7 Awesome Patriots Selected for The NFL Pro Bowl Squad

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Since the arrival of head coach Bill Belichick in 2000, the Patriots have become one of the most successful teams in NFL history. They are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys as the teams with the most Super Bowl appearances overall (eight each), and have the most appearances in the last 25 years (7).

They have won twelve AFC East titles in 14 seasons since 2001, and have not had a losing season since 2000. Before Belichick arrived, the Patriots had only notched consecutive playoff appearances twice in their history. Between 2001 and 2010, the Patriots set a record for most wins in a decade (121, different from conventionally bounded decades, 2000–2009, 1990–1999, etc.; this record references any ten-year stretch; second is the 1984–1993 San Francisco 49ers, with 120 wins); they broke their own record in 2011 (2002–2011: 123 wins), and again in 2012 (2003–2012: 126 wins—nearly 13 regular season wins per season). Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history (after the Dallas Cowboys) to win three Super Bowls in four years (Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl XXXIX), and the eighth to win consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots, however, were defeated by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, after winning the first 18 games of their 2007 season. They were defeated again by the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. During Belichick’s tenure with the team along with quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots have also compiled the longest winning streak consisting of regular season and playoff games in NFL history, a 21-game streak from October 2003 to October 2004. The Patriots’ rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL.

Brady was named to the Pro Bowl for a franchise record 11th time in his 16-year career and this is Brady’s seventh consecutive selection to the all-star game. He was voted to the Pro Bowl after each of the following seasons: 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and now, 2015. Brady heads into this week with an NFL-leading 4,405 yards and 35 touchdown passes. He joined Drew Brees (10) and Peyton Manning (14) as the only NFL players to have at least nine seasons with 4,000 passing yards. He joined Manning as the only NFL quarterbacks with four seasons with 35 or more touchdown passes. Brady also guided the Patriots to their 13th division title of his career, the most by a quarterback in NFL history. Read
Butler was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. He is in his first year as a starter after joining the team as rookie free agent out of West Alabama in 2014. Butler made his first career interception when he sealed the Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX win vs. Seattle with an interception in the end zone with 26 seconds to play. Butler has started all 14 games so far in 2014 and has totaled 60 tackles, two interceptions and a team-leading 15 passes defensed.

The Ravens first met the New England Patriots in 1996, but the rivalry truly started in 2007 when the Ravens suffered a bitter 27–24 loss in the Patriots’ quest for perfection. The rivalry began to escalate in 2009 when the Ravens lost to the Patriots 27–21 in a game that involved a confrontation between Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs. Both players would go on to take verbal shots at each other through the media after the game. The Ravens defeated the Patriots in the 2009 AFC Wild Card playoff game, 33–14. This was the first time the Ravens had ever defeated the Patriots. The Ravens faced the Patriots in week six of the 2010 season. The Patriots ended up winning 23–20 in overtime; the game caused controversy from a hit to the helmet of tight end Todd Heap by Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather.

The Ravens played the Patriots for the third consecutive season in the 2012 AFC championship game, which the Ravens lost 23–20. The rivalry reached a new level of friction with this, the second career playoff game between the two clubs. The Ravens clawed to a 20–16 lead in the fourth quarter, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dove into the end zone to make the score 23–20 with around 11 minutes remaining; this proved to be the winning touchdown. On the Ravens’ last possession of the game, quarterback Joe Flacco threw a pass to wide receiver Lee Evans in the corner of the end zone which looked to be the game-winning touchdown, before a last-second strip by Sterling Moore forced the ball from the hands of Evans, forcing the game to be decided on a last-minute field goal by Ravens placekicker Billy Cundiff. With 11 seconds remaining on the clock, the kicker missed the 32-yard field goal attempt, allowing the Patriots to kill the clock on their way to Super Bowl XLVI for a rematch with the New York Giants.

Gostkowski was named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career and for the third straight season. He enters this week with an NFL-leading 139 points. He has led the NFL in points in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and if he leads the NFL in 2015, will he will join Don Hutson (5) and Gino Cappelletti (5) as the only players to lead the league in scoring in five seasons. Gostkowski also surpassed Adam Vinatieri this year to become the team’s all-time leader in field goals and enters this week with 273 career field goals.

Jones earned his first Pro Bowl berth after registering a career-high 12 1/2 sacks through the first 14 games of the season. A first-round draft pick out of Syracuse in 2012, Jones now has two 10-plus sack seasons after totaling 11 1/2 sacks in 2013. Jones’ 36 total sacks in his first four seasons are second only to Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett’s 43 1/2 sacks in his first four seasons with the Patriots.