The 2016 season was the New England Patriots' 47th in the National Football League (NFL), their 57th overall and their 17th under head coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots ended the regular season with a league-best record of 14–2 and reached a number of milestones along the way: they became the first team originating in the American Football League to reach 500 franchise wins, set the record for most consecutive division titles at eight, became the seventh team to go 8–0 on the road, set the record for most pass attempts by a team without an interception to start a season, set the record for fewest interceptions thrown by a team with just 2, and led the league for fewest points allowed (250) for the first time since the 2003 season. Belichick moved into fourth place on the list for most wins as a head coach. Brady set the record for most wins by a starting quarterback and the record for the best touchdown–interception ratio in a single season.
Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the season due to his alleged role in the Deflategate scandal, marking the first time since 2008 that Brady didn't start in a game. Under backup quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett, the team went 3–1 during Brady's suspension.
In the playoffs, the Patriots appeared in the AFC Championship Game for a record sixth consecutive year and advanced to a record ninth Super Bowl appearance. In Super Bowl LI, the Patriots rallied from a 28–3 deficit with 2:12 left in the third quarter to win in overtime, with a score of 34–28 against the Atlanta Falcons. This was the first Super Bowl to be decided in overtime, and was the first time that the winner erased a deficit higher than ten points. It was the franchise's fifth Super Bowl title, where Belichick and Brady set record appearances (7) and wins (5) in the Super Bowl for a head coach and a quarterback respectively. Including the playoffs, the 2016 Patriots had an average per-game point differential of 12 points, still the largest for any of New England's six Super Bowl-winning teams. They also became the first Super Bowl champions with more than 13 regular season wins since their 2004 team. They were the final team to win at least 17 games (regular season and playoffs) under the NFL's 16-game regular season format. The 2016 Patriots ranked #21 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.
For the first time since the 2002 NFL season, the Patriots did not play their intra-conference rival Indianapolis Colts at all during this season.
Roster changes Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker and 2008 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Jerod Mayo announced his retirement in February 2016. Linebacker Dane Fletcher also retired. In March, the Patriots released wide receiver Brandon LaFell and tight end Scott Chandler. The Patriots subsequently traded Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2016 second-round draft pick. Days later the Patriots acquired tight end Martellus Bennett from the Chicago Bears via trade. On September 7, the Patriots gained cornerback Eric Rowe in a trade that involved the Patriots giving the Philadelphia Eagles a conditional draft pick in the 2018 NFL draft. On October 26, 2016, the Patriots traded a 2017 seventh-round draft pick to the Detroit Lions and acquired linebacker Kyle Van Noy, and in the process, released offensive guard Chase Farris, who was later signed to their practice squad. Furthermore, during the month of October, the Patriots traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns for a 2017 third round draft pick. Additionally, the Patriots signed wide receiver Michael Floyd on December 15, 2016, after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals because of his DUI incident.
Free agency Notable departures: Tavon Wilson, Akiem Hicks, Sealver Siliga Notable additions: Christian Yount, Tony Steward, Ramon Humber, Frank Kearse, Chris Hogan, Chris Long, Donald Brown, Shea McClellin, Nate Washington, E. J. Biggers, Clay Harbor, Terrance Knighton, Markus Kuhn
Draft
2016 New England Patriots Draft Round Selection Player Position College 2 60 Cyrus Jones CB Alabama 3 78 Joe Thuney G N.C. State 3 91 Jacoby Brissett QB N.C. State 3 Vincent Valentine DT Nebraska 4 112 Malcolm Mitchell WR Georgia 6 Kamu Grugier-Hill OLB Eastern Illinois 6 Elandon Roberts MLB Houston 6 Ted Karras G Illinois 7 225 Devin Lucien WR Arizona State Compensatory selection Notes The Patriots forfeited their first-round selection as part of the punishment for the team's Deflategate scandal. The team will also forfeit a 2017 fourth-round selection. The Patriots traded defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for guard Jonathan Cooper and Arizona's second-round selection (No. 61 overall). The Patriots traded their sixth-round selection (No. 204 overall) to the Chicago Bears in exchange for linebacker Jon Bostic. The Patriots traded their fourth-round selection (No. 127 overall) to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a sixth-round selection (No. 204 overall) and tight end Martellus Bennett. The Patriots traded their second-round pick (61st overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for their third-round (78th overall) and fourth-round (112th overall) picks. The Patriots acquired wide receiver Keshawn Martin and the Houston Texans' sixth-round selection (196th overall) for the Patriot's fifth-round selection (166th overall). The Patriots obtained the Miami Dolphins' fifth-round pick (147th overall) in exchange for two of the Patriot's sixth-round picks (196th overall and 204th overall) and the Patriot's seventh-round pick (250th overall). The Patriots gained the Seattle Seahawks' seventh-round pick (225th overall) and Seattle's 2017 fourth-round pick in exchange for the Patriots fifth-round pick (147th overall) and the Patriots seventh-round pick (243rd overall).
Undrafted free agents All undrafted free agents were signed just after the 2016 NFL draft concluded on April 30, 2016.
Position Player College RB D. J. Foster Arizona State WR De'Runnya Wilson Mississippi State TE Steven Scheu Vanderbilt CB Jonathan Jones Auburn CB Cre'Von LeBlanc Florida Atlantic CB V'Angelo Bentley Illinois CB Devante Burns Texas A&M LB C. J. Johnson Ole Miss DT Woodrow Hamilton Ole Miss Made regular season roster
Suspensions Quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season because of his alleged role in the Deflategate scandal. Outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich was suspended for the first four games of the seasons following him being tested and caught for a banned substance. Defensive tackle Alan Branch was suspended for 4 games (Weeks 12–15) after he tested positive for marijuana, therefore violating the league's policy on substances of abuse, but after appealing, Branch won and his suspension was dropped.
Staff
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 August 11 New Orleans Saints W 34–22 1–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 2 August 18 Chicago Bears W 23–22 2–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 3 August 26 at Carolina Panthers W 19–17 3–0 Bank of America Stadium Recap 4 September 1 at New York Giants L 9–17 3–1 MetLife Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 September 11 at Arizona Cardinals W 23–21 1–0 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 2 September 18 Miami Dolphins W 31–24 2–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 3 Houston TexansW 27–0 3–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 4 October 2 Buffalo Bills L 0–16 3–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 5 October 9 at Cleveland Browns W 33–13 4–1 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 6 October 16 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–17 5–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 7 October 23 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–16 6–1 Heinz Field Recap 8 October 30 at Buffalo Bills W 41–25 7–1 New Era Field Recap 9 Bye 10 November 13 Seattle Seahawks L 24–31 7–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 11 November 20 at San Francisco 49ers W 30–17 8–2 Levi's Stadium Recap 12 November 27 at New York Jets W 22–17 9–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 13 December 4 Los Angeles Rams W 26–10 10–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 14 Baltimore Ravens W 30–23 11–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 15 December 18 at Denver Broncos W 16–3 12–2 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 16 New York Jets W 41–3 13–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 17 January 1 at Miami Dolphins W 35–14 14–2 Hard Rock Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Postseason
Playoff round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap Wild Card First-round bye Divisional Houston Texans (4) W 34–16 1–0 Gillette Stadium Recap AFC Championship January 22, 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers (3) W 36–17 2–0 Gillette Stadium Recap Super Bowl LI February 5, 2017 vs. Atlanta Falcons (N2) W 34–28 3–0 NRG Stadium Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals
In a battle of the two conference runners-up from the 2015 season, the New England Patriots entered their first game of the 2016 NFL season against the Arizona Cardinals with starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo replacing Tom Brady, who was serving his four-game suspension, also the first time since 2008 that Brady did not start a game.