Patriots travel to face Oakland - Patriots.com

The New England Patriots will be on the road for the second straight week when they head to Oakland to face the Raiders at O.co Coliseum. The Patriots will attempt to get back to their winning ways after a 34-31 loss to Buffalo last week. The Patriots split their only two-game road trip last season when they lost at Cleveland followed by a win at Pittsburgh.

The Patriots will support the NFL's Breast Cancer Awareness initiatives this month by featuring players wearing pink apparel in two games in 2011, beginning this week at Oakland and then at home against Dallas on Oct. 16.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast to a regional audience by CBS and can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Kevin Harlan will handle playby- play duties with Solomon Wilcotts providing color. The game will be produced by Jim Rikhoff and directed by Bryan Lilley.

RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 37 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 35th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. Former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak will provide sideline analysis.

NFL'S BEST ROAD WARRIORS
Since the start of the 2000 season, the Patriots have the second best regular-season road record at 58-32, behind only Indianapolis (59-30).

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
Eight Patriots players, along with one New England coach, grew up in California. Tom Brady, Andre Carter and Julian Edelman are Northern California natives who grew up less than 40 miles from the O.co Coliseum. Five of the California native players stayed in the Golden State for college. Assistant head coach/offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

SERIES HISTORY

The Patriots and Raiders will meet for the 32nd time overall and for the 29th time in regular-season play. The teams have met three times in the playoffs, producing memorable, classic encounters on each occasion.

In 1976 the Patriots beat the Raiders 48-17 in the regular season before losing a playoff game at Oakland, 24-21. The Patriots advanced to their first AFC Championship game in 1985 after beating the Raiders, 27-20, in Los Angeles. Then in the first Super Bowl championship year in 2001, the Patriots beat Oakland, 16-13, in overtime in the last game ever played in Foxboro Stadium.

The last time the Patriots and Raiders squared off in the regular season was in 2008 when New England traveled to Oakland and won 49-26 on December 14, 2008.

The Raiders have had the edge in home games against the Patriots as they own a 10-6 record when the two teams square off on the west coast. The Raiders are 6-1 against the Patriots at the Oakland Coliseum. The series between the two charter members of the American Football League dates back to 1960, the inaugural season for each club.

Although the teams played frequently prior to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, they have met just four times in the regular season since 1989.

SERIES BREAKDOWN
New England 16, Oakland 15 (1 Tie)
(Including New England 2, Oakland 1 in Playoffs)

Home Record, 10-5-1 (incl. 1-0 in playoffs)
- Gillette Stadium, 1-0

Away Record, 6-10 (incl. 1-1 inplayoffs)
- Oakland Coliseum, 2-6 (incl. 0-1 in playoffs)
- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1-1 (incl. 1-0 in playoffs)

Bill Belichick vs. Oakland, 5-1 (3-1 with New England)

Hue Jackson vs. New England, first meeting

PATRIOTS WICKED GOOD IN OCTOBER
The Patriots are 29-5 in the month of October since the 2003 season and have won 20 out of their last 22 October games. The Patriots are 16-1 at home and 13-4 on the road during that time in October. New England was 4-0 in 2010 in October.

CONNECTIONS

New England Ties

• Raiders SS Tyvon Branch played college football for the University of Connecticut.
• Raiders LB Ricky Brown is familiar with the Boston area; he attended Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. and was in camp with the Patriots in 2011.
• Raiders DT Desmond Bryant played college football for Havard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Oakland Ties

• Patriots QB Tom Brady, DE Andre Carter and WR Julian Edelman grew up in northern California: Brady, San Mateo, Calif.; Carter, San Jose, Calif.; Edelman, Redwood City, Calif.

Former Patriots

• Raiders DT Richard Seymour played for the Patriots from 2001-08. He was part of three Super Bowl winning teams in New England.
• Raiders LS Jon Condo was on the Patriots roster during training camp in 2006.

Former NFL Teammates
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

BY THE NUMBERS

2
The number of games where the Patriots had three players with seven or more receptions: at Miami (9/12) and vs. San Diego (9/18).

2
The number of 2011 draft picks that were in the opening day starting lineup after T Nate Solder started at right tackle and S Ras-I Dowling started at cornerback.

4
The number of turnovers the Patriots had in the 35-21 win against San Diego. It was the second straight season that the Patriots had four turnovers against the Chargers.

5
The number of consecutive regular season games that TE Rob Gronkowski has had at least one touchdown reception.

7.23
The number of receptions that Wes Welker is averaging during his Patriots career with 463 receptions in 64 games, best in franchise history.

5.36
The average yards per carry by Danny Woodhead during his Patriots career (121 att. for 649 yards), the best average among any Patriots player with at least 100 rushing attempts.

10
The number of career 100-yard receiving games by Deion Branch after he finished with 8 receptions for 129 yards in the win vs. San Diego (9/18).

11
The number of consecutive games that the Patriots have scored 30 or more points, dating back to last season. That active streak is a franchise record.

19
The number of 10-tackle games by LB Jerod Mayo after he finished with a team-high 11 total tackles vs. San Diego (9/18).

20
The number of career rushing touchdowns by BenJarvus Green- Ellis. He is the 10th player in Patriots history to record 20 or more touchdowns. His 20 rushing touchowns rank 10th in team history.

28
The number of yards that Vince Wilfork returned his first career interception vs. San Diego (9/18) to help set up a field goal.

622
The number of total yards by the Patriots in the win at Miami in the season opener, a franchise record. The previous best was 619 yards vs. Tennessee (10/18/09).

TOM BRADY BY THE NUMBERS

1
The number of NFL quarterbacks that followed a 500-yard performance with a 400-yard performance after Brady had backto- back games with 517 yards and 423 yards.

6
The number of times that Brady has finished a season with 25 or more touchdowns. He is the sixth QB in NFL history to have 25 or more touchdown passes in at least six different seasons.

8
The number of times Tom Brady has passed for 3,000 or more yards in a season, a franchise record for most 3,000-yard seasons. He finished the season with 3,900 yards.

11
The number of times an NFL quarterback has thrown for 500 or more yards after Brady threw for 517 in the 2011 opener at Miami.

19
The number of times Tom Brady has earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He earned the award in each of the first two weeks of the 2011 season.

18
The number of NFL quarterbacks that have reached 35,000 yards after Brady (35,261) reached the milestone at Miami.

29
The number of consecutive regular-season starts that Tom Brady has won at Gillette Stadium, extending an NFL record for most consecutive home wins by a starting quarterback in the regular season.

36
The number of touchdown passes thrown by Brady in 2010 to lead the NFL. He is one of just 13 players since the 1970 merger to have at least two 30 touchdown seasons. He set an NFL record with 50 in 2007.

37
The number of regular season 300-yard passing games by Tom Brady, a team record. He is tied with Drew Bledsoe for 9th place for the most 300-yard games in NFL history.

85
The number of times that Brady has thrown two or more touchdowns in a game. The Patriots are 72-13 when he throws for two or more touchdowns.

113
The number of wins that Brady has as a starting quarterback. He reached the 100-win milestone in the fewest number of starts (131) among all quarterbacks in the modern era.

1,327
The number of passing yards by Brady in the first three games (517, 423 and 387). Brady's 1,327 yards set the NFL mark for the most passing yards ever in a three-game streatch.

THE KRAFT ERA

3
The number of Super Bowl championships the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span. Only Denver (2; 1997 and 1998) and Pittsburgh (2; 2005 and 2008) have won multiple Super Bowl titles since 1994.

5
The number of conference championships the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span. Pittsburgh is second with three conference titles since 1994.

10
The number of division championships won by the Patriots since Kraft purchased the team in 1994.

12
The number of playoff seasons earned by the Patriots in the 17 seasons since Robert Kraft purchased the team.

17
The number of playoff games the Patriots have won since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994. That mark is the highest total in the NFL over that span. Pittsburgh ranks second with 15 playoff wins over that span.

26
The number of playoff games the Patriots have appeared in since 1994. The mark is tied with Pittsburgh for the most playoff games during that time period.

THE BELICHICK ERA

4
Bill Belichick is one of just four coaches to win three championships since the Super Bowl era began. Belichick joins three members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the exclusive club (Chuck Noll 4, Joe Gibbs 3 and Bill Walsh 3). Belichick is the only coach to win three Super Bowls in the post-1993 salary cap era and the only one to ever win three in four years.

179
Bill Belichick has 179 career victories as a head coach, including playoff games. Belichick is in sole possession of 10th place in alltime coaching victories.

PATRIOTS DEDICATE 2011 SEASON TO MYRA KRAFT
The New England Patriots announced that they will dedicate the 2011 season to the loving memory of Myra Kraft, who passed away on July 20 after a courageous battle with cancer. Every Patriots player and coach will honor Myra's memory by wearing a patch with her initials on it in recognition of her lifelong contributions to the local and global community and her influence on the charitable mission of the entire Patriots organization. The patch will be worn on the left chest of every player throughout the season.

28 Sep, 2011

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