The 2015 season was the New England Patriots' 46th in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th overall and their 16th under head coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions.

After going 10–0 to begin the season, the Patriots' first loss came against the Denver Broncos in overtime in Week 12. They would go on to lose four of their last six games, ultimately finishing the regular season with a 12–4 record for the fourth straight year. In Week 14, the Patriots clinched their seventh straight AFC East division title. By this, the Patriots tied the 1979 Los Angeles Rams for most consecutive division titles. As the second seeded team in the AFC, they secured a first-round bye for the playoffs and home-field advantage for their first playoff game.

In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 27–20 to advance to the AFC Championship for the fifth straight year, where they fell on the road to the eventual Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos 20–18. The Carolina Panthers were also close to rematching the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the first time in 12 years.

Roster changes

Free agency Notable departures: Akeem Ayers, Brandon Browner, Jonas Gray, Darrelle Revis, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Vince Wilfork. Notable additions: Scott Chandler, Jabaal Sheard, Dion Lewis.

2015 draft class

2015 New England Patriots Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 32 Malcom Brown DT Texas 2 64 Jordan Richards SS Stanford 3 Geneo Grissom DE Oklahoma 4 101 Trey Flowers DE Arkansas 111 Tre' Jackson G Florida State 131 Shaq Mason G Georgia Tech 5 166 Joe Cardona LS Navy 6 178 Matthew Wells LB Mississippi St. 202 A. J. Derby TE Arkansas 7 247 Darryl Roberts CB Marshall Xzavier Dickson LB Alabama Compensatory selection Notes The Patriots traded guard Logan Mankins and their fifth-round selection (No. 168 overall) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for tight end Tim Wright and the Buccaneers' fourth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 101 and 178 overall, respectively). The Patriots traded their sixth-round selection (No. 208 overall) to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the Titans' seventh-round selection (No. 219 overall) and linebacker Akeem Ayers. The Patriots traded their original seventh-round selection (No. 249 overall) to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for wide receiver Greg Salas. The Patriots traded their third- and seventh-round selections (Nos. 96 and 219 overall, respectively) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for their fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 111, 147 and 202 overall, respectively). The Patriots subsequently traded the fifth-round selection (No. 147 overall), gained from an earlier trade with the Cleveland Browns, to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for their fifth- and seventh-round picks (Nos. 166 and 247, respectively).

Undrafted free agents

Position Player College Center David Andrews Georgia Safety Brandon King Auburn Made regular season roster

Staff

Final roster

Schedule

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 13 Green Bay Packers L 11–22 0–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 2 August 22 at New Orleans Saints W 26–24 1–1 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 3 August 28 at Carolina Panthers W 17–16 2–1 Bank of America Stadium Recap 4 September 3 New York Giants L 9–12 2–2 Gillette Stadium Recap

Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–21 1–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 2 September 20 at Buffalo Bills W 40–32 2–0 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 3 September 27 Jacksonville Jaguars W 51–17 3–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 4 Bye 5 October 11 at Dallas Cowboys W 30–6 4–0 AT&T StadiumRecap 6 October 18 at Indianapolis Colts W 34–27 5–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 7 October 25 New York Jets W 30–23 6–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 8 Miami Dolphins W 36–7 7–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 9 November 8 Washington Redskins W 27–10 8–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 10 November 15 at New York Giants W 27–26 9–0 MetLife Stadium Recap 11 Buffalo Bills W 20–13 10–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 12 November 29 at Denver Broncos L 24–30 10–1 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 13 December 6 Philadelphia Eagles L 28–35 10–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 14 December 13 at Houston Texans W 27–6 11–2 NRG Stadium Recap 15 December 20 Tennessee Titans W 33–16 12–2 Gillette Stadium Recap 16 December 27 at New York Jets L 20–26 12–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 17 January 3 at Miami Dolphins L 10–20 12–4 Sun Life Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card First-round bye Divisional Kansas City Chiefs (5) W 27–20 1–0 Gillette Stadium Recap AFC Championship January 24, 2016 at Denver Broncos (1) L 18–20 1–1 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Kickoff game

The Patriots played the Steelers on opening night, celebrating their Super Bowl victory from the season before.

On the opening possession of the game, the Steelers drove all the way to the Patriots 26, but Josh Scobee missed a 44-yard field goal attempt. After the next two drives ended in punts, the Patriots engineered a 13 play, 90-yard marathon, lasting over seven minutes with Tom Brady hitting his go-to target Rob Gronkowski for a 16-yard touchdown and the early 7–0 lead. The Steelers once again drove deep into Patriots territory, but Scobee missed a 46-yard field goal wide right. The Patriots made the Steelers pay, driving 64 yards in 9 plays, scoring on Brady's 6-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, increasing the lead to 14–0. The Steelers finally responded driving back to the 26, but this time Scobee was good from 44-yards away and the Patriots led 14–3 at halftime. The Patriots offense continued with their first half pace, producing a second half opening drive of nine plays, 80-yards, finishing with Brady throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to new acquisition, tight end Scott Chandler, widening the Patriots lead to 21–3. The Steelers countered with an 80-yard, 7 play drive, with Will Johnson scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run, and Ben Roethlisberger converting the two-point conversion on a pass to Markus Wheaton, trimming the deficit to 21–11. After a Patriots three-and-out, the Steelers marched 67 yards to the Patriots 1-yard line, but a penalty pushed them back to the 5 and DeAngelo Williams was stuffed for a loss bringing up 4th-down and Scobee converted the 24-yard field goal to make the score 21–14. The Patriots countered, aided by a 52-yard catch by Gronkowski, marching 79 yards in 7 plays, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown catch by Gronkowski, extending the lead the 28–14. Three possessions later, Roethlisberger was intercepted at the Patriots 7. After a Patriots punt, the Steelers raced 70 yards in 12 plays, scoring on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown with just :02 seconds left, trimming the deficit to 28–21. Gronkowski ended his superb night by falling on the subsequent Steelers onside kick attempt, ending the game.

Week 2: at Buffalo Bills

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for a career second-best 466 yards, as he completed 38 of 59 pass attempts with three touchdown throws, as the Patriots were able to hold off a late Buffalo Bills rally thanks to their high-octane offense, giving the Patriots their first divisional win of the season.

The match-up between the Bills and Patriots was highly anticipated in the week before the meeting. Both teams had won their first games of the new season and high expectations for the season ahead were falling on both teams, including the host team, who were led by new head coach and old Patriots' foe Rex Ryan (formerly of the New York Jets). The Guinness Book of World Records was invited to Ralph Wilson Stadium to see if the Bills' fans could break the decibel record for crowd noise that was set at Arrowhead Stadium by Kansas City Chiefs' fans in the season prior (coincidentally in a game that the Patriots also featured in as the away team). In a heated game-day atmosphere, the Bills took the opening kickoff and drove the ball 80-yards in ten plays, with rookie running back Karlos Williams scoring on a 2-yard run. Two possessions later, the Patriots, aided by completions of 16 and 36 yards to Aaron Dobson and Gronkowski respectively, raced 62 yards in only 5 plays, with Julian Edelman catching an 8-yard touchdown pass from Brady. After another Bills three-and-out, aided by a 28-yard punt return to the Bills 27 by Danny Amendola coupled with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Bills, the Patriots need just two plays to go 13 yards and score on a 6-yard touchdown run by Dion Lewis, taking a 14–7 lead. On the ensuing Bills' drive, Tyrod Taylor was intercepted by Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, who returned it 9 yards to the Bills 30. The Patriots then marched 30 yards in just 5 plays, scoring on Brady's 6-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, extending the lead to 21–7. After a Bills punt, from the Bills 48, Lewis caught a 6-yard pass, but was stripped by Paul Brown with Corey Graham returning it 29 yards to the Patriots 33, but an unnecessary roughness penalty moved them back to the 48. After being forced to punt, the Patriots drove to the Bills 48, but on 4th-and-1 Brady fired an incomplete pass. The Bills finally scored again, racing 48 yards in four penalty marred plays, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Charles Clay, trimming the deficit to 21–13, after a missed PAT. The Patriots drove to the Bills 28 on their next drive and Stephen Gostkowski converted a 46-yard field goal, increasing the lead to 24–13. The Bills advanced the ball to the 50-yard line on the next drive, but Taylor was intercepted by Harmon a deep pass intended for wide receiver Sammy Watkins with 16 seconds remaining in the half. Brady took a knee on the ensuing drive, with the Patriots going into the half leading 24–13. The Patriots drove 77 yards on the opening drive, all the way to the Bills 3-yard line, but were forced to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Gostkowski, making the score 27–13. After a Bills punt, the Patriots raced 83 yards in 9 plays, with Brady capping off the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to a diving Edelman, growing the lead to 34–13. After a Bills three-and-out, the Patriots drove to the Bills 32 and Gostkowski upping the lead to 37–13 on a 50-yard field goal. As the game entered the fourth quarter and with many Bills fans already heading for the exits, the Bills were finally able to establish rhythm with their offense, as Taylor led Buffalo on a 10-play, 80-yard drive, bombing a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert Woods, with a failed two-point conversion, making the score 37–19. The Patriots drove to the Bills 41 on their next drive, but failed to convert. The Bills quickly capitalized, racing 59 yards in only 7 plays, with Taylor running in a 7-yard touchdown, with a missed two-point conversion, trimming the deficit to just 37–25. On the second play of the ensuing Patriots drive, Brady was strip-sacked by Jerry Hughes, with Preston Brown recovering for the Bills at midfield. It only took two plays to cover 50 yards, with Taylor finding Watkins for a 24-yard touchdown, making the score just 37-32 after being down 37–13. As had been the theme throughout the day, the Bills' defense was unable to keep Brady and the Patriots' offense from marching up-and-down the field, and on their final drive, New England drove to the Bills 8 and Gostkowski upped the lead to 40–32 on his 26-yard field goal. On the Bills' first play of the Bills next drive, Taylor was intercepted for the third time of the day, this time by cornerback Logan Ryan at the 50-yard line on a long pass intended for Watkins. Brady kneeled on the ensuing drive, securing the 40–32 win. The Bills' fans failed to set the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd noise.

Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars