Patriots By the Numbers, Fun Facts Before the Cardinals Kickoff

The Patriots will open the 2016 NFL season on the road in Phoenix against the Cardinals on Sunday Night Football. The team traveled a day early on Friday and are putting their final prep for the contest on Saturday.

So with the wait before the game on Sunday night, here are some interesting numbers to pore over.

0: Games started by Jimmy Garoppolo, Sunday will be his first

1: Wins by the Patriots over NFC opponents on Opening Weekend. Record is 1-3

4: Super Bowl wins by HC Bill Belichick, tied for most with Chuck Noll

4: Number of times Tom Brady has led the NFL in TD passes. Tied with Len Dawson, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas, and Steve Young

5: Number of consecutive Conference Title games by NE, tied with Oakland (73-77)

7: Number of consecutive Division Titles by NE, tied with Rams (73-79)

7: Number of consecutive years in the playoffs, only five teams have reached 8 in a row

13: Number of Division Titles by Belichick, tied with Tom Landry, and Don Shula

13: Number of consecutive 10-win seasons by NE

15: Consecutive winning seasons by NE, can tie SF, Dallas for most since 1970 merger

17: Number of seasons by Tom Brady, most in team history passing Steve Grogan

23: Post-season wins by Bill Belichick, most in NFL history. Landry (20) is second.

29: Consecutive games with a sack by NE the longest current streak in the NFL

31: Wins on opening day by the Patriots, overall record of 31-25

38: Number of playoff games played by the Patriots since Robert Kraft bought the team. Most in the NFL, Green Bay is second with 33.

38: Wins by the Pats since 2001 in games decided by 3 points or fewer. Top winning percentage in the NFL with .717 (38-15) during that time.

44: Number of wins (44-5) since 2008 when the Patriots don’t turn over the ball

45: Wins by the Patriots over NFC opponents since 2002, NFL best record of 45-11

55: Road wins since 2006, Pats road record of 55-25 best in the NFL

64: TD passes to Gronk from Tom Brady, second most in NFL history between a QB and TE. Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates lead with 77

66: Career touchdowns by Rob Gronkowski, needs three to pass Stanley Morgan (68) for most in Patriots history.

71: Divisional wins by NE since 2001 (71-21), most in the NFL. Indianapolis (67) is 2^nd

81: Number of consecutive victories at home by NE when leading at halftime

83: Road wins by NE since 2000, tops in the NFL, Philadelphia is 2^nd with 78

134: Pats record of 134-42 is the best in the NFL the last decade with a winning pct of .761. Indy next with 118 wins (118-58), winning pct of .658

137: Yards rushed by Tony Collins on 21 carries against Baltimore in 1982 opener

183: Yards receiving by Randy Moss on 9 catches against the Jets in 2007 opener

194: Wins by Tom Brady combined regular/post season. Needs 7 to pass Manning (200), Favre (199) for most career wins by a QB

428: Career TD passes by Tom Brady, tied with Drew Brees for 3^rd all-time in the NFL

517: Yards thrown by Tom Brady on 32 completions vs Miami in 2011 opener

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About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)

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