle offense, with Bledsoe completing 37 of 53 passes for 354 yards in the second half against one of the NFL’s best teams, ending the Vikings’ four-game winning streak. In overtime Bledsoe completed all six of his passes, including the game-winning 14 yarder to FB Kevin Turner. Bledsoe earlier threw touchdown passes of 5 yards to RB Leroy Thompson and 31 yards to WR Ray Crittenden, and Matt Bahr kicked his second field goal of the game to send it to overtime.

With less than three minutes to play the Pats were down 20-10 when Thompson scored his TD; the Pats’d defense forced a three and out and Bledsoe moved the ball from the New England 39 into Minnesota territory for the game-tying 23-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to play.

Bledsoe finished the game 45-70 for 426 yards. Three players had at least ten receptions: WR Michael Timpson (10 catches for 113 yards); Thompson (11 for 74 yards); and TE Ben Coates (10 catches for 74 yards).

The win ended a four-game losing streak for the Pats and was the start of what turned out to be a seven-game winning streak, which propelled the Pats into an improbable spot in the playoffs.



November 13, 2005:
New England Patriots 23, Miami Dolphins 16 at Dolphin Stadium

Newly acquired Heath Evans, signed two weeks prior after being cut by Miami, ran for 84 yards while the Pats defense was strong in the red zone, stopping an opponent from scoring once they got inside the 20 for the first time on the season. Evans got the call with Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk and Patrick Pass all injured, and did well picking up blitzed and blocking on screen passes as well.

The banged-up Patriots were also without Tom Ashworth, Matt Light, Daniel Graham and David Givens for this game, and center Dan Koppen left in the third quarter with an injury. The Pats were down by one when Tom Brady connected with Ben Watson for a 17-yard touchdown with only 2:16 left to play for the game winning score; for Brady it was his 21st 4th-quarter comeback win.

On the final play of the third quarter Brady hit Watson for 16-yard score to put the pats up 12-7. After the teams exchanged field goals Miami took the lead on a Gus Frerotte pass to Chris Chambers with 2:59 remaining. The pats only needed two plays to regain the lead though: Brady connected with Tim Dwight for a 59-yard pass, and then hit Watson for the game winner.

Miami moved the ball down to the pats five-yard line with 58 seconds left. Frerotte threw two incomplete passes into the end zone, then a completion to Ronnie Brown in the flat lost five yards. On fourth down Frerotte’s pass went incomplete; Chambers (who had three other drops) got his fingers on it but could not hold on.

Defensively rookie Ellis Hobbs an interception, a fumble recovery, and seven tackles while Roosevelt Colvin had a critical forced fumble when Miami was driving into Pats territory for what would have been a 14-0 lead.

Deion Branch finished with five receptions for 82 yards for the Pats, and Dwight finished with 70 yards on three catches.



November 13, 2008:
New York Jets 34, New England Patriots 31 in OT at Gillette Stadium

The Pats never got the ball in overtime as the Jets took over first sole possession of first place for the first time since 2001 on Jay Feely‘s 34-yard field goal.

The Jets had blown a 24-6 first half lead when the Pats came back on three Matt Casseltouchdowns: 19 yards to Jabar Gaffney, 10 yards to Ben Watson, and then 16 yards to Randy Moss with one second remaining in regulation.

Cassel finished the game with 400 yards passing and another 62 on the ground, Wes Welker had 7 receptions for 108 yards, Watson had 8 catches for 88 yards, and Gaffney had 7 for 86 yards.



November 13, 2011:
New England Patriots 37, New York Jets 16 at MetLife Stadium

The two teams entered the game tied for the division lead with 5-3 records. Rex Ryan had vowed that this year would be different, but Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes as the Pats dominated and won by 21 points.

With 1:20 left to play in the half and the ball on the Patriot 2 yard line, QB Mark Sanchez heard Jet coaches talking about a timeout on his headset. Sanchez called a timeout, which proved to be costly. Although he did score on the next play, that gave the Pats time to drive 71 yards in six plays to regain the lead before the half. The Patriots went on to outscore the Jets 24-7 in the second half, with Rob Ninkovich capping things off with a 12-yard interception return for a touchdown of a pass intended for LaDainian Tomlinson.

Rob Gronkowski had eight receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns, Chad Johnson had a 53-yard reception, and Deion Branch had 5 catches for 58 yards and a TD to lead the Patriot offense.



November 13, 2016:
Seattle Seahawks 31, New England Patriots 24 at Gillette Stadium

In the final moments of the game the Patriots were unable to convert from the two-yard line. The Pats fell to 7-2 while Seattle improved to 6-2-1. Martellus Bennett had seven catches on seven targets for 102 yards for the Patriots. Julian Edelman (7 receptions, 99 yards) had a spectacular 33-yard catch on 3rd-and-25 at the end of the third quarter. That set up a Stephen Gostkowski which gave the Pats the lead, but Russell Wilson's 15-yard TD pass to Doug Baldwin with 4:24 to play gave Seattle the win.




Some Happy Birthdays:

November 13, 1963: Vinny Testaverde
Patriot QB in 2006 (#14)
At the age of 43 the Heisman Trophy winner got in for three games with the Pats. He had seven kneel-downs in his first two games, then threw a TD to Troy Brown against Tennessee in the final regular season game of '06. It was the 270th touchdown pass of his career. Testaverde finished his career with 275 TD passes (two more than Joe Montana), which at that time was 8th most in NFL history.


November 13, 1983: Marquice Cole
Patriot CB, 2012-2013 (#23)
Cole played in 27 regular season games and playoff games with the Patriots over two season. He is probably most well known for being on the receiving end of this heads-up play by Devin McCourty:

​

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November 13, 2016:
Leon Russell passed away at the age of 74. Aside from his solo career he led Joe ****er’s band Mad Dogs & Englishmen, and appeared at George Harrison’s 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. Many of his the songs he wrote became hits for other musicians, such as 'Superstar' for the Carpenters, 'Delta Lady' for Joe ****er, and 'This Masquerade' for George Benson. More than 100 acts have recorded his 'A Song for You,' which Russell said he wrote in 10 minutes.

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[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 14​

November 14, 1965:
New York Jets 30, Boston Patriots 20 at Fenway Park

Rookie Joe Namath threw two touchdown passes to Don Maynard as the Jets won their third game of the year. The Patriots fell behind by three touchdowns in the first half, leading Babe Parilli to throw a career-high 50 passes for the Pats, a franchise record that would stand for thirty years. His touchdown passes to Gino Cappelletti and J. D. Garrett closed the deficit to 24-17 at halftime, but the Pats were never able to tie it up or take the lead. Larry Garron had 4 receptions for 77 yards out of the backfield, Jim Whalen had 6 catches for 73 yards and Jim Colclough had 5 for 68 yards; Parilli finished 275 yards passing for the day.



November 14, 1971:
New England Patriots 38, Buffalo Bills 33 at Schaefer Stadium

Despite playing with a hamstring injury, rookie Jim Plunkett played his best game yet of the season in a win over the Bills. Plunkett was 9-16 for 218 yards and career-high four touchdowns against only one interception in the victory.

After Buffalo returned a punt for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, Plunkett connected with Randy Vataha on a 16-yard pass to tie the score, then early in the second quarter put the Pats ahead on a 10-yard TD to Tom Beer; Beer also contribute later with a fumble recovery off a Bills’ punt return. Buffalo went back up 17-14 but Plunkett immediately responded with an 80-yard touchdown to Carl Garrett, and then Roland Moss scored on a blocked punt.

Garrett finished with 118 yards from scrimmage, Vataha had 63 yards on three receptions, Bob Gladieux had 48 yards on just four carries, and Eric Crabtree scored the final Pats’ touchdown on a 31-yard pass from Plunkett.



November 14, 1976:
New England Patriots 21, Baltimore Colts 14 at Memorial Stadium

Mike Haynes had his first multiple interception game, ending two crucial Colts’ drives by picking off passes thrown by Baltimore quarterback Bert Jones to preserve the Pats victory. It was just the second loss of the season for the Colts and pulled the Patriots within one game of Baltimore for lead of the AFC East.

Don Calhoun rushed for a then-career high 141 yards for the Patriots, while Steve Grogan ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, to backup TE Al Chandler as the Pats improved their record to 7-3.



November 14, 2004:
New England Patriots 29, Buffalo Bills 6 at Gillette Stadium

In front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football the Patriots scored on four of their first five possessions to take a 20-0 lead and cruised from there, keeping pace with the Steelers for first seed in the AFC while improving their record to 8-1.

The Pats honored the Boston Red Sox, who had won the World Series a few days earlier, before the game. Adam Vinatieri kicked five field goals, Corey Dillon rushed for 151 yards on 26 carries and the Patriots intercepted four passes. Bills QB Drew Bledsoe tossed one pick to Troy Brown, a player to whom he had thrown 12 touchdown passes while both were with the Patriots, but was now playing corner due to injuries at the position. Tom Brady threw a pair of first half touchdown passes, one for 13 yards to David Patten and then a five yard pass to Christian Fauria for the 20-0 halftime lead.

The New England defense was immense, intercepting four Buffalo passes while limiting the Bills to just 50 yards on the ground, 81 passing, and a net total of 125 yards of offense; Buffalo’s only score came on a punt return. A Willie McGinest sack led to a fumble recovered by Roman Phifer, while Tully Banta-Cain, Tedy Brushi and Eugene Wilson each joined Brown on the stat sheet with interceptions.



November 14, 2010:
New England Patriots 39, Pittsburgh Steelers 26 at Heinz Field

In another SNF game the Pats dominated, defeating the favored Steelers a week after being upset at Cleveland. Tom Brady threw for a season-high 350 yards and three touchdowns, all to rookie TE Rob Gronkowski, picking apart the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense.

After forcing a three and out on the opening drive Brady mixed passes to Gronk and Alge Crumpler with runs by BenJarvus Green-Ellis to set up the first score, a 19-yard TD to Gronkowski. The Pats forced another punt and on the next drive Shayne Graham hit a 31-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 10-0 first quarter lead.

On the following drive Pittsburgh had to punt after Tully Banta-Cain sacked Ben Roethlisberger, but they scored three after forcing the Pats to punt for the first time; the half ended that way, with the Pats up 10-3.

Brady marched the Pats down the field on the opening possession of the second half, capped off by a 9-yard TD to Gronk. After a pair of punts Pittsburgh’s Jeff Reed missed a 26-yard field goal and after a 45-yard completion to Brandon Tate on a post pattern Brady ran it in from three yards out, and put an exclamation point on the score with an emphatic spike. That gave the Patriots a 23-3 lead and the game was essentially over; any doubt was removed when James Sanders picked off a Roethlisberger pass that had been tipped by Patrick Chung and ran it 32 yards for a touchdown, giving the Pats a 29-10 lead with 8:32 left and sending Steeler fans to the exits. Pittsburgh scored a couple of garbage-time touchdowns but the game was not as close as the final score would lead you to believe.

Brady finished with 350 yards, three touchdown passes and the touchdown run while BJGE ran for 87 yards, the most against Pittsburgh’s defense all season; Wes Welker was the leading receiver with 89 yards on 8 receptions and some key first downs.



Today's birthdays include:

November 14, 1973:
#36, Lawyer Milloy
Patriot strong safety, 1996-2002
2nd round (36th overall) selection in the 1996 draft, out of Washington.

Milloy was named to four Pro Bowls while a member of the Patriots and a defensive co-captain. In 112 regular season games over season seasons he had 19 interceptions. In 15 NFL seasons he played in 234 games, with 25 picks and 1,033 tackles. Milloy may be most well known for his being released just prior to the start of the 2003 season after refusing to take a pay cut, leading to the infamous 'they hate their coach' game. To the chagrin of Tom Jackson, the Patriots regrouped from that 31-0 loss to Buffalo to win 16 of their next 17 games, and their second Lombardi Trophy.


November 14, 1985:
#59, Gary Guyton
Patriot linebacker, 2008-2011

The undrafted free agent became a starter in his second season with the Patriots after Tedy Bruschi retired. Guyton played in 60 games over four seasons with the Patriots. He had 143 tackles, three interceptions, three fumble recoveries and one touchdown.

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November 14, 1851:
Herman Melville‘s novel Moby **** was published. At the time critics panned it as being too long and too dull. The book did not have any commercial success until the 1920’s, three decades after Melville’s death.



November 14, 1882:
Gunslinger Franklin Leslie shot Billy The Kid dead in the streets of Tombstone Arizona.



November 14, 1941:
The Alfred Hitchcock film Suspicion premiered; the romantic thriller starred Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine.



November 14, 1960:
Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles became the new top single; it was the singer’s first number one song.

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[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 15​

November 15, 1964:
Boston Patriots 36, Buffalo Bills 28 at War Memorial Stadium

The Patriots overcame a 14-point second half deficit and beat the previously undefeated Bills at the Rockpile, improving their record to 7-2-1. Babe Parilli threw five touchdown passes and Gino Cappelletti scored 24 points as the Pats got the win over the first head coach of their franchise, Lou Saban.

Buffalo opened the scoring with a Jack Kemp 29-yard touchdown pass and a 41-yard field goal by Pete Gogolak for a 10-0 score at the end of the first quarter. Parilli hit Tony Romeo on a 15-yard touchdown with 5:24 left in the half and on then the Pats recovered a Buffalo fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Moments later Parilli found Cappelletti for a 35-yard touchdown and the Pats had the lead, though Gogolak connected on another field goal to make it 14-13 at halftime.

Just before the half ended Buffalo’s star running back Cookie Gilchrist threw a hissy fit over having to block blitzing Patriot players for Kemp, and for not getting enough carries; he told his backup to take over and walked off the field. Saban blew a gasket and Gilchrist was not on the sideline when the second half kicked off.

Kemp moved the Bills on the opening drive, scoring on a 22-yard pass to Bill Groman. Buffalo lined up to kick the extra point but backup QB Daryl Lamonica ran the fake in for two points to put the Bills up 21-14. Hagood Clarke, the Buffalo player that had fumbled the earlier kickoff return, got a bit of redemption by knocking the ball out of Carl Garrett‘s hands on the ensuing kickoff; Joe Auer picked the ball up and ran it in for a touchdown and all of a sudden Buffalo led 28-14.

The Patriots started their comeback late in the third quarter when Larry Eisenhauer recovered a fumble deep in Buffalo territory, and Parilli immediately hit Cappelletti with a five-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-21.

Midway through the fourth quarter the Pats forced Buffalo to punt from deep in their own territory, and were able to start the next drive from the Bills’ 49 yard line. The Patriots advanced the ball down to the six yard line and then Parilli completed a swing pass to Garron for a touchdown. Since the Patriots were behind Buffalo in the standings (no overtimes and no wild card playoff teams back then) they needed a win; the Pats went for two and Parilli hit Cappelletti for the two-point conversion and a 29-28 lead.

On the next possession the Pats’ defense did one better than force another punt: they got the ball back on a strip sack on Kemp. Parilli went right back to work and connected with Cappelletti for a 34-yard touchdown, and the Patriots won 36-28.

Parilli finished with 242 yards passing and five touchdowns, Garron had 71 yards from scrimmage, and Cappelletti had four receptions for 90 yards and three touchdowns; on defense Nick Buonoconti, Ron Hall and Chuck Shonta each had an interception.



November 15, 1970:
San Diego Chargers 16, Boston Patriots 14 at Harvard Stadium

Two points scored on a safety when Joe Kapp was tackled in the end zone in the 4th quarter proved to be the difference. Jim Nance ran for one touchdown and a late TD pass from Kapp to Bake Turner made the score close, but not enough for a win.



November 15, 1981:
New York Jets 17, New England Patriots 6 at Schaefer Stadium

Tony Collins ran for 66 yards, Andy Johnson had 61 yards receiving, and Don Hasslebeck had 57 yards receiving for the Pats.



November 15, 1987:
Dallas Cowboys 23, New England Patriots 17 at Sullivan Stadium in overtime

In a battle of 4-4 teams Herschel Walker broke off a 60-yard touchdown run in OT for a Dallas victory. Steve Grogan scored on a 2-yard run but was knocked out of the game. Replacement QB Tom Ramsey threw a touchdown to Stanley Morgan to give the Pats a 4th quarter lead but the Cowboys tied it on a 20-yard field goal to send it to overtime. Dallas dominated the stat sheet, with 438 total yards to 265 for the Patriots. New England's defense kept it close with four sacks and by forcing three turnovers, including a 27 yard interception return by Roland James. Linebacker Ed Williams had the only interception of his career (62 NFL games with the Pats, 10 starts) off Danny White.



November 15, 1992:
New England Patriots 37, Indianapolis Colts 34 in OT at the Hoosier Dome

QB Scott Zolak drove the Pats to the tying and winning field goals by Charlie Baumann and the Patriots won for the first time all season. The Pats defense had two pick-6’s on Colts QB Jeff George, and a third interception set up the game winning field goal.

Zolak finished 20-29 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, Jon Vaughn ran for 88 yards, and both Irving Fryar and Greg McMurty had 65 yards receiving for the Pats.

Special teams coach Dante Scarnecchia took over the reins as interim head coach due to **** McPherson having surgery and it worked out well, as the Patriots got the first win of the season after starting out with nine straight losses. The victory was not a complete surprise though, as the Pats had won 13 of their previous 16 games against the Colts. The win helped to somewhat subdue the talks of owner James Busch Orthwein moving the team to St. Louis and in to a domed stadium that was scheduled to be constructed and available for the 1995 season.



November 15, 1998:
Buffalo Bills 13, New England Patriots 10 at Rich Stadium

The Pats defense forced three turnovers to keep the game close but Bruce Smith and the Bills defense didn’t allow the Patriots offense to get much of anything going in this battle of 5-4 teams.

Buffalo’s Doug Flutie kept converting key third downs but he was picked off twice in the end zone, once each by Lawyer Milloy and Willie Clay. A Flutie touchdown pass gave Buffalo a 13-3 third quarter lead but the Pats came back in the 4th quarter with a 37-yard touchdown from Drew Bledsoe to Tony Simmons to close the gap to three points.

After Flutie’s second interception Smith sacked Bledsoe twice, forcing a three and out. With just less than three minutes to play Buffalo had the ball on the Pats 27 on 4th and 4, and Wade Phillipsdecided to go for it rather than attempt a field goal which would have given the Bills a six point lead. The defense held and the Pats took over on downs for one more chance. The Patriots got a couple of first downs but on a 4th down a Bledsoe pass fell incomplete and the game was over.

Ben Coates led the Pats with four receptions for 70 yards, while Buffalo was led by future Patriot Antowain Smith, who ran for 88 yards.



November 15, 1999:
New York Jets 24, New England Patriots 17 at Foxboro Stadium

On Monday Night Football three former Patriots led the Jets to an upset victory over their former team. Ray Lucas (who was cut by Pete Carroll) threw two touchdown passes, Curtis Martin ran for 149 yards and a 36-yard touchdown, and Bill Parcells had a big smile when the Jets hung on to win in Foxboro. Lucas and Martin accounted for two touchdowns in a 49-second span late in the first half that gave New York a 21-3 lead.

A field goal after a 19-play, 11-minute drive put the Jets up 24-3 in the 4th quarter, but Drew Bledsoe threw touchdown passes over the next 5:31 to Kevin Faulk (13 yards) and Troy Brown (31 yards) to cut the deficit to 7 points. The Pats got the ball back three times after that but Bledsoe completed only one of 11 passes in those final three drives.



November 15, 2009:
Indianapolis Colts 35, New England Patriots 34 at Lucas Oil Stadium

The Colts remained undefeated in a game that is still brought up on a regular basis today for a coaching decision that many fans and media members continue to second guess.

The Patriots were up 24-7 and seemed to be in control before Peyton Manning hit Reggie Waynefor a 20-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 24-14 at halftime. The Pats still had a 17-point 4th quarter lead but but the Colts had scored two touchdowns on two quick drives which lasted just 2:04 and 1:49, sandwiched around a Patriots field goal to close the gap to 6 points.

The Pats had the ball on their own 28 and after a third down pass fell incomplete the punting team came on to the field. Bill Belichick called time out and decided to go for it on 4th and two. A short pass to the right side to Kevin Faulk was completed. Faulk appeared to pick up the first down, but he also bobbled the ball a bit, and he was not awarded forward progress, leaving the Patriots a yard short; the Pats were out of timeouts and as a result could not challenge the ruling or the spot of the ball. Four plays later Manning hit Wayne for a one-yard touchdown with only 13 seconds remaining to win the game for Indy.

The loss overshadowed some superb individual performances; Tom Brady threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, Randy Moss had 9 catches for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Wes Welker had 9 receptions for 94 yards. Laurence Maroney had one touchdown and would have had another if not for what turned out to be a very critical fumble at the goal line in the third quarter.



November 15, 2015:
New England Patriots 27, New York Giants 26 at MetLife Stadium

Stephen Gostkowski booted a 54-yard game winning field goal as time expired, and the Patriots improved to 9-0.

This was a back-and-forth game with eight lead changes. The Pats marched down the field 80 yards on 14 plays, with Tom Brady hitting Scott Chandler for a on-yard TD. Less than a minute later Odell Beckham split Malcolm Butler and Devin McCourty on an 87-yard catch and run to tie the score. The Giants ended the first half with 74 yard, 54 second scoring drive that included a pair of 31 yard pass plays by Eli Manning, to take a 17-10 lead. Eli finished the first half with 251 passing yards.

In the third quarter Danny Amendola returned a punt 82 yards to set up a LeGarrette Blount touchdown run, but Josh Brown's third field goal of the day put New York up 23-17 after three quarters. Brady then hit Rob Gronkowski on a 76 yard touchdown pass to give the Pats a 24-23 lead. For Gronk it was the longest touchdown of his illustrious career. The Giants retook the lead on Brown's fourth field goal of the game with 1:43 to play, but that turned out to be plenty of time for the Patriot offense. Brady completed three passes to Amendola on the final drive, including a critical 12 yard completion on 4th and 10.

Amendola filled in nicely for an injured Julian Edelman, with 10 catches on 11 targets for 79 yards, plus 155 return yards. Gronk had 113 yards receiving and Brandon LaFell had two receptions for 66 yards.



November 15 Birthdays:

- Ike Lassister: November 15, 1940
DE finished his 10 year AFL/NFL career with the Patriots in 1970-71.

- Leon Gray: November 15, 1951
All-Pro left tackle for the Patriots from 1973-78 was an integral part of those great Chuck Fairbanks teams, including the one that set the NFL single season record of 3,165 rushing yards.

- Alex Silvestro: November 15, 1988
Patriot DE in 2011

- Bryan Stork: November 15, 1990
Patriot C, 2014-15

- Lofa Tatupu, November 15, 1982
Son of Mosi Tatupu was a Pro Bowl MLB for Seattle.

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November 15, 1932:
Petula Clark was born in Surrey.

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[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 16​

November 16, 1959:
The American Football League's eighth and final franchise is awarded to William H. "Billy" Sullivan, Jr.
Billy Sullivan | Patriots Hall of Fame
Billy Sullivan, 86, Founder Of Football Patriots, Dies | The New York Times


November 16, 1969:
Boston Patriots 25, Cincinnati Bengals 14 at Nippert Stadium

Jim Nance ran for 125 yards and Mike Taliaferro threw two touchdown passes as the Pats got just their second win of the season. Carl Garrett ran for 85 yards as the Pats rushed for 210 yards overall to control the game. Ron Sellers and Charley Frazier both had a touchdown reception and Gino Cappelletti kicked three field goals.

The Patriots defense forced five turnovers, including interceptions by Jim Cheyunski, Tom Janik and Daryl Johnson while also recording four sacks and a safety.



November 16, 1975:
Dallas Cowboys 34, New England Patriots 31 at Schaefer Stadium

Jim Plunkett threw three touchdowns in a toe-to-toe battle against Roger Staubach but a late rally fell just short in a loss to the Cowboys. After Dallas built a 24-10 lead Plunkett connected with Russ Francis for a 37-yard touchdown, and the Pats were down by only one score entering the 4th quarter. Staubach, who earlier threw two touchdowns to Drew Pearson, hit Golden Richards on a 41-yard pass; after a field goal Dallas led 34-17. The Pats came back on two touchdown passes from Plunkett to Daryl Stingley to close the gap to three points, but were unable to get the final score they needed.



November 16, 1980:
Los Angeles Rams 17, New England Patriots 14 at Schaefer Stadium

Steve Grogan ran for one score and threw a 35-yard touchdown to Don Hasselbeck, but the Rams shut the Pats out in the second half to escape with a win. Steve Nelson had an interception he ran back 33 yards and Tim Fox had a 23-yard pick as the defense did its part. Unfortunately the offense was unable to overcome their self inflicted wounds, turning the ball over five times.



November 16, 1986:
New England Patriots 30, Los Angeles Rams 28 at Anaheim Stadium

On the final play of the game Tony Eason threw a Hail Mary down the right sideline which Stanley Morgan leaped over the L.A defenders to tip, and Irving Fryar dove to catch for the game-winning score.

Eason threw for what was at that time franchise records for completions (36) and passes (52), finishing with 375 yards passing. After the game he admitted that he was just throwing it up for grabs and was simply trying to keep the ball in bounds..

On the final drive the Pats faced a 4th-and-7 at their own 42 but Eason hit Tony Collins with a 7-yard pass to keep their hopes alive. The quarterback also had key completions of 18 yards to Morgan and 13 yards to Fryar on the drive.

That was the second touchdown of the 4th quarter for Fryar, the first coming when the Pats trailed 28-16 after a touchdown from Ram rookie Jim Everett to Henry Ellard. The other New England points came on three Tony Franklin field goals and a blocked punt that was returned 31 yards for a score by Rod McSwain. Morgan finished the game with seven receptions for 118 yards for the Patriots, and Collins had a combined 93 yards rushing and receiving.



November 16, 1997:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, New England Patriots 7 at the Old Sombrero

The famed Warren Sapp–Derrick Brooks–John Lynch Bucs’ defense that started the season 5-0 was in full display and on top of their game, holding the Pats to zero first downs and 16 yards in the first half. The only reason this game was not a shutout was a 6-yard pass from Scott Zolak to Lovell Purnell in garbage time just before the clock read 00:00.



November 16, 2003:
New England Patriots 12, Dallas Cowboys 0 at Gillette Stadium

The pupil schooled the teacher as Bill Belichick’s defense blanketed and blanked Bill Parcells’ Cowboys and their top ranked defense.

The Patriots only turned the ball over once, while forcing Dallas to go on long drives, and eventually turning the ball over three times. The Pats benefited greatly from big plays when Dallas blitzed – a 46 yard completion from Tom Brady to Deion Branch and a 57 yard completion from Brady to David Givens – which led to an Adam Vinatieri field goal and an Antowain Smith touchdown run for a 9-0 halftime lead. Defensively the team was led by Rodney Harrison (9 tackles), Roman Phifer(8 tackles) and Tedy Bruschi (7 tackles).



November 16, 2014:
New England Patriots 42, Indianapolis Colts 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium

The Jonas Gray Game.

The undrafted backup running back three years removed from Notre Dame had the game of his life. Entering the day with 32 carries for 131 yards rushing and no touchdowns in his NFL career, Gray exposed the Indy defense and sent the franchise on a downward spiral that still has yet to hit rock bottom. Gray rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns as the Pats improved to 8-2, and the Colts dropped to 6-4.

The team rushing stats were astounding, showing the dominance by New England at the line of scrimmage. The Patriots rushed for 244 yards while Indianapolis was able to manage just 19 yards on 17 attempts. This was Bill Belichick's first win at LOS in three games, and tied Curly Lambeau for the second-most consecutive non-losing seasons (14) in NFL history. Adam Vinatieri also reached a pair of milestones against his former team. The kicker scored eight points for his 17th 100-point season, breaking a tie with Jason Elam for the most in NFL history; he also became just the fourth person to score 2,100 points over his career.



November 16 Birthdays:

Jack Atchason: November 16, 1936
End had two receptions for 22 yards in his one game for the 1960 Patriots.

Ivy Joe Hunter: November 16, 1966
FB appeared in 13 games for the 1991 Pats, with 150 yards from scrimmage.

Sedrick Shaw: November 16, 1973
3rd round (61st overall) selection of the 1997 draft, out of Iowa.
RB had 266 yards from scrimmage in two seasons with the Patriots.

Akiem Hicks: November 16, 1989
DE played in 15 total games with the Patriots in 2015.

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November 16, 2001:
The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, opened in theaters in the US.


November 16, 1968:
Electric Ladyland by the Jimi Hendrix Experience became the number one album, replacing Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company. Songs included Crosstown Traffic, Voodoo Chile, All Along The Watchtower, and Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

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[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 17​

November 17, 1961:
Boston Patriots 20, Oakland Raiders 17 at Nickerson Field

The Patriots won on a bizarre play that could not happen in today’s NFL. In the 4th quarter the Pats had Oakland backed up in their end of the field, and forced the Raiders to punt out of their own end zone. Important reminder: at that time football goal posts were on the goal line, not at the back end zone. Oakland’s Wayne Crow punted the ball and it hit the cross bar of the goal post, deflecting back into the end zone but not out of play. Patriot DE Leroy ‘Sweat Pea’ Moore pounced on it, giving the Pats the lead and the victory.

Ron Burton‘s six-yard run gave the Pats a 7-0 first quarter lead. In the second period Oakland’s Tom Flores tied it up with a 31 yard pass, and then Gino Cappelletti regained the lead for the Pats with a 29-yard field goal. Oakland came back on another Flores touchdown pass before a Cappelletti 33-yard field goal made the score 14-13 Raiders at halftime. Oakland added three more in the third quarter on a FG before Moore’s touchdown gave the Patriots the lead, improving their record to 6-4-1.



November 17, 1963:
Boston Patriots 24, Kansas City Chiefs 24 at Fenway Park

The Chiefs tied the game on a last second touchdown from backup Eddie Wilson, who was making his first pro start, to Curtis McClinton. For the Patriots Babe Parilli passed for 354 yards, Tony Romeo caught 10 passes for 149 yards and one TD, Jim Colclough had 9 catches for 137 yards, and Larry Garron ran for one touchdown and 75 yards on just 9 carries.



November 17, 1968:
Kansas City Chiefs 31, Boston Patriots 17 at KC Municipal Stadium

The Chiefs, who went on to finish 12-2 this season, were just too good on both sides of the ball for the Pats in this game as Len Dawson threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots were led by Jim Whalen (5 catches for 59 yards), Bill Murphy (4 catches for 72 yards) and Tom Sherman, who threw two touchdowns.



November 17, 1974:
New York Jets 21, New England Patriots 16 at Schaefer Stadium

Sam Cunningham (21 rushes for 113 yards) outplayed counterpart Emerson Boozer, but that was not enough. The Jets RB had a better supporting cast as the Pats settled for three field goals while the Jets were scoring touchdowns; Mack Herron scored the only TD for the Pats on a 5-yard run.



November 17, 1985:
New England Patriots 20, Seattle Seahawks 13 at the Kingdome

The Patriots came from behind with two 4th quarter touchdown passes by Steve Grogan to win their sixth consecutive game and eighth game of the season.

Seattle led 13-7 at the end of three quarters but Grogan found Craig James on a 23-yard score to tie it, and then Irving Fryar on a 13-yard strike with 2:39 remaining to win the game.

The winning score was set up when LB Larry McGrew tipped a Dave Krieg pass and safety Fred Marion returned it 83 yards to the Seattle 15. Marion had two interceptions on the game and Roland James had another; Andre Tippett and Garon Veris each had two sacks and Don Blackmon had one as well. Fryar finished with 82 yards receiving; he also had the first touchdown of the game on an 8-yard end around.



November 17, 1991:
New York Jets 28, New England Patriots 21 at Foxboro Stadium

The Pats rallied from a 21 point deficit but Jon Vaughn was tackled on the one-yard line as time expired, losing in the final minute of play for the 4th consecutive game.

Down 21-0 the Patriots rallied for three touchdowns in ten minutes, with an instant-replay reversal giving Vaughn a two-yard touchdown (his second of the day) to tie the score with 2:16 to go.

Ken O’Brien brought the Jets back and threw a 3-yard touchdown to backup OL/TE Trevor Matich with 57 seconds left. Matich, who does a very good job as a college football analyst these days, was drafted in the first round of the 1985 draft by the Pats and considered to be a huge draft bust. He did manage to bounce around for 12 NFL seasons with five teams though, primarily as a long snapper.

The Pats got the ball back on their 27 and Hugh Millen directed the final drive; a 16-yard pass to Irving Fryar (who had scored the first NE touchdown on a 56 yard reception) gave the Pats first down on the Jets 8-yard line with 12 seconds left. Millen then completed a pass to Greg McMurty to the one-yard line, but Vaughn’s run behind the left side of the line was stopped short of the goal line.

After the game coach **** McPherson admitted that Vaughn had not practiced that play, but rather FB Leonard Russell (who had only 5 yards on 8 carries) got the ball in practice on those situations – but he decided to ‘go with the hot hand’, and let Vaughn run it instead.

Millen finished with 372 yards passing on a 30-43 game; Fryar had 8 catches for 143 yards; McMurty had 7 catches for 94 yards; and Marv Cook had 8 catches for 89 yards for the Patriots.



November 17, 1996:
Denver Broncos 34, New England Patriots 8 at Foxboro Stadium

Terrell Davis flashed his Hall of Fame form as Denver won their 7th straight game and ended the Pats four game winning streak. This is the game when marbles mouth Shannon Sharpe emitted his infamous National Guard comment.

John Elway had a long history of greatness against the Pats, but on this day he just sat back and watched. Davis finished with 210 yards from scrimmage: 154 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, plus four receptions for 56 yards and another TD.

The only points for the Patriots came in the third quarter on a 7-yard run by Curtis Martin, and a 2-point conversion from Drew Bledsoe to Keith Byars.

Denver finished the season with a 13-3 record but lost their first playoff game to Jacksonville; the Pats would go on to finish 11-5 and make it to the Super Bowl, losing to the Packers in New Orleans.



November 17, 2002:
Oakland Raiders 27, New England Patriots 20 at the Black Hole

The Raiders got a very minute bit of revenge as they beat the team that had defeated them in the previous year’s playoffs in what is alternately known as the Snow Bowl Game or the Tuck Rule Game, depending on your allegiance and point of view.

Oakland recovered a Tom Brady fumble that led to a score to take a 17-6 halftime lead, then Zack Crockett ran for his second touchdown in the third quarter to put the Raiders up by 18. Tedy Bruschi intercepted a pass that had bounced off the foot of Lawyer Milloy and ran it back 48 yards for a touchdown to close the gap but the Pats couldn’t get much of any offense going against a stingy and fired up Oakland defense. Late in the 4th quarter Sebastian Janikowski field goal made the score 27-13 but Kevin Faulk ran the ensuing kickoff back 86 yards for a touchdown, with 59 seconds left to play. Adam Vinatieri, who had kicked two field goals, attempted the onside kick but the Raiders recovered and ran out the clock.



Today's Birthdays:

November 17, 1969: Leonard Russell
Patriot 1st round (14th overall) selection of the 1991 draft, out of Arizona State
The RB played in 43 games (with 40 starts) from 1991-93 for the Patriots. In 1993 Russell rushed for 1,088 yards and seven touchdowns, and in six NFL seasons he totaled 4,819 yards from scrimmage with 29 touchdowns.


November 17, 1978: Reggie Wayne
The Pats signed the former Colt WR as a free agent on August 24, 2015. Two weeks later he was released, later saying that playing for the Patriots was 'too tough' and 'not fun'. Wayne finished his NFL career with 14,345 yards receiving and 82 touchdowns.

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November 17, 1946:
Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham, England.

​

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 18​

Happy Birthday to Jacob Hollister (24), Joe Thuney (25), Kyle Love (31), Chris Baker (38) and Tony Franklin (61).


November 18, 1960:
Boston Patriots 42, Dallas Texans 14 at Nickerson Field

Butch Songin threw three touchdown passes and the Patriot defense forced four turnovers as the Pats breezed to their third straight victory.

In his two years with the Patriots Joe Johnson only caught 20 passes, but on this day he had two touchdown receptions in the second half. In the first quarter HB **** Christy ran for one touchdown and threw for another to put the Pats up 13-0, and then a Songin TD pass to Jim Colclough (who finished with nine catches for 85 yards) gave the Patriots a 20-point lead.



November 18, 1962:
Houston Oilers 21, Boston Patriots 17 at Jeppesen Stadium

The Oilers handed the Pats their first loss in five weeks, and took a half game lead in the AFL East.

The Pats defense forced five turnovers but a very strong Houston defense kept the Patriot offense in check. In the third quarter a 69-yard touchdown pass from Tom Yewcic to Ron Burton brought the Pats within four points, but the Oiler D held from there. Burton finished with 94 yards receiving, Tony Romeo had five catches for 72 yards, and Jim Colclough had a 28-yard touchdown reception.



November 18, 1973:
New England Patriots 33, Green Bay Packers 24 at Schaefer Stadium

Jim Plunkett threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns in the first-ever meeting between the Patriots and Packers. Plunkett’s 63-yard TD pass to Reggie Rucker (5 catches, 108 yards) in the 4th quarter gave the Pats their first lead of the game, and then Plunkett scored again on a one-yard run to ice the game.



November 18, 1979:
New England Patriots 50, Baltimore Colts 21 at Schaefer Stadium

Stanley Morgan scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass and an 80-yard punt return, and Rick Sanford scored on a blocked punt as the Pats routed the Colts in Foxboro.

After Morgan’s first quarter touchdown catch from Steve Grogan the Pats scored five times in the second quarter to blow this game wide open. Don Calhoun scored on a one-yard run, Harold Jackson on a 5-yard pass from Grogan, and then Sanford’s 8-yard blocked punt return made it 27-7. That was followed by a pair of field goals by John Smith, which gave the Patriots a 33-7 halftime lead. Horace Ivory ran for 116 yards on just 12 carries as the Pats totaled 417 yards of offense en route to their 8th win of the season.



November 18, 1984:
New England Patriots 50, Indianapolis Colts 17 at the Hoosier Dome

Tony Eason threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots blasted the Colts to improve to 8-4.

The Pats jumped out to a 16-0 1st quarter lead on a pair of touchdown passes from Eason to TE Derrick Ramsey, sandwiched around a safety when Roland James tackled Indy RB Frank Middleton in the end zone. After a Colts score Eason hit Ramsey with another touchdown pass, and a Tony Franklin field goal gave the Pats a 26-10 halftime lead. Eason connected with Stanley Morgan for a 12-yard score and Mosi Tatupu then ran for two touchdowns. The Pats defense harassed Colts’ QB Art Schlicter all day, forcing four fumbles and recording seven sacks – three by Toby Williams, two by Andre Tippett, and one each by Steve Nelson and Julius Adams. Ramsey finished with a career-high 8 receptions, 3 touchdowns and 104 yards receiving.



November 18, 1990:
Buffalo Bills 14, New England Patriots 0 at Rich Stadium

The Pats defense held the vaunted K-gun offense in check, but Buffalo’s defense shut down the Pats as Buffalo improved to 9-1.

Down 7-0 in the 4th quarter the Pats crowded the line of scrimmage looking for another stop, but Thurman Thomas broke through for an 80-yard touchdown run to seal the victory for the Bills. Irving Fryar had 7 receptions for 85 yards and Marc Wilson was 21-33 for 234 yards for the Patriots.



November 18, 2001:
St. Louis Rams 24, New England Patriots 17 at Foxboro Stadium

Although they lost this game the Pats figured out what they needed to know about the Rams, and that they could hang toe-to-toe with any other NFL team. This would be the last defeat of the season for the Patriots, who went on to win their next nine games, culminated by a victory in the Super Bowl in a rematch against the Rams.

For the Patriots Terrell Buckley scored on a 52-yard interception off Kurt Warner, Troy Brown had 8 receptions for 91 yards, and David Patten had a 10-yard touchdown reception.



Today's Birthdays:

Tony Franklin, November 18, 1956
Uniform #1; Patriot K, 1984-1987

At Texas A&M Franklin set a Division 1-A record with a 65-yard field goal, one of 18 NCAA records he held, including most career field goals (56), career kick scoring (291 points), most field goals of 50 yards or longer in a career (16), most field goals made in a three-year career (45) and longest average for field goals made in a career (39.5 yards).

Franklin was most well known for something else though: he kicked barefoot.

He was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 1979 draft, and played five years there. In February of 1984 Philly traded Franklin to New England in exchange for a 1985 sixth round draft pick. Franklin was an immediate upgrade at the position, which had used three kickers in each of the previous two seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in '86, leading the NFL in points scored (140) and field goals made (32) as a member of that AFC championship team. The 32 field goals made was a single season franchise record for 22 years, not broken until 2008 by Stephen Gostkowski.

Franklin kicked 177 field goals in his NFL career, which was in the top twenty all time when he retired. As a member of the Patriots he scored 442 points over four seasons, connecting on 93 field goals and 163 extra points, both of which rank fifth all time in franchise history.

Whatever Happened To The Barefoot Kicker?

PATRIOTS MAY NEED FRANKLIN'S KICKS

Where Are They Now? K Tony Franklin


Chris Baker, November 18, 1979
Uniform #86; Patriot TE, 2009

The Patriots signed Baker as a free agent after seven seasons with the Jets. The combination of a contract with a large cap number in year two and a relatively unproductive first year in Foxboro resulted in his being released after just one season. Baker's 2009 numbers were 14 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns. At age 31 he signed with Seattle for his final NFL season. Baker's career numbers were 168 receptions for 1763 yards and 15 TD, in 131 games over eight seasons.

Pats Fans discussion: Patriots release Chris Baker [Update: Signed by Seahawks]

Patriots.com Bio: Official Website of the New England Patriots


Kyle Love, November 18, 1986
Uniform #74; Patriot DT, 2010-2012

The Patriots signed Love as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi State; he was one of two UDFA to make the week one 53-man roster. In three seasons with the Pats Love played in 41 regular season games with 25 starts, with 5.5 sacks; he also played in six playoff games for New England.

The Patriots waived Love on May 15, 2013 with a non football injury/illness designation after he was diagnosed with diabetes. He spent 2013 with Jacksonville and Kansas City, and has been with the Panthers since 2014.

Carolina Panthers: Kyle Love

Former Patriots DT Kyle Love resurfaces in Carolina, excited to face former team


Joe Thuney, November 18, 1992
Uniform #62; Patriot LG, 2016-
3rd round (78th overall) selection in the 2016 draft, from NC State

http://www.patriots.com/team/players/roster/joe-thuney

Joe Thuney is the best guard from his draft class and still getting better


Jacob Hollister, November 18, 1993
Uniform #47; Patriot TE, 2017-
Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Wyoming on May 5, 2017.

http://www.patriots.com/team/players/roster/jacob-hollister

Jacob Hollister 'proud and happy' to be part of Patriots 53-man roster

How Did Jacob Hollister End Up On Patriots? Bill Belichick Explains

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November 18, 1992:
Black Sabbath was honored with a star at the Rock Walk in Hollywood.

​

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 19​

November 19, 1967:
New York Jets 29, Boston Patriots 24 at Fenway Park

The Pats mounted a furious 4th quarter comeback that fell just short. Down 29-3 midway through the 4th quarter Don Trull sparked a rally. Trull, who was making his first start, scored on a pair of one-yard runs and then threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jim Whalen. That pulled the Patriots to within five points – but the Pats ran out of time, losing to the Jets.



November 19, 1972:
Buffalo Bills 27, New England Patriots 24 at Schaefer Stadium

With five seconds remaining to play, John Leypoldt's 45-yard field goal gave Buffalo their third win of the season. Jim Plunkett threw touchdown passes to Randy Vataha and Bob Windsor for the Patriots. Windsor finished the game with five catches for 72 yards for the Pats.



November 19, 1978:
New England Patriots 19, New York Jets 17 at Shea Stadium

David Posey's 24-yard field goal with 2:30 remaining proved to be the game winner as the patriots improved to 9-3. After Posey's kick the Jets drove to the New England 16-yard line but Frank Leahy's kick went wide; for the Jets the loss effectively knocked them out of the playoffs. Mike Haynes had two interceptions and Horace Ivory ran for two touchdowns to lead the way for the Patriots.

On a side note a few miles away on the same day the Miracle In The Meadowlands occurred. The Giants had a 17-12 lead over the Eagles with 30 seconds left and were running out the clock when QB Joe Pisarcik fumbled while attempting to make a routine handoff to Larry Csonka. Eagles CB Herm Edwards picked up the ball and ran 26 yards for the game winning points; coincidentally it was by the same final score of 19-17.



November 19, 1989:
New England Patriots 33, Buffalo Bills 24 at Foxboro Stadium

The Pats rallied to score 20 unanswered points and upset the Bills in a game where John Stephens logged 202 yards from scrimmage. At the time it was the third most yards from scrimmage in a game in franchise history, and still ranks as the seventh most in that category.

After the Bills had scored their second touchdown of the 4th quarter with 8:46 remaining the pats quickly came right back, with a 14-yard scoring pass from Steve Grogan to Hart Lee Dykes with 7:45 to cut Buffalo’s lead to 24-20. The Pats got the ball back and cut the lead to one on Jason Staurovsky's third field goal of the day with 3:06 left to play. On the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff Maurice Hurst intercepted a Jim Kelly pass and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots the lead. On the next drive Kelly drove the Bills to the Pats 31-yard line but fumbled on 4th down, and Johnny Rembert recovered. From there Grogan drove the Pats to the Buffalo 21, and Staurovsky kicked another field goal with 13 seconds left to clinch the win. Stephens finished the game with 126 yards rushing and 76 yards receiving for the Patriots.



November 19, 1995:
Indianapolis Colts 24, New England Patriots 10 at Foxboro Stadium

Ben Coates had nine receptions for 89 yards; it marked the sixth time Coates had nine or more receptions in a game.



November 19, 2000:
New England Patriots 16, Cincinnati Bengals 13 at Gillette Stadium

In a meeting of two two-win teams the Pats nipped **** LeBeau's team thanks to three Adam Vinatieri field goals. The last field goal was set up by an 81-yard drive directed by Drew Bledsoe that began with 3:08 remaining, culminated by Vinatieri’s game winning 22-yard kick with five seconds left on the clock.

The Pats defense bent but did not break, to set up Vinatieri’s boot. A 61-yard 2nd half Cincy drive stalled at the 12 yard line and then a hurried FG attempt clanged off the goal post. The Bengals later picked off Bledsoe but had to settle to settle for field goal which gave them a 13-10 third quarter lead before Vinatieri kicked two 4th quarter field goals to tie, and then win the game.

Bledsoe finished with 258 yards passing, Terry Glenn had 11 receptions for 129 yards, and Troy Brown had 8 catches for 110 yards to lead the New England offense.



November 19, 2006:
New England Patriots 35, Green Bay Packers 0 at Lambeau Field

After losing their previous two games the Pats crushed the Packers, knocking Brett Favre out of the game in the process. The Patriots limited Green Bay to just five first downs for the entire game, while out-gaining them 357 yards to 120 yards. The Pats were missing three defensive backs due to injuries and playing Troy Brown as the nickel corner, but the pass rush prevented Green Bay from taking advantage of the situation.

The Pats defense held Favre to just 5 completions in 15 attempts for 73 yards before sidelining him with an injury to the ulnar nerve in his throwing elbow; by the time the game finished the Pats D had sacked Favre and Aaron Rodgers five times. Richard Seymour (four tackles), Tedy Bruschi (eight tackles, ½ sack) and Mike Vrabel (six tackles, 1½ sacks) dominated and set the tone early, before Tully Banta-Cain wrapped up Favre and then Bruschi slammed him to the ground, ending his day.

Tom Brady went 20-31 for 244 yards and four touchdowns before Vinny Testaverde came in to finish the game. A 2-yard 4th down pass to Daniel Graham gave the Pats a 7-0 1st quarter lead and then Corey Dillon scored from one-yard out; Brady then hit Reche Caldwell on a 54-yard TD to put the Pats up 21-0 with 2:19 to go in the half.

On Green Bay’s second possession of the 2nd half the Pats held on 4th down, and Brady led the Pats on a 6-play, 60 yard drive that was capped off by an 8-yard TD to Ben Watson. The Pats defense then forced two more three and outs when Kevin Faulk returned a punt 36 yards to the Green Bay 23, setting up a Brady 19-yard touchdown pass to Laurence Maroney.



November 19, 2017:
New England Patriots 33, Oakland Raiders 8
Game played at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

Tom Brady was nearly flawless as the Pats won their sixth straight game to advance to 8-2. TB12 went 30-37 for 339 yards with three touchdowns as New England cruised to an easy victory. Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals in the high altitude, including a 62 yarder to end the first half at 17-0.

The Raiders were unable to stop Brandin Cooks, who had six receptions for 149 yards. Cooks had two catches for 50-plus yards, including a 64-yard TD that put the Patriots up 24-0 in the first minute of the third quarter.

Despite playing without five starters (and two more on IR), the game was no contest. The turning point came when Oakland had driven deep into Patriot territory late in the second quarter with the score 14-0. Backup Marquis Flowers made a heads-up play to force a fumble and Patrick Chung recovered at the 8-yard line to deny Oakland of a score. The Pats quickly moved the ball downfield for a field goal, resulting in a ten-point swing on the scoreboard.

With the victory Bill Belichick passed Dallas Cowboy legend Tom Landry for third place on the all-time win list by an NFL head coach, with his 271st career victory.



Happy Birthday to Toby Williams, born November 19, 1959.
Patriots 10th round (265th overall) selection in the 1983 draft, out of Nebraska.
DE/NT from 1983-88 with New England.
Uniform #90.

Played 80 games for the Patriots, with 15 sacks - including three in a 50-17 victor at Indianapolis in 1984.

For more, check out the Toby Williams link on the Patriots Alumni website, which includes information from the Patriots' 1988 Media Guide with information on each of his seasons in New England.

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November 19, 1955:
Carl Perkins recorded the original Blue Suede Shoes in Memphis.

​

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 20​

November 20, 1964:
Boston Patriots 12, Denver Broncos 7 at Fenway Park

Babe Parilli's 25-yard pass to Gino Cappelletti turned out to be the game-winner as the Pats beat the Broncos for the third straight time and improved their record to 8-2-1.

Cappelletti, who would go on to be named the AFL Player of the Year by both the AP and UPI this season, added a 51-yard field goal in the second half to give the Pats a bit of a cushion. A field goal of that length doesn’t raise an eyebrow today, but back then it was almost unheard of; to put that into perspective there were only three successful field goals of 50+ yards in the league for the entire season.



November 20, 1966:
Boston Patriots 27, Kansas City Chiefs 27 at Municipal Stadium

The fired up Pats played the '66 league champion Chiefs to a standstill thanks in large part to Art Graham, who had 11 catches for 134 yards and two touchdown receptions. Babe Parilli threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Jim Nance ran for 107 yards on 22 carries for the Patriots.

Late in the 4th quarter the Chiefs led by 3 when Nick Buoniconti intercepted a Len Dawson pass, for the 4th takeaway by the Pats defense. Parilli led the Patriots on a 13-play drive deep into Kansas City territory but the Patriots were unable to cross the goal line, and had to settle for 19-yard field goal by Gino Cappelletti with 24 seconds left to play to tie the game.



November 20, 1977:
New England Patriots 20, Buffalo Bills 7 at Rich Stadium

Sam Cunningham broke open a defensive stalemate with two 4th quarter touchdown runs to give the Pats their sixth win of the season.

The Patriots controlled the game, rushing for 256 yards and running 23 more plays from scrimmage than the Bills did. However the Pats settled for field goal attempts and found themselves down 7-6 entering the 4th quarter. Cunningham ended the Patriot touchdown drought with a 31-yard scoring run to give the Pats the lead, and later found the end zone on a 1-yard plunge to seal the victory.

New England ran the ball 54 times versus only 17 pass attempts in the 39° weather. Don Calhoun ran for 80 yards and added another 21 on three receptions, and Steve Grogan rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries. In Chicago on the same afternoon Walter Payton set an NFL record, rushing for 275 yards in a 10-7 victory over the Vikings.



November 20, 1983:
Cleveland Browns 30, New England Patriots 0 at Sullivan Stadium

The Browns posted their second consecutive shutout, upsetting the Patriots in Foxboro. The Cleveland defense confused and confounded the Pats (who had won four of their previous five games), finishing with five turnovers on the day.



November 20, 1988:
New England Patriots 6, Miami Dolphins 3 at Joe Robbie Stadium

On Sunday Night Football the Pats defense held Dan Marino to 169 yards and held the Miami offense to a field goal to upset the Dolphins, who were favored by 3, for a rare win in Miami. John Stephens led the Patriots with 88 yards rushing on 20 carries, and Russ Francis had three receptions for 40 yards.



November 20, 1994:
New England Patriots 23, San Diego Chargers 17 at Foxboro Stadium

For the second week in a row the Patriots knocked off one of the NFL’s elite teams, this time 2-loss San Diego, who would go on to play in the Super Bowl at the end of the season.

The Patriots opened up scoring when Drew Bledsoe caught the Chargers in a blitz and hit Leroy Thompson for a 27-yard 1st quarter touchdown; Matt Bahr's 39-yard field goal made it 10-0 at halftime.

After Bahr's 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds to go in the 3rd quarter, San Diego returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to make the score 13-10 Patriots. However the Pats responded with a 64-yard, 12-play drive capped off by Marion Butts‘ (88 yards rushing) 1-yard touchdown run to give the Pats a 10-point lead.

From there the defense took over; first Chris Slade, who had 3½ sacks, tackled Stan Humphries for a 10-yard loss. Vincent Brown then intercepted a Humphries pass and returned it to the San Diego 13-yard line. The Pats settled for another field goal but it gave them a 13-point lead. San Diego was unable to score until there was only 55 seconds remaining, and the Pats recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

Maurice Hurst had two interceptions for the Pats, and Michael Timpson was the leading receiver with 8 catches for 82 yards.

​

November 20, 2005:
New England Patriots 24, New Orleans Saints 17 at Gillette Stadium

On the day after Steve Belichick died, Eugene Wilson intercepted an Aaron Brooks pass intended for Joe Horn in the corner of the end zone to give the Pats back-to-back victories for the first time this season and improve their record to 6-4.

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and newly acquired Heath Evans, starting due to injuries to three other running backs, rushed for 74 yards on 16 carries. Andre Davis scored on a 60-yard pass from Brady to give the Pats a 21-7 lead entering the 4th quarter but New Orleans made it close when Donte’ Stallworth scored his second TD for the Saints. Deion Branch and Mike Vrabel both had first half touchdown receptions and TE Ben Watson was the leading receiver for the Pats with 66 yards on four receptions.

November 20, 2016:
New England Patriots 30, San Francisco 49ers 17 at Levi's Stadium

The Pats bounced back from a home loss to Seattle with a 13-point victory in the rain over Chip Kelly's Niners. Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in his first ever game on the 49ers home field, against the team he grew up rooting for from nearby San Mateo. The victory was the 199th of Brady's career, tying Brett Favre for the second most in NFL history. TB12 also had four touchdown passes with zero interceptions for the 21st time in his career.

Brady completed straight passes early and threw short first half touchdowns to Julian Edelman (8 catches, 77 yards) and James White (6 receptions on 6 targets, for 63 yards). Between those two scores SF had to settle for a field goal. The Niners had a 1st and goal from the three but Dont'a Hightower made the big play with a sack on Colin Kaepernick on third down. That was on of five sacks the defense came up as the Patriot D dominated the San Francisco offensive line all day. Kyle Van Noy, Rob Ninkovich, Patrick Chung and Malcolm Butler each had a sack also.

On the first play of the fourth quarter Brady connected with Danny Amendola on a 5-yard touchdown pass, and the defense kept forcing three-and-outs. Midway through the quarter Brady hit Malcolm Mitchell deep on the right sideline for a 56-yard TD, and the score was 27-10.

LeGarrette Blount rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries, including a season-long run of 44 yards. Dion Lewis got his first playing time after rehabbing from knee surgery and was on the field for 21 snaps, gaining 49 yards from scrimmage.

The Pats improved to 8-2 with the win while San Fran dropped to 1-9. For the Patriots this was the first of what would eventually become a ten-game winning streak, culminating with a Super Bowl 51 victory over the Falcons.



Happy Birthday to Joey Galloway, born November 20, 1971.
Patriot WR, 2009.
Jersey #13.
The Ohio State Buckeye was the eighth overall pick of the 1995 draft by Seattle. Galloway was good enough at the time to fetch two first-round draft picks when traded to Dallas in 2004. The Patriots signed him as a free agent in 2009, but that move never worked out. The problem wasn't lack of speed due to his being 37 years old. Galloway was never able to grasp the Patriot read-and-react offense, catching just seven of the 20 passes thrown his way in the first three games. He was a healthy scratch in the next three games and released on October 20 - five days before the Pats were scheduled to play Tampa Bay, the team Galloway had been a part of for the previous five seasons.

Galloway finished his NFL career with 701 receptions for 10,950 yards receiving, both of which rank among the top 50 all-time in the NFL. He also had 77 receiving touchdowns (30th), and totaled 12,863 all-purpose yards. Since retiring he has spent one year as a college football analyst for espn, and owned an arena football team from 2003 to 2008.


Happy Birthday to James Morris, who was born on November 20, 1991.
Patriot ILB, 2014.
Jersey #52.
Signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Iowa on May 16, 2014.
Waived four days later due to a failed physical, for a blood clot in his leg.
Re-signed by the Patriots on August 3, 2014.
Placed on Injured Reserve on August 30, 2014.
Waived during final roster cuts in 2015.
Has since been with the Giants (practice squad and one NFL game in 2015) and the Cowboys (IR in 2016). Looks like his NFL career may be over, but at least he got a Super Bowl ring.
From Patriots.com: James Morris
Belichick lauds LB James Morris as 'typical Iowa kid'
After Iowa, LB James Morris continues to battle through adversity to gain NFL opportunity

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November 20, 1947:
Joe Walsh was born in Wichita.

​

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

November 18, 1973:
New England Patriots 33, Green Bay Packers 24 at Schaefer Stadium

Jim Plunkett threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns in the first-ever meeting

Historic. Only one franchise retains their historic, classy, heritage-respectful uniforms.

November 18, 1984:
New England Patriots 50, Indianapolis Colts 17 at the Hoosier Dome

Tony Eason threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots blasted the Colts to improve to 8-4.

That team came one fumble at the Donkeyhouse (Coach Berry's first game) away from the playoffs.

November 18, 2001:
St. Louis Rams 24, New England Patriots 17 at Foxboro Stadium

Although they lost this game the Pats figured out what they needed to know about the Rams, and that they could hang toe-to-toe with any other NFL team. This would be the last defeat of the season for the Patriots, who went on to win their next nine games, culminated by a victory in the Super Bowl in a rematch against the Rams.

In a unusually perceptive and prophetic line, Lambs coach Mike Martz said afterward of the Pats, "That's a Super Bowl team."

Franklin was most well known for something else though: he kicked barefoot.

He was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 1979 draft, and played five years there. In February of 1984 Philly traded Franklin to New England in exchange for a 1985 sixth round draft pick. Franklin was an immediate upgrade at the position, which had used three kickers in each of the previous two seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in '86, leading the NFL in points scored (140) and field goals made (32) as a member of that AFC championship team. The 32 field goals made was a single season franchise record for 22 years, not broken until 2008 by Stephen Gostkowski.

Tony was money here. He also made kickoffs that were often mishandled by the receiving team - better than a touchback, it created turnover opportunities, most crucially vs. the Raiders in the January '86 divisional playoff.

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 21​

November 21, 1965:
Boston Patriots 10, Kansas City Chiefs 10 at Fenway Park

Babe Parilli's ten-yard touchdown pass to J.D. Garrett capped a late rally as the Pats were able to come back and tie the Chiefs. Jim Colclough had six receptions for 88 yards for the Patriots, and both Ron Hall and Jay Cunningham thwarted Kansas City drives with interceptions off Len Dawson. The tie against the high powered Chiefs seemed to motivate the Patriots, as they went on to win their next three games.



November 21, 1971:
Cleveland Browns 27, New England Patriots 7 at Municipal Stadium

In a battle of 4-5 teams the Browns came out on top, with Leroy Kelly scoring twice. Randy Vataha had four receptions for 65 yards and Tom Beer scored on an 18-yard pass from Jim Plunkett.



November 21, 1976:
New England Patriots 38, New York Jets 24 at Shea Stadium

The Pats won their third in a row to improve to 8-3 in what was Joe Namath's final game against the Pats. The Patriots gave Joe Willie an inglorious sendoff, intercepting five of his passes before he was benched (and then picked two more off Richard Todd).

Mike Haynes had three interceptions and Prentice McCray had two more, returning his picks 63 yards and 55 yards for touchdowns; Tim Fox and Bob Howard had the other interceptions.

Early in the 4th quarter OL Pete Brock brought a play in from the sideline. Brock told Steve Grogan the play was ‘222 to me’ rather than ‘222 tight end delay’; Brock caught the pass for a 6-yard touchdown, the only score of his 12-year NFL career. Afterwards Brock was given the nickname ‘Deep Threat’.

Don Calhoun finished with 109 yards rushing for the Pats. Grogan also had first quarter touchdown passes to Andy Johnson and Daryl Stingley to give the Pats their initial lead before McCray’s two touchdowns turned the game into a rout.

A little more on Namath's dismal day. His final stat line was 13-36 for 176 yards, 1 TD and 5 INT; that works out to a 44% completion percentage and a passer rating of 29.2.



November 21, 1982:
Cleveland Browns 10, New England Patriots 7 at Municipal Stadium

Both teams showed a lot of rust in their first game in nine weeks after the player's strike ended. Tony Collins ran for 80 yards on 18 carries to lead the Pats, and Mark van Eeghen added 63 more on 13 rushes.



November 21, 1993:
Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 13 at Joe Robbie Stadium

The Pats played the heavily favored Dolphins close on the road, but came up short when Miami’s Steve DeBerg threw two 4th quarter touchdowns – one to future Patriot Keith Byars, and the game-winner to former Patriot Irving Fryar. The Pats responded with a 40-yard touchdown from Drew Bledsoe to Ray Crittenden but time ran out before they could get the ball back. Vincent Brisby led Pats receivers on the day with six receptions for 89 yards.



November 21, 1999:
Miami Dolphins 27, New England Patriots 17 at Pro Player Stadium

Shawn Jefferson scored on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Drew Bledsoe but other than that the Pats offense sputtered for the second week in a row, as the Pats lost to the 8-2 Dolphins. The Patriots recovered a fumble to set up Terry Allen's 6-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but Bledsoe threw five interceptions on the day. The other points came on an Adam Vinatieri field goal that was set up by a 43-yard run by Kevin Faulk, and then a 17-yard pass to Ben Coates.



November 21, 2010:
New England Patriots 31, Indianapolis Colts 28 at Gillette Stadium

Devin McCourty, Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders each intercepted a Peyton Manning pass and the Pats cruised to their 8th victory of the season.

Tom Brady was near perfect, completing 76% of his passes and throwing no interceptions. Brady's touchdown passes of 22 yards to Wes Welker and 8 yards to Aaron Hernandez gave the Pats a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Pats still led by 17 late in the 4th quarter before Indy scored twice to make the final score close.

Danny Woodhead got plenty of positive national attention when he scored on a beautiful, shifty 36-yard run in the 3rd quarter to put the Pats up 28-14, and then made a great tackle on the ensuing kickoff.

The win gave Bill Belichick 171 victories as a head coach. With the win he passed his idol Paul Brown on the all-time list and tied Joe Gibbs for 11th most in NFL history.



November 21, 2011:
New England Patriots 34, Kansas City Chiefs 3 at Gillette Stadium

Rob Gronkowski caught two touchdown passes from Tom Brady and Julian Edelman returned a punt 72 yards for a TD as the Pats cruised to an easy victory on Monday Night Football, and opened up a two-game lead in the AFC East.

After a sluggish first quarter the Pats got on the board with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Gronk. The Chiefs had been effectively bringing pressure, but the Patriot defense had been doing the same, with Rob Ninkovich, Mark Anderson and Andre Carter combining for three sacks.

In the third quarter a 25-yard completion to BenJarvus Green-Ellis moved Brady past Boomer Esiason for 15th place on the NFL's all-time passing yardage list. Before the quarter was over Brady hit Gronk on a 19-yard TD, Edelman scored on his punt return, Kyle Arrington had his second interception of the night, and Stephen Gostkowski connected on his second field goal to give the Pats a 27-3 lead.

Gronk finished with 96 yards receiving, though he gave fans a scare when he landed awkwardly on his neck on his second TD. Shane Vereen scored in garbage time for his first NFL touchdown, and Phillip Adams got the first interception of his NFL career, and only one with New England.



Happy Birthday to Honor Jackson, born November 21, 1948
Patriot safety, 1972-1973
Uniform #59
Five interceptions in 20 games with the Patriots, including four in '72.

Happy Birthday to Lee Smith, born November 21, 1987
Patriot TE, 2011 offseason
Uniform #80
Pats 5th round (159th overall) selection in the 2011 draft, from Marshall.

♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯​

November 21, 1950:
A one time neighbor of mine from many many moons ago, Livingston Taylor was born on this day in Boston.

​

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 22​

November 22, 1959:
RB Ron Burton became the first ever draft pick of the Boston Patriots.

Others drafted: DB Billy Brewer, HB Dave Ames, HB Buddy Allen, QB Harvey White, HB Joe Kulbacki, OT Ron Mix, DB Gary Wisener, HB Gerhard Schwedes and LB Jack Rudolph.



November 22, 1962:
Steve DeOssie was born in Tacoma; LB played with the Pats in 1994-95.



November 22, 1963:
Hugh Millen was born in Des Moines; QB played with the Pats in 1991-92.



November 22, 1970:
New York Jets 17, Boston Patriots 3 at Shea Stadium

This game was emblematic of the short-lived Joe Kapp era. In Clive Rush's second game as head coach Kapp completed four of the 17 passes he threw, the Pats leading receiver was Bake Turner, and the leading rusher was Odell Lawson. ‘Nuff said.



November 22, 1981:
Buffalo Bills 20, New England Patriots 17 at Rich Stadium

The Bills won on a Hail Mary pass from Joe Ferguson to Roland Hooks for the win, negating an excellent comeback by the Pats.

Late in the 4th quarter Matt Cavanaugh hit Stanley Morgan on a 65-yard completion which brought the Pats down to the Buffalo five-yard line. With less than two minutes to play Cavanaugh connected with Don Hasselbeck for a touchdown which gave the Patriots a 17-13 lead. On the ensuing possession Rick Sanford intercepted a Ferguson pass and the Pats seemed to be on their way to a victory.

As Bills fans streamed out of the stadium, Buffalo used all three of their timeouts on defense and managed to get the ball back on their own 27 with 35 seconds left to play. The Pats secondary had the Bills receivers covered, but Ferguson found Hooks – who was in the game only because starter Joe Cribbs had been injured earlier – for a 37 yard completion down the middle. With the clock ticking Ferguson spiked the ball, for one last play from the Pats 36. Hooks and two Buffalo receivers lined up on the right and took off. The Pats had the coverage they needed and Mike Hawkins got his hands on the pass … but before it hit the ground Hooks dove and caught the ball for the winning score with five seconds left on the clock.

Stanley Morgan finished with 141 yards receiving, but of course nobody remebered that considering what transpired in the final drive.



November 22, 1984:
Dallas Cowboys 20, New England Patriots 17 at Texas Stadium

This game marked a new milestone in Patriot franchise history: playing on Thanksgiving. The Pats did not embarrass themselves in front of a nationwide audience, but did end up on with a loss. Dallas edged the Patriots on a field goal with four seconds left to play after Danny White marched the Cowboys 55 yards on ten plays as the clock was running out, evening both team’s records at 8-5.

Considering the Dallas defense scored on a pick-6 and also registered ten sacks on Tony Eason, the Patriots were probably fortunate to even be in a position to win the game late. The Pats were down 17-3 at the start of the 4th quarter but Eason threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Ramsey (5 catches for 71 yards) and then scored on a one-yard keeper to tie the game. Raymond Clayborn had an interception to keep things close, and Craig James ran for 112 yards on 19 carries for the Patriots.



November 22, 1984: Josh Barrett was born in Reno, Nevada.
Patriot safety, 2011-2012.



November 22, 1987:
New England Patriots 24, Indianapolis Colts 0 at the Hoosier Dome

With both Tony Eason and Steve Grogan hurt, the Pats defense and special team units carried the team to a victory with a shutout over the Colts. The win put the Pats in a five-way tie for first place in the AFC East as every team in the division had identical 5-5 records.

Third-string QB Tom Ramsey got a win in his first NFL start, and threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Irving Fryar in the 2nd quarter. In the 3rd quarter Willie Scott returned a blocked punt three yards for a TD, and then Ronnie Lippett intercepted a pass and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown for the final score of the game. Andre Tippett had three sacks, Jim Bowman had two interceptions, a fumble recovery and eight tackles, Ernest Gibson had an interception, and collectively the Pats forced five turnovers.

On offense Stanley Morgan had five catches for 102 yards and Bob Perryman had ten carries for 73 yards, including a 48-yard run. Morgan moved into seventh place in NFL history with 9,294 yards receiving for his career during the game, passing his coach, all-time great Raymond Berry.


November 22, 1987: Malcolm Williams was born in Grand Prarie, Texas.
Pats 7th round (219th overall) selection of the 2011 draft, from TCU.
Patriot CB, 2011-2012.



November 22, 1992:
New England Patriots 24, New York Jets 3 at Foxboro

John Stephens ran for two touchdowns and Jon Vaughn rushed for a career-high 110 yards as the Pats easily handled the Jets. The Pats defense recorded four sacks and two interceptions, limiting Browning Nagle to just nine completions in 24 pass attempts and only 77 yards.



November 22, 2004:
New England Patriots 27, Kansas City Chiefs 19 at Arrowhead Stadium

The Pats improved to 9-1 in front of a Monday Night Football audience as Deion Branch had six catches for 105 yards and Corey Dillon rushed for 98 yards. Dillon ran for two touchdowns, Rodney Harrison had a critical interception, Ty Warren had two sacks, and Daniel Graham had three catches for 83 yards.



November 22, 2009:
New England Patriots 31, New York Jets 14 at Gillette Stadium

Leigh Bodden started things off with a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown and the Pats breezed to their 7th win of the year. Laurence Maroney ran for two touchdowns and Wes Welker had fifteen receptions for 192 yards for the Pats, while Bodden finished the game with three picks.



November 22, 2012:
New England Patriots 49, New York Jets 19 at MetLife Stadium

The Butt Fumble Game.​

35 points in the 2nd quarter. 21 points in the span of 52 seconds. The Patriots forced five turnovers. Steve Gregory scored a TD on Mark Sanchez' butt fumble. On the ensuing kickoff Devin McCourty forced a fumble and Julian Edelman returned it 22 yards for another TD. All this came 43 seconds after Shane Vereen scored on an 83-yard catch and ran for a touchdown. Pats improved to 8-3 while Rex and the Jets dropped to 4-7.

♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯​

November 22, 1946:
Aston Barrett of Bob Marley and the Wailers was born in Kingston, Jamaica

November 22, 1949:
Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, and The Sopranos was born in Winthrop, Mass

November 22, 1950:
Bass player Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club was born in Coronado, California

November 22, 1968:
The Beatles released the White Album.

November 22, 1975:
That’s The Way (uh huh uh huh) I Like It by KC and the Sunshine Band became the new number one single

November 22, 1994:
Pearl Jam released their third album, Vitalogy.

November 22, 1997:
INXS singer Michael Hutchence died.

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 23​

November 23, 1962:
Boston Patriots 21, Buffalo Bills 10 at Nickerson Field

Tom Yewcic completed over 70% of his passes and threw for three touchdowns as the Pats improved to 7-3-1.

After Jack Kemp scored on a 6-yard run to give Buffalo an early lead, Yewcic hit Jim Colclough with a 31-yard TD. He then connected with Ron Burton on a 69-yard pass to give the Pats a 14-7 halftime lead. The Bills closed to within four with a 3rd quarter field goal, and then Yewcic threw an 18-yard 4th quarter touchdown pass to Gino Cappelletti to finish the scoring. Yewcic ended up with 231 yards passing, Burton had 133 total yards from scrimmage and Colclough finished with 72 yards receiving.



November 23, 1969:
Boston Patriots 35, Buffalo Bills 21 at Alumni Stadium

Mike Taliaferro threw three touchdown and Carl Garrett had 226 all-purpose yards as the Pats rallied in the 4th quarter to beat the Bills.

Taliaferro threw two first quarter touchdowns to Charley Frazier, and then in the 2nd quarter hit Ron Sellers (5 catches for 102 yards) on a 35-yard TD to give the Pats a 21-7 lead. However, Buffalo came back on a pair of touchdown passes from Jack Kemp to Haven Moses and the score was tied at 21 entering the 4th quarter. Jim Nance found the end zone on a 2-yard plunge and then Garrett scampered 65 yards for the final score.

The Pats defense did an excellent job, picking Kemp off four times; Ed Philpott had two interceptions, and Larry Carwell and John Charles had one each. Garrett finished the game with 96 yards on 13 rushes, two receptions for 26 yards, a 63-yard kickoff return, and a 41-yard punt return.



November 23, 1975:
Buffalo Bills 45, New England Patriots 31 at Rich Stadium

Sam Cunningham ran for 100 yards and scored three times in a see-saw battle in Buffalo.

Joe Ferguson‘s 77-yard touchdown pass to J.D. Hill gave the Bills an early 14-0 lead, but the Pats tied it on two scores by Cunningham: a 10-yard run and an 11-yard pass from Steve Grogan. After Buffalo regained the lead Grogan connected with Russ Francis on a 21-yard touchdown pass to cut the Bills' lead to 24-21 at halftime.

Cunningham’s third touchdown of the day gave the Pats the lead, but O.J. Simpson (who had scored earlier on a 2-yard run) caught a 3-yard pass from Ferguson to give the Bills a 31-28 lead after three quarters. John Smith's 34-yard field goal tied it but Simpson scored two more times, on a 1-yard run and a 3-yard pass, to win it for Buffalo.

For the Patriots Grogan finished the game with 365 yards passing, Cunningham had 100 yards on 19 carries, Francis had 7 receptions for 125 yards, and Randy Vataha had 5 catches for 96 yards.



November 23, 1980:
New England Patriots 47, Baltimore Colts 21 at Schaefer Stadium

The Pats ran for 245 yards and the defense forced five Baltimore turnovers – returning three of them for touchdowns – as the Patriots steamrolled the Colts in Foxboro.

The Patriots led 10-0 at halftime, and then Rod Shoate picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. After a Colts TD and a John Smith field goal the Pats led 20-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Rick Sanford recovered a fumble and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown to give the Pats a 20-point lead, but two touchdown runs by Baltimore’s Curtis ****ey sandwiched around a 9-yard TD pass from Matt Cavanugh to Carlos Pennywell cut the lead to 33-21. Don Calhoun (19 carries for 106 yards) then scored his second touchdown of the game, and Allan Clark finished things off with a touchdown on a 15-yard fumble return.

Defensively Steve Nelson and Roland James each also had an interception, while on offense Vagas Ferguson joined Calhoun with 100 yards rushing of his own. The rare feat of two New England players rushing for 100 yards in the same game would not be repeated until 2012, against the Bills. Coincidentally the three touchdown returns was a record for both the Pats and the Colts; it would be repeated 32 years later in the Pats 59-24 win over the Colts in 2012.



November 23, 1986:
New England Patriots 22, Buffalo Bills 19 at Sullivan Stadium

Greg Baty's 13-yard touchdown pass from Tony Eason gave the Patriots a come from behind win, for the Pats sixth consecutive victory and a 9-3 record on the season.

The Pats seemed to be in control early, scoring on a safety, a Craig James run, and a pair of Tony Franklin field goals before a Scott Norwood field goal got the Bills on the scoreboard as the Pats led 15-3 at halftime.

The Patriots couldn't get much going offensively in the second half and Buffalo kept chipping away. Norwood booted three more field goals and then Jim Kelly threw a touchdown pass to give the Bills their first lead of the game, 19-15, before Baty's game-winner.

Tony Collins had 8 receptions for 84 yards to lead the Pats offense. Defensively Raymond Clayborn and Ronnie Lippett each had an interception while Johnny Rembert had a pair of sacks, and Don Blackmon, Larry McGrew, Steve Nelson and Brent Williams had one sack apiece.



November 23, 1997:
New England Patriots 27, Miami Dolphins 24 at Foxboro

The Pats jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead and held on to beat Dan Marino and the Dolphins.

In the 2nd quarter a wide open Troy Brown scored on a 35-yard option pass from Dave Meggett to give the Patriots a 10-3 lead. About three minutes before halftime Larry Whigham picked Marino off and returned the ball 60 yards to put the the Pats up by two scores. Miami drove down the field and with 20 seconds left on the clock Jimmy Hitchcock one-upped Whigham, returning an interception 100 yards for another New England touchdown. Adam Vinatieri kicked what turned out to be the game winning points on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter with his second field goal of the game. Miami scored three times on one-yard runs by Karim Abdul-Jabbar but the Pats were able to hang on for the win, despite Miami recovering two onside kicks. With the victory the Pats moved in to a second place tie at 7-5 with Miami in the AFC East.



November 23, 1998:
New England Patriots 26, Miami Dolphins 23 at Foxboro Stadium

On Monday Night Football the Patriots rallied for a 4th quarter victory on Shawn Jefferson's 25-yard touchdown reception from Drew Bledsoe in a game which took second billing to news that the Patriots would be moving to Hartford in 2001.

The winning touchdown capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive with Bledsoe gutting it out after jamming his finger on his throwing hand after slamming it on a helmet, converting two 4th-and-10’s on the drive.

The Pats abandoned the run in this game, throwing the ball 54 times while running it just 19 times. Bledsoe finished the game with 423 yards passing. Jefferson had six catches for 131 yards and one TD; Ben Coates had nine catches for 78 yards and a TD; and Adam Vinatieri was 4-for-4 on field goals of 25, 44, 45 and 24 yards.



November 23, 2000:
Detroit Lions 34, New England Patriots 9 at the Pontiac Silverdome

The Pats only points came on three Adam Vinatieri field goals as they lost in their second-ever Thanksgiving game.

The game was actually a lot closer than the final score would indicate, with the Patriots leading 9-6 in the 3rd quarter before Detroit took the lead on a 1-yard TD pass by Charlie Batch. Then in the 4th quarter the Lions scored three times. The dagger was set up when a Drew Bledsoe pass was intercepted deep in Patriots territory, setting up a TD; the exclamation point was a 101-yard interception return by Bryant Westbrook off another Bledsoe pick with 4:13 to go. After that turnover Bledsoe was done for the day, replaced by rookie Tom Brady. In his first NFL game Brady went 1-3 for six yards.

After the game was over Willie McGinest led a players only meeting, saying that “I told them that I take these games personally. Our team has to be accountable for our mistakes. As a team, this can’t go on.”



November 23, 2003:
New England Patriots 23, Houston Texans 20 at Reliant Stadium

The Pats won in overtime for the second time of the year, and won their 7th game in a row. Adam Vinatieri rebounded from one field goal attempt that bounced off the upright and another that was blocked by kicking a 28-yard game-winning field goal. Mike Vrabel had intercepted a pass on the first play from scrimmage in overtime but a Texan broke through from the left side to block Vinatieri’s first OT kick. The victory improved the Pats record to 9-2, their best ever after 11 games.

Tom Brady threw for 368 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to Bethel Johnson and later a 4-yard TD to Daniel Graham to tie the game and send it to overtime. Earlier in the game Johnson, who got the start due to an injury to Troy Brown, made a nice play to strip the ball away after the Texans had intercepted Brady; his recovery set up a field goal by Vinatieri. Houston had taken the lead when they scored a TD after a fumble by Brady, and a field goal after a blocked punt.

Kevin Faulk had 188 yards from scrimmage, with eight receptions for 108 yards and 80 yards rushing. On defense Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour both had a sack, and Mike Vrabel had an interception.



November 23, 2008:
New England Patriots 48, Miami Dolphins 28 at Dolphin Stadium

Randy Moss caught three touchdown passes as the Pats broke open a tight game with 31 second half points.

Matt Cassel was 30-43 for 415 yards and three touchdowns as the Dolphins were able to force the Pats to punt just one time; for Cassel it was his second straight 400-yard game. Moss finished with eight catches for 125 yards, Wes Welker had eight receptions for 120 yards, Jabar Gaffney had five catches for 88 yards, and Kevin Faulk had 105 yards from scrimmage (53 rushing, 52 receiving). Besides Moss's three touchdowns the Pats also scored three rushing touchdowns (by Cassel, Faulk and BenJarvus Green-Ellis), and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a pair of field goals.

Brandon Meriweather's interception with under nine minutes to play (on the first play from scrimmage after the third touchdown by Moss) pretty much sealed the victory, with the Pats up 38-28. Four plays later after a Gostkowski field goal made it 41-28, Matt Light famously had enough of Channing Crowder , and you can see the result below.





November 23, 2014:
New England Patriots 34, Detroit Lions 9 at Gillette Stadium

The Patriots were productive in all three phases of the game, cruising to their seventh straight victory. Tom Brady threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns on the 14th anniversary of his pro football debut. Jonas Gray was benched a week after his 201-yard performance, so newly re-signed LeGarrette Blount stepped in and ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns. NFC South division leading Detroit was only able to score three field goals as the Patriot defense made crucial stops all afternoon.

Ryan Allen boomed a 66 yard punt early, and after a 3-and-out the Pats were in good field position. Tim Wright scored on the first of his two touchdown receptions, and then Danny Amendola's 81 yard kickoff return set up a Blount TD. It was the sixth game of the season that New England won by at least 22 points, and stopped a four game winning streak by the Lions.



November 23, 2015:
New England Patriots 20, Buffalo Bills 13 at Gillette Stadium

The Patriots won their tenth straight game in what turned out to be the final game between Rex Ryan and Bill Belichick. James White caught a 20 yard pass for the first touchdown of his pro career just before the half, and then ran for a 6-yard score in the third quarter to put the Pats up for good. Ryan dropped to 4-11 versus the Patriots and 5-5 in his final season as a head coach. The Patriots improved to 10-0 but finished the game without just two healthy receiver after Danny Amendola - who had nine receptions for 117 yards - was sidelined with a knee injury. Future Patriot Stephon Gilmore picked off a 4th quarter Brady pass to keep the game close, but Buffalo was unable to score on their final possession.



Happy Birthday to the following:

Ricky Jean-Francois (November 23, 1986)
Uniform #94
Patriot DL, 2017-

Marvin Allen (November 23, 1965)
Pats 11th round (294th overall) selection of the 1988 draft, from Tulane.
Uniform #39
Patriot RB, 1988-1991.

Ron Spears (November 23, 1959)
Uniform #78
Patriot DE, 1982-1983.

Mel Witt (November 23, 1945)
Pats 5th round (128th overall) selection of the 1967 draft, from Texas-Arlington.
Uniform #70 and #71
Patriot DE, 1967-1970.

♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯ ♪ ♫ ♮ ♯​

November 23, 1992:
Miley Ray Cyrus was born in Nashville.

November 23, 1994:
Songwriter Tommy Boyce died; he wrote Last Train To Clarksville and Steppin’ Stone for the Monkees.

November 23, 1995:
Singer and saxophonist Junior Walker died; besides his solo career he also played sax on Urgent for Foreigner.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

The defending Super Bowl champs overcame a 27-6 deficit to defeat the Bears. Chicago was leading 30-25 with under three minutes to go but the Pats defense forced a three and out. Troy Brown returned a short (32-yard) punt eleven yards, and the Pats had the ball on their own 44-yard line.

November 10, 1980:
Houston Oilers 38, New England Patriots 34 at the Houston Astrodome

This Monday Night Football matchup between two of the league’s best teams lived up to the hype in an exciting game, though the Patriots did not emerge victorious. Just as was the case two years earlier in the Pats first ever home playoff game, Earl Campbell carried the Oilers to a victory on his back.

The winning TD was the infamous time both Mike Haynes and Ray Clayborn had clear paths to intercepting the hapless Stabler's ball...but they ran into each other, the ball tipped up off both their fingertips...right to Mike Renfro, who took it all the way.

That 1980 season was literally filled with unbelievably unfortunate plays at the worst times for the Pats, every one of which was necessary to keep them out of the playoffs.

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History: November 24​

November 24, 1968:
Miami Dolphins 34, Boston Patriots 10 at Fenway Park

The Pats took an early lead but Miami broke the game open in the 4th quarter.

Early on the Patriots drove inside the Dolphins ten yard line but settled for a short field goal by Gino Cappelletti; when they got the ball back rookie Aaron Marsh scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Tom Sherman, and the Pats led 10-0 after one quarter. In the 2nd quarter Larry Csonka scored on 9-yard pass from Bob Griese and the Dolphins added two field goals to head into halftime with a 13-10 lead.

Another short Griese TD pass put Miami up 20-10 after three quarters. The Pats appeared to be about to close the gap when they drove deep into Miami territory, but **** Anderson intercepted a pass by Sherman and ran it back 96 yards for a touchdown. The 14-point swing effectively ended the game.



November 24, 1974:
New England Patriots 27, Baltimore Colts 17 at Memorial Stadium

Jim Plunkett passed for one touchdown and ran for another in a 17-point 2nd quarter, and the Pats cruised from there to improve their record to 7-4 to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Plunkett completed 17 of 26 passes for 194 yards with no interceptions, including a two-yard scoring toss to John Tanner to put the first points of the game on the board in the second quarter. After the Colts scored in the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 17-10, Mack Herron found the end zone on a one-yard run, and then John Smith's second field goal put the game out of reach. The Pats defense came up with the turnovers to stifle Baltimore, including interceptions by Jack Mildren and John Sanders.



November 24, 1985:
New York Jets 16, New England Patriots 13 in OT at the Meadowlands

The Pats six-game winning streak came to an end when Pat Leahy kicked his third field goal of the game in overtime.

Steve Grogan, who had taken over for the ineffective Tony Eason after a 2-3 start, suffered a broken leg early in this game. The Jets moved into sole possession of first place with a 9-3 record while the Pats dropped one game behind them at 8-4.

After the Jets opened up a 13-3 lead on an 88-yard pass from Ken O’Brien to Wesley Walker the Pats tied it up in the 4th quarter on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Eason to Cedric Jones, and Tony Franklin's second field goal of the game. Craig James rushed for 108 yards on 14 carries and added another 58 yards on six receptions for the Pats; on defense they sacked O’Brien six times, including three by Julius Adams.



November 24, 1991:
New England Patriots 16, Buffalo Bills 13 at Foxboro Stadium

On Steve Grogan Fan Appreciation Day the Pats ended a four-game losing streak in which all the losses came in the final minutes, upsetting the heavily favored Bills and handing Buffalo just their second loss of the season.

The Patriots defense was spectacular, intercepting four Jim Kelly passes and also sacking the Buffalo QB four times. Kelly's longest completion went for just 14 yards and the Pats blanketed James Lofton, limiting him to just one catch – and then forcing and recovering a fumble on that play.

Buffalo led 10-0 early but the Pats came back with a 46-yard field goal by Charlie Baumann, and then a 50-yard touchdown from Hugh Millen to Irving Fryar to cut the lead to 10-9 at halftime. A 34-yard pass from Millen to Fryar set up the game-winning score, a two-yard quarterback sneak by Millen with 13:09 left to play.

Millen finished with 263 yards passing and Fryar had six receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown. Fryar was named the AFC Offensive Player Of the Week for his performance in this game.



November 24, 1996:
New England Patriots 27, Indianapolis Colts 13 at Foxboro Stadium

Curtis Martin rushed for 141 yards on a season-high 35 carries as the Pats got their fifth win in six games, and improved to 8-4. The victory allowed the Pats to stay within one game of first place Buffalo, while opening up a two-game lead over the third place Colts.

The Patriots dominated the whole game, leading 17-0 before the Colts had made even a single first down. Martin had 92 yards rushing by halftime and set a team record with his 16th touchdown of the season.

The Colts were without DT Tony Siragusa and the Pats made a concerted effort to run at his replacement behind LT Max Lane. The effective running set up play action passes, with Drew Bledsoe throwing touchdown passes to Shawn Jefferson and Terry Glenn to put the Pats up 17-0.

The Patriots were just as productive on defense, holding Marshall Faulk to 25 yards on 10 carries and knocking QB Jim Harbaugh out of the game. The only Indianapolis touchdown came with less than three minutes to play with the Pats up by 21 points.



November 24, 2002:
New England Patriots 24, Minnesota Vikings 17 at Gillette Stadium

Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and the Patriots recovered three Minnesota fumbles to improve their record to 6-5.

The Pats jumped out to a 21-0 lead when they scored on each of their first three possessions, ending in Brady TD passes of 9 yards and 1 yard to Christian Fauria, and a 5-yarder to Troy Brown. For Fauria that was his sixth touchdown of the year, after totaling seven touchdowns in his previous seven NFL seasons combined.

Up by three scores the Pats got the ball again when Richard Seymour recovered a Minnesota fumble by Randy Moss with 2:14 left to play in the half. Unfortunately the Pats could not deliver the knock out punch. Due to a strong wind the Pats went for it on 4th and 10 rather than attempt a field goal, and Brady was sacked at the 39. Minnesota drove down the field and scored to make it 21-7 at halftime.

The wind came in to play again in the 3rd quarter when a Ken Walter punt traveled only 24 yards. The Vikings took advantage of the field position and scored on Daunte Culpepper's second touchdown pass to make it 21-14.

Turnabout was fair play though as Minnesota had the wind in their face on their final drive. A long pass from Culpepper to Moss fell short with 25 seconds to play, and on 4th down Culpepper's next pass sailed wide of his target.



November 24, 2013:
New England Patriots 34, Denver Bronocs 31 in OT at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots rallied from a 24-0 deficit in one of the best comebacks in team (and NFL) history in front of a national Sunday night audience.

Stephen Gostkowski's game winning 31-yard field goal came with just 1:56 remaining in overtime. It was set up on a Denver special teams gaffe by two former Patriots. Tony Carter was attempting to block Patriots running downfield in coverage but ran into Ryan Allen's punt after it bounced. Denver punt returner Wes Welker appeared to be late in waving off the punt, and Carter did not see or hear the former Patriot. Nate Ebner recovered to set up Gostkowski's kick.

Early on it appeared to be another National Guard game, as the Patriots turned the ball over on a fumble on each of their first three drives. The rest of the first half possessions weren't much better: three punts and a failed fourth down conversion.

The Patriots drove 80 yards to open the second half and score their first touchdown on a 5-yard pass to Julian Edelman. The Pats got the ball back when Dane Fletcher forced a fumble and Brandon Spikes recovered at the Denver 32. That led to a Brandon Bolden rushing TD, and the Bronco lead was quickly cut to 24-14.

A sack by Jamie Collins on third down forced a punt, and the Patriots scored again. Tom Brady connected with Kenbrell Thompkis for 14 and then Edelman for a gain of 42 on the first two plays of the drive. Brady hit Rob Gronkowski on 3rd down for a 6-yard TD, and just before the third quarter ended it was a three-point game.

Three plays later Logan Ryan picked off a Peyton Manning pass for Eric Decker. Three more plays after that Brady's 14-yard TD pass to Edelman gave the Patriots their first lead of the game, 28-24. After forcing a three and out the Pats had the ball and the momentum. New England drove deep but could not capitalize on a 1st and ten at the 14, settling for a field goal.

The rout appeared to continue when Aqib Talib intercepted Manning on Denver's first play of the ensuing possession, but that was nullified by a penalty. The Broncos scored to tie the game with 3:10 remaining, and both offenses were forced to punt in the final minutes. Overtime consisted of four more punts before the muff that set up the game-winning field goal.

The much hyped meeting between Brady and Manning was extremely one-sided. TB12 threw for 344 yards, 3 TD and no interceptions. Manning was just 19-36 for 150 yards (a net of 132 after two sacks), 2 TD and 1 INT, averaging just 4.2 yards per pass.



Happy Birthday to **** Christy (11/24/1935-7/8/1966)
Patriot HB/KR, 1960
Uniform #23
Christy was a jack-of-all trades in the inaugural 1960 season for the Boston Patriots. The North Carolina State alum caught three touchdown passes, rushed for two more, returned 24 kickoffs and eight punts. Christy was also 6-11, passing for two more touchdowns.

The Packers drafted the All-American in the third round (27th overall) of the 1958 draft, but was injured in the College All-Star game prior to the start of his rookie season. He was also an AFL All-Star in 1962. In 1966 he signed to play in the old Atlantic Coast Football league, but died in an automobile accident at the age of 30.


Happy Birthday to Artrell Hawkins, born November 24, 1976
Patriot safety, 2005-2006
Uniform #25
Hawkins appeared in 19 regular season games with 16 starts for the Patriots, plus five playoff games in his 1½ seasons in Foxboro. In a bit of Pats history trivia, Hawkins was the player signed (re-signed) when Willie McGinest was released in 2006. Hawkins now works in sports talk radio in Cincinnati, where he went to college and spent his first six seasons in the NFL.

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November 24, 1939:
Jim Yester was born in Birmingham; he was guitar player and original lead singer for The Association (Windy, Along Comes Mary, Never My Love).

November 24, 1941:
Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn was born in Memphis; he was bass player for Booker T & the MGs and also for The Blues Brothers.

November 24, 1941:
Pete Best was born in India; he was the original drummer for the Beatles.

November 24, 1991:
The vocalist for Queen, Freddie Mercury died from complications of the AIDS virus.

November 24, 1993:
The Ice Man, the Master of the Telecaster, guitar player Albert Collins died. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential blues musicians of all time.

 

[jmt57]

Today In Patriots History: November 25​

November 25, 1960 at Nickerson Field
Houston Oilers 24, Boston Patriots 10
Head Coaches: Lou Saban, Lou Rymkus
Quarterbacks: Butch Songin, Jacky Lee

The game is most notable for being the first sellout in the history of the AFL, played in front of 27,123 fans at Boston University Field. The Pats entered the game on a three game winning streak to close within two games behind the Oilers in the AFL East. The Pats turned the ball over three times and were unable to get anything going on offense. Boston had a net of just eight yards rushing (sacks were considered negative running plays at that time). Joe Johnson was the lone bright spot on offense with five receptions for 123 yards, including a 51 yard touchdown reception to make the score 10-7 in the third quarter.

Houston was led by wide receivers Bill Groman (9 catches for 171 yards, including an 8-yard TD catch on a halfback option pass) and Charley Hennigan (7 receptions for 113 yards). The Oilers would go on to win the AFL East and then defeat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 on New Year's Day to win the first American Football League championship.