Patriots to play in ninth Super Bowl

The New England Patriots have advanced to the Super Bowl for an NFL-record ninth time in franchise history. The Patriots reached their eighth Super Bowl under the ownership of Robert Kraft, setting a new NFL record for the most conference championships as an owner.

Head coach Bill Belichick set an NFL mark with his seventh conference championship, while QB Tom Brady will set a record by playing in his sev- enth Super Bowl.

"We got a lot of things done in Foxborough," Patriots heads coach Bill Belichick said prior to the team's arrival in Houston. "We practiced three days and had a walkthrough for one day. We have some things that were leftover that we picked up on today. We also reviewed some of the things we did last week. We will follow that up tomorrow. We will be ready; we have plenty of time. We will just try to pace ourselves through it."

The Patriots are the second team (1970s Pittsburgh Steelers) in NFL history to win four Super Bowls with the same owner (Robert Kraft), head coach (Bill Belichick) and quarterback (Tom Brady). The Patriots have a chance to become the first with the same combination to win five Super Bowls. Kraft is the only owner to qualify for eight Super Bowls and Belichick and Brady are the first coach and quarterback to earn seven trips to the sport’s preeminent game.

New England has earned nine Super Bowl berths overall, the most in NFL history.Robert Kraft is the only owner in NFL history to have his team play in eight Super Bowls. The eight Super Bowl appearances since Kraft purchased the team in 1994 are the most in the league over that span. Denver and Pittsburgh are tied for second with four.