Patriots vs. Broncos: What You Need to Know About the Week 15 Showdown

Some information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations.

The New England Patriots will play against the Denver Broncos this week in a rematch of the 2015 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots and Broncos will play in the regular season for the sixth year in a row. The Patriots are 4-1 in the previous five regular season meetings.

Last season, the Patriots lost, 30-24, at Denver in overtime on Nov. 29. The Patriots and Broncos then faced each other in the AFC Title Game with Denver winning, 20-18, on Jan. 24, 2016. A victory over Denver will secure the Patriots an NFL-record eighth straight division title and a first-round playoff bye for the seventh consecutive season.

Here's what you need to know about Sunday's game:

Kickoff Time - 4:25 p.m.

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV
Channel 4 in Boston. Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties with Phil Simms as the color
analyst. Tracy Wolfson will work the sidelines. The game will be produced by Lance Barrow
and directed by Mike Arnold.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN Radio.
Adam Amin and Bill Polian will call the game. Ian Fitzsimmons will work the sidelines.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network.
Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback
Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. Produced by Marc Cappello.

With a win, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East Championship and a bye in the AFC playoffs.

Series History

The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos will meet for the sixth straight year in the regular season this week when the Patriots travel to Denver. The Patriots are 4-1 in the previous five regular season meetings.

Last season, the two teams played twice, one in the regular season and in the AFC Championship Game. Both games were played in Denver, and both games were won by the Broncos. The Patriots lost, 30-24, in overtime at Denver on Nov. 29, 2015, and fell, 20-18, in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 24, 2016.

Denver leads the overall series by a 26-20 margin in the regular season and a 4-1 margin in the postseason.

The Patriots and Broncos have played in the three divisional playoff games and two AFC Championship Games. The Patriots are 9-21 overall in games played in Denver, including 0-4 in postseason games.

New England has played more games against the Broncos than any other team that has never been in New England’s division.

The history between the teams dates back to the first days of the Ameri- can Football League in 1960. The Patriots played the Broncos in the inaugural game of each franchise, a 13-10 Denver win on Sept. 9, 1960, at BU Field.

The teams squared off twice a year in the decade prior to the AFL-NFL merger, except for 1967 and 1969.

The Betting Line

Via ESPN.com:

• Westgate - Patriots by 3 points
• BOVADA.lv - Patriots by 3.5 points
• BETONLINE.ag - Patriots by 3 points
• SportsBetting.ag - Patriots by 3 points
• 5Dimes.eu - Patriots by 3.5 points

The Expert Picks

• ESPN.com - Experts pick Patriots 8-1
• CBS Sports.com - Experts pick Patriots 8-0
• Peter Schrager, FOX Sports - Patriots 33, Broncos 17
• Chris Burke, Sports Illustrated - Patriots 24, Broncos 17
• USA Today - Experts pick Patriots 5-0