Monday, January 14, 2013
The New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens for the second consecutive season in the AFC Championship game next Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Winner advances to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans.
On Saturday the galaxy aligned for the AFC Championship game to return to Foxborough for a second straight season after the Baltimore Ravens upset the Denver Broncos, 38-35 in double overtime of the AFC Divisional Round. All that stood between the Patriots and a return to the AFC Championship game was a Lone Star - the Houston Texans. On Sunday, that star burned out in Foxborough as the Patriots rolled past Houston, 41-28. Now, for the fifth time in team history, the AFC Championship game will be played in Foxborough. The Patriots are 4-0 all-time in AFC title games at home and 7-1 overall. "It’s good to be able to play in the AFC Championship Game next week," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "I’m really proud of our players; I …
Friday, January 11, 2013
The New England Patriots host the Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the AFC Divisional Round. Here’s a roundup of where and when to catch all the NFL playoff action this weekend.
The divisional round of the NFL playoffs begins this weekend in Denver when the Broncos host the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Locally, the New England Patriots host the Houston Texans Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Kick-off in Foxborough is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Patriots fans hoping for another AFC Championship game in Foxborough will be tuning in Saturday to cheer on the Ravens against Peyton Manning and the Broncos while fans wanting to see a Brady-Manning showdown with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line will be favoring the Broncos Saturday. Of course, in either scenario, the Patriots need to knock off the Houston Texans Sunday to advance. On the NFC side of the playoff bracket, the Green Bay Packers travel to San Francisco…
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Tickets to the Jan. 13 AFC Divisional Playoff game in Foxborough go on sale to the general public on Monday, Jan. 7.
Hosting playoff games in Foxborough used to be rarity for the New England Patriots and its fans prior to the Robert Kraft era. In fact, the Patriots hosted just one playoff game in the first 34 years of the franchise's history - a loss to the Houston Oilers in 1978 - prior to Kraft buying the team in 1994. Since then, the Patriots have qualified for the playoffs 14 times, including 12 times as AFC East division champions. With a 12-4 regular season record in 2012, the Patriots claimed their fourth consecutive division title and enter this year’s playoffs as the second seed in the AFC. It is the fourth time in franchise history that the team has earned the second seed. What's better is that in three of those seasons the Patriots advanced to…