The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots play their home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971, although Foxborough is a suburb 22 miles (35 km) away from downtown Boston.

The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl eight times. The team advanced to the playoffs four times before appearing in Super Bowl XX in 1986, losing to the Chicago Bears. The team also appeared in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997, losing to the Green Bay Packers. The Patriots won their first Super Bowl in 2002, defeating the St. Louis Rams. Their next Super Bowl victory was in 2004 when they defeated the Carolina Panthers. In 2005 they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. They also made Super Bowl appearances in 2008 - following a perfect regular season - and 2012, where they lost to the New York Giants both times. They defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX 28-24, to win their fourth Lombardi Trophy in 14 years.