New England Patriots go undefeated in NFL regular season

With a 38-35 victory over the New York Giants at Giants Stadium Saturday night, the New England Patriots became the second team in the modern era of the National Football League to go undefeated (16-0) in the regular season. The only other team to have achieved this feat was the Miami Dolphins in 1972, who were 14-0 due to a different regular season structure at the time.

Trailing by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, the Patriots soon came back with touchdowns from running back Laurence Maroney and wide receiver Randy Moss.

Two other NFL records were broken in the course of one play; with 11:06 remaining in the game, quarterback Tom Brady threw a pass to Moss for a touchdown. This broke Peyton Manning's record of 49 touchdown passes and Jerry Rice's record of 22 touchdown catches. The Patriots also ended up with a record-high 589 points for the season.

"In this game of football, it's hard to go 16-and-0," Moss stated. "As a football player and a fan of the game, my hat's off to this organization."

Don Shula, coach of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins, commended the Patriots, saying "going undefeated during the regular season is a remarkable achievement."

In an attempt to reach as many viewers as possible, the game was simulcast on three networks, with the coverage from NFL Network (only digital/satellite channel) being broadcast on NBC and CBS. This was the first NFL game to be nationally televised on more than one broadcast network since Super Bowl I in 1967.