What You Need to Know About the AFC Championship Game Between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts

Editor’s Note: Information in this article was provided by Patriots Media Relations.

The New England Patriots advanced to their 11th AFC Championship Game, and fourth straight, after defeating the Baltimore Ravens, 35-31, in an AFC Divisional Playoff last Saturday at Gillette Stadium. Patriots QB Tom Brady will play in his ninth AFC Championship Game in 13 full seasons as a starter.

The Patriots advance to the AFC Championship Game for the fourth straight season, joining Oakland (5 - 1973-77), Philadelphia (4 - 2001-04), Buffalo (4 - 1990-93) and Dallas (4 - 1970-73 and 1992-95) as the only teams to reach at least four straight conference championship games.

With the victory over Baltimore, Bill Belichick collected his 20th career playoff win, tying Tom Landry (20) for the most career postseason wins by a head coach. He advances to his ninth conference championship game, second only to the 10 by Tom Landry.

The Patriots will meet Indianapolis in the AFC Championship Game for the third time. The Patriots beat the Colts, 24-14, in the 2003 AFC title game at Gillette Stadium and lost 38-34 in the 2006 AFC title game in Indianapolis. Last year in a divisional playoff, New England defeated Indianapolis, 43-22, to move on to the conference championship game.

To help you get ready for the game, here is what you need to know!

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 from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Lance Barrow and directed by Mike Arnold.

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.

Parking Lot Information

The Gillette Stadium parking lots will open four hours before kickoff. Parking at the stadium is $40 for cars and motorcycles and $150 for buses, RVs, and limos.

In addition, the following vehicles will not be allowed in the lots:

• Any vehicle towing a trailer (this includes fifth-wheel RV units).
• Professional catering trucks and or services without prior written approval from Stadium Management.
• Excessive tailgate setups that impede on customers parked around your vehicles, emergency access or deemed to be unsafe or inappropriate by Stadium Management.
• Any type of swimming pool, portable pool, hot tubs, water filled pickup trucks, or the like.

Allow Plenty of Time for Traffic Around the Stadium

With a capacity crowd of over 68,000 fans expected, drivers are advised to allow themselves plenty of time when traveling near the stadium on game day. Traffic restrictions will be in place on local roads before and after the game. Fans must use I-95, I-495 or Route 140 to access Gillette Stadium. ‘

Those not going to the game should seek alternate routes to their destination.

The Dos and Do Nots of the Parking Lot

No one wants to be that person that gets in trouble for something that could have been avoided by knowing the the rules of the parking lot. Here are the regulations for parking at the stadium.

To provide all visitors with a safe and enjoyable visit to Gillette Stadium, the following parking lot restrictions apply on game days:

• Visitors must be in possession of a valid ticket to that day’s game to gain access to parking lots.
• Parking license is limited solely to the purpose of parking your vehicle on our property to gain entry to Gillette Stadium. Each paid license entitles the licensee to occupy one parking space.
• Solicitation, commercial or otherwise, by anyone for any purpose is expressly prohibited.
• Sale of any food, beverage or other items in Gillette Stadium parking lots, either prepaid or walk-up, without obtaining prior written approval of stadium management is expressly prohibited.
• Visitors must follow the directions given by the parking attendants and park within the space they designate for your use.
• Spaces cannot be held for vehicles arriving at a later time.
• Vehicles cannot be pulled into drive aisles after they are parked.

Failure to abide by these rules and restrictions will result in the immediate revocation of the individual’s parking license, the individual will be escorted from the property, the vehicle will be towed at the owner’s expense, and such conduct may result in the loss of Season Ticket Holder privileges.

The Patriots in the AFC Championship Game

Patriots are 7-3 in the AFC Championship Game, including a 4-1 record at home and a 3-1
mark at Gillette Stadium.

Series History

The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts will meet in the AFC Championship Game for the third time and in the postseason for the fifth time, including the second straight year in the playoffs.

Last season, the Patriots beat Indianapolis, 43-22, on Jan. 11, 2014, in the AFC Divisional Playoffs at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots own a 3-1 record overall against Indianapolis in the postseason, including a 3-0 record in playoff games played in New England.

The clubs have clashed in the playoffs following the 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2013 seasons. The Patriots beat the Colts in the 2003 AFC Championship Game, 24-14, at Gillette Stadium (1/18/04), won 20-3 at Gillette Stadium in a 2004 AFC Divisional game (1/16/05), lost in the 2006 AFC Championship Game, 38-34, at Indianapolis (1/21/07), and then won in the AFC Divisional meeting last year.

The Patriots traveled to Indianapolis on Nov. 16 of this season in a Sunday night game that ended in a 42-20 New England victory. The two teams share a long-time rivalry, as the Patriots and the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts played twice each year from 1970 to 2001 as members of the AFC East, with the exception of the 1982 strike season.

Since realignment in 2002 with the Colts moving to the AFC South, the two teams played in the regular season in every season for 10 straight seasons from 2003 through 2012 with New England winning six of the 10 games.

While they did not play in the 2013 regular season, breaking a streak of 10 regular-season meetings, they did face each other in the postseason with the Patriots claiming a 43-22 win at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 11, 2014.

Overall, this week’s game will be the 79th meeting between the two teams. The Patriots lead the series with a 46-28 record in the regular season and a 3-1 record in the postseason.

New England holds an overall record of 28-12 when playing at home against the Colts, including a 7-2 record at Gillette Stadium.

Quick Hits

• The Patriots and Colts both surpassed the 1990s San Francisco 49ers for the all-time best mark for a decade in NFL history. New England had 126 wins in the decade from 2000-2009, while Indianapolis had 124 wins. San Francisco had 122 wins in the 1990s.
• Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick is 13-6 against the Colts as the head coach of the Patriots and is 15-8 against Indianapolis as a head coach overall.
• In the last three games against the Indianapolis, the Patriots have outscored the Colts, 144-66, with a 59-24 win on Nov. 18, 2012, a 43-22 win on Jan. 11, 2014 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs and a 42-20 win on Nov. 16, 2014.

The Patch Perspective

What do the Pats need to do to win? Foxborough Patch Patriots blogger and founder of PatsOnTop.com Frank Sturm takes a look at the keys to the game.

Establish a more balanced offense attack

The Patriots only ran for 9 total yards against the Ravens. Some of that was likely predesigned, while some of their running woes were self induced. I don’t think the Patriots had planned to run much against the Raven’s 4th ranked run defense anyways, but it didn’t help that they struggled to control the line of scrimmage and fell behind by 14 points twice.

I expect the Patriots to be much more successful running the ball on Sunday. In their last two matchups against Indianapolis, the Patriots have run 90 times for 480 yards and eight touchdowns. The Colts have also surrendered 100 yards or more in five of their last six games.

Stabilize the Offensive Line

An absent Center Bryan Stork due to an injury attained against the Ravens last Saturday is a giant blow to an already shaky offensive line.

The Patriots are likely to use a line that, from right to left, consists of Nate Solder, Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Josh Kline and Sebastian Vollmer.

A stabilized line will help the Patriots forcefully run the ball, which they’ve been accustomed to doing over their last few match ups with the Colts. The heat will be on Wendell and Kline to have their best games of the season.

Have the Better Special Teams Unit

Surprisingly, the Colts’ special teams have been an afterthought. Indianapolis actually owns one of the best special-teams tandems in the NFL in punter Pat McAfee and former Patriots’ place kicker Adam Vinateri. This season, the 42-year-old Vintateri had the best season of his career, hitting 30 of 31 field goals. On the other hand, McAfee ranked as Pro Football Focus’ second-best punter. That’ll happen when you punt the ball 68 times and accumulate only three touchbacks.

The pressure will first be on Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola to continue to put Brady and company in excellent field position. This season, Edelman ranked second in average yards per punt return with 15 and Amendola ranked fifth in average yards per kickoff return with 25.

Destroy the Colts’ Early Momentum

Indianapolis owns one of the best offenses in the league, and it’ll be up to the Patriots’ top 10 defense to slow them down. While Luck has made impressive strides as a young signal caller, he’s still prone to throw a lot of interceptions. The Stanford product has actually ranked in the top six in interceptions thrown in two out of his first three years in the NFL.

So what does that mean? Slowing down Luck early in the game by pressuring him and forcing turnovers will be key to a strong defensive performance. This past season, Luck’s offense ranked as one of the top 10 scoring offenses per quarter in the NFL, which means he can put up points fast. Like any young quarterback (and team), they have a tendency to rely on momentum to succeed, so look for the Patriots to match the Colts’ aggressiveness early.

Protect Against Luck’s Deep Ball

Luck isn’t going to rely on running back Dan Herron to carry the team. He’s going to sling it all over the field, and the Patriots have been somewhat susceptible to the long ball. New England rests in the middle of the pack in Opponent Yards per Pass Attempt and they’ve allowed the third most 20-plus yards passing plays. They’ve also been flagged the fourth most in the NFL for pass interference. And as we saw last week, those penalties can be killers. Two long interference calls on the Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner led to Ravens’ touchdowns.

Luck is also deadly accurate throwing down field. According to Pro Football Focus, he hit his target--hit or miss--on 47.7 percent of his passes, which ranked sixth best in the league. Only Joe Flacco ranked better, and we saw how that went.

Contain Luck

Luck is a shifty, dangerous quarterback. Just look at his 36-yard touchdown heave to Donte Moncrief against the Bengals as evidence to his elusiveness. This week, Belichick referred to the Colt’s quarterback as a “sixth wide receiver” for a good reason. He rushed for 10 or more yards 13 times this year, which was more than any of the Colts running backs. His large, 6-foot-4 body frame and his quickness allows him to extend plays and break tackles.

Luck is difficult to sack, which will be a challenge for a New England defense that failed to sack Flacco once last week. Over the past two years, Luck has improved his aptitude to avoid the rush. In 2012 opponents sacked him on 6 percent of pass attempts. In 2014 that number dropped to 4.2 percent. We’d expect the Patriots to blend in a healthy mix of disciplined, timed blitzes that will keep Luck contained in the pocket, but also put the heat on him in hopes of creating turnovers.