What year were the Patriots founded?
History of the New England Patriots
On July 30, 1960, the Boston Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills in the first AFL pre-season game. The Boston Patriots played in the first-ever game in the American Football League, against the Denver Broncos on September 9, 1960, a game which they lost by a score of 10-13. Although the team made only one AFL playoff appearance (in 1963), it had numerous stars. In 1963, eleven Patriots made the AFL All-star team, including Gino Cappelletti, Jim Colclough, Nick Buoniconti, and Babe Parilli. That year the Patriots made it to the AFL Championship for the first time ever, but lost to the San Diego Chargers 51–10. Linebacker Tom Addison, an original Patriot and the first Patriot all-star, founded and was selected President of the AFL Players Association in the mid-1960s. In the late-1960s, fullback Jim Nance became an offensive weapon for the Patriots, gaining 1,458 yards in 1966 and 1,216 in 1967, when he was the AFL MVP.
History of the New England Patriots
In the 1998 offseason, the Patriots tendered restricted free agent running back Curtis Martin with the highest possible tender, which would return the Patriots' 1st- and 3rd-round draft picks if any team were to sign him and the Patriots were to decide not to match the offer. Fueling the rivalry between the two teams, the Jets and Parcells, who had resigned from the Patriots two years earlier, signed Martin, and per restricted free agency rules, ceded their 1st- and 3rd-round picks in the 1998 NFL Draft to the Patriots. With the 1st-round pick, the Patriots selected another running back, Robert Edwards, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign. After stumbling through the first half of the 1998 season (5-6 after the first 11 games), Drew Bledsoe, playing with a broken finger, engineered late 4th-quarter comebacks against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills to save the season. The Bills game was especially controversial, as the game was prolonged due to a series of questionable calls. With under a minute to go and down by four points, the Patriots engineered a long drive. However, the Buffalo defense appeared to stop the Patriots on 4th down with a juggled catch out of bounds. The referee needed to determine whether receiver Shawn Jefferson was inbounds, caught the ball, and achieved first down yardage. The referee on the sideline signaled first down after a conference with other officials. Several Bills claimed one said "just give it to them" (referring to 1st-down yardage) in the huddle. Television instant replays showed that he was short of first down yardage, but the NFL had discontinued use of instant replay after the 1991 season. This was followed by a questionable pass interference call made in the end zone on what would have been the game's final play. Bledsoe hit tight end Ben Coates for a touchdown on the final untimed play of the game. In protest, the Bills left the field and let Patriots kicker Adam Vinateri walk in for a meaningless two-point conversion. Doug Flutie, then the Bills' quarterback, later quipped, "They gave them the game, we figured we might as well give them the extra point." Drew Bledsoe and Terry Glenn were later both knocked out for the season, and the Patriots backed into the last playoff spot with a 9–7 record. Backup quarterback Scott Zolak proved to be no match for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first playoff game, as the Patriots lost 25-10.