The New England Patriots will be playing in their 11th AFC championship game Sunday when they take on the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium at 6:40 p.m.
New England is 7-3 in its previous 10 appearances with a 4-1 home mark, 3-1 at Gillette Stadium.
This will be the fourth consecutive year New England plays in the conference title game. Here’s a look at the Patriots’ previous results:
Jan. 12, 1986
New England 31, Miami 14
First time in the AFC final for the Pats, clad in red – and doesn’t that bring you back. Coach Raymond Berry got a victory ride from Larry McGrew after beating the Dolphins in 1986.
The Patriots had lost their previous 18 games at the Orange Bowl, but forced six turnovers and rushed for 255 yards to spring the upset. Miami led 7-3 but Tony Eason threw touchdown passes to Tony Collins, Derrick Ramsey and Robert Weathers to put New England in the lead. Craig James ran for 105 yards.
Jan. 12, 1997
New England 20, Jacksonville 6
Then there was the time Jacksonville was good. Yes, really. But Curtis Martin and the Patriots were better in 1997, and how about that defense in a 20-6 victory?
This was a defensive struggle throughout. Curtis Martin scored on a 1-yard run and Adam Vinatieri kicked two field goals, but it was the Patriots’ defense that clinched it. With Jacksonville driving in the fourth quarter, Chris Slade forced a fumble that Otis Smith picked up and ran back 47 yards for a touchdown.
Jan. 27, 2002
New England 24, Pittsburgh 17
Tough to bring the Pats down when they get this far, and, lordy, the Steelers sure tried in 2002. But that New England defense – again – plus Troy Brown on special teams and reserve QB Drew Bledsoe ignited a victory.
Special teams led the way at Heinz Field. Troy Brown returned a punt 55 yards for the first touchdown. Then with the Patriots holding on, Brandon Mitchell blocked a field goal that Brown scooped up, ran 11 yards and then lateraled to Antwan Harris, who ran 49 yards for the clinching score. Tom Brady was injured early and Drew Bledsoe came in to throw a touchdown pass to David Patten that gave the Patriots a 14-3 halftime lead.
Jan. 18, 2004
New England 24, Indianapolis 14
Rodney Harrison never will forget the AFC final in 2004, when he helped the Pats take down Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning of the Colts. The Colts are back in 2015 and so is Wayne. The result? Check back Monday.
Rodney Harrison intercepted Peyton Manning in the end zone on Indianapolis’ first drive and the Colts were never in it after that. Ty Law intercepted Manning three times in a career-defining performance. Vinatieri kicked five field goals and Antowain Smith rushed for 100 yards. New England led 15-0 at the half.
Jan. 23, 2005
New England 41, Pittsburgh 27
Deion Branch scored twice, on a 60-yard pass and a 23-yard run, and David Givens did a whole lot of celebrating. Really, the Steelers weren’t much of a match, even at home, for the Patriots in the 2005 AFC championship game.
The Patriots dominated the host Steelers again, intercepting Ben Roethlisberger three times. Among those was an 87-yard interception return for a touchdown by Harrison that made it 24-3 at the half. Brady threw two touchdown passes. Deion Branch scored twice, on a 60-yard pass from Brady and a 23-yard run.
Jan. 21, 2007
Indianapolis 38, New England 34
And then came the heartbreak in 2007, when Peyton Manning and the Colts had their day at home. And to make it worse for the Patriots, they held a 21-3 lead. Still kind of hurts, huh?
The Patriots silenced the RCA Dome crowd early, taking a 21-3 lead in the second quarter when Asante Samuel returned a Manning interception 39 yards for a touchdown. But the Colts kept coming back, finally taking the lead on a 3-yard run by Joseph Addai with one minute left. Brady then threw his only interception, to linebacker Marlin Jackson, with 16 seconds left to kill the final drive.
Jan. 20, 2008
New England 21, San Diego 12
New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker celebrates with teammate Jabar Gaffney after scoring a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in 2008.
Brady threw two touchdown passes but was also intercepted three times on a bone-chilling day at Gillette. His scoring passes went to Jabar Gaffney and Wes Welker, the latter for the game’s final score. New England’s defense forced the Chargers to settle for four field goals, three times stopping them inside the 10.
Jan. 21, 2012
New England 23, Baltimore 20
Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff walks off the field as New England Patriots outside linebacker Niko Koutouvides celebrates after Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal in the closing seconds in 2012.
Brady scored on a 1-yard sneak with 11:29 left to give host New England the lead in a game that was close throughout. The Ravens nearly came back to win. Lee Evans had a game-winning touchdown catch slip through his hands in the final seconds, then Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal wide left with 11 seconds remaining that could have sent the game to overtime.
Jan. 20, 2013
Baltimore 28, New England 13
The Patriots have lost one AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium, and it was Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens who did the celebrating just two years ago.
Joe Flacco threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin as the Ravens handed the Patriots their first championship game loss at Gillette. New England was shut out in the second half. Brady threw two interceptions and running back Stevan Ridley lost a fumble when he was knocked cold by Bernard Pollard.
Jan. 19, 2014
Denver 26, New England 16
Tom Brady hunched over, a second straight loss in the AFC final, this time at Denver last season. One more chance is all the Patriots have wanted since then. It comes Sunday.
Manning shredded the Patriots’ defense at Mile High Stadium after cornerback Aqib Talib went out with an injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. Manning finished with 400 passing yards and two touchdowns and wasn’t sacked. Denver controlled the game, limiting the Patriots to 64 rushing yards.
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