The rubber hits the road as the journey to the 40th Super Bowl begins on Thursday night, September 8.

That’s when the NFL will kick off its season with a rematch of a memorable playoff game as the OAKLAND RAIDERS invade Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts to face the Super Bowl XXXIX champion NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS. The game will be televised live on ABC at 9:00 PM ET.

The meeting will be the Raiders’ first visit to New England since their confrontation with the Patriots on Saturday night, January 19, 2002.

In a driving snowstorm, the game was tied at 13-13 by the Patriots on an ADAM VINATIERI 45-yard field goal and then won in overtime on a 23-yard Vinatieri kick.

"Everybody’s going to be watching," says Raiders center JAKE GROVE.

And everybody will be asking:

Can the Patriots do it again?

Can they this year become the first team in history to win three Super Bowls in a row, and the first to capture four Super Bowls in five seasons?

The team with the blue-collar work ethic has won an amazing 34 of its last 38 games, including playoffs.

The word that comes to everybody’s mind when the Patriots are mentioned is "dynasty." Everybody, of course, but the Patriots themselves.

"We’ll start at the bottom of the heap like everybody else," says New England’s down-to-earth coach BILL BELICHICK.

The Quarterbacks

One has shined time and again on the NFL’s greatest stage while the other aims to return to it.

Quarterbacks TOM BRADY and KERRY COLLINS throw the 2005 NFL season into high gear this Thursday when Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots host Collins and the tuned-up Oakland Raiders in Foxboro (ABC, 9:00 PM ET).

Brady can become the first quarterback to lead a team to three consecutive Super Bowl titles while Collins aims to become the first quarterback since CRAIG MORTON ( Super Bowl V, Dallas Cowboys & Super Bowl XII, Denver Broncos) to lead two different teams to a Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXXV N.Y. Giants, 2000).

Although Brady and Collins dominate the spotlight Thursday, quarterbacks across the NFL aim to make 2005 a banner year and lead their team to Super Bowl XL in Detroit on February 5.

SERIES LEADER: PATRIOTS 14-12-1

COACHES VS. OPPONENT
Turner: 1-0
Belichick: 3-1

NFL 2005 PRESEASON RECORD
Oakland Raiders: 1-3
New England Patriots: 2-2

LAST GAME 11/17/02: Patriots 20 at Raiders 27.

Oakland QB Rich Gannon passes for 297 yards & rushes for 1 TD as Raiders win on Sunday night.

LAST GAME AT SITE 10/9/94: L.A. Raiders 21, Patriots 17.

Raiders CB Terry McDaniel intercepts 3 passes & returns 1 for 14-yard TD.

2004 STAT LEADERS

NOTES

GAME KICKS OFF 86th NFL regular season

RAIDERS:

Have won past 3 regular season meetings in series. Own NFL’s 3rd-best road record since ’70 (139-125-4, .526)…… In last 7 wks of ’04, QB KERRY COLLINS totaled 2nd-most TD passes in NFL w/ 16 (PEYTON MANNING, Ind., 18). In that span, Collins had 17 passes for 25+ yds, tied for 3rdmost in league. Collins has 7 TDs vs. 3 INTs in Sept. since ’03……RB LA MONT JORDAN averages 5.3 yds/carry on road in career (139 atts.)……WR RANDY MOSS plays 1st game as Raider. Since ’98, Moss has NFL-best 90 TD catches & his 9,142 rec. yds are 2nd-most in NFL in that span (MARVIN HARRISON, Ind., 9,483). Moss has 5 TDs in 3 career Thurs. games. WR DOUG GABRIEL ranked No. 7 in AFC last season w/ 16.7-yd/catch avg……DTs WARREN SAPP (7) & TED WASHINGTON (4) combine for 11 Pro Bowl selections……

PATRIOTS:

Can be 1st team to win 3 consecutive Super Bowls & 4 NFL titles in 5 yrs……Head coach BILL BELICHICK aims for 100th career win, including playoffs. Has led NE to 34 wins in past 2 yrs, including playoffs, for highest 2-yr win total in NFL history……Including playoffs, QB TOM BRADY is 19-2 (.905) in gms decided by 6 pts or less & is 27-4 (.871) in career as home starter……RB COREY DILLON set club record in ’04 w/ career-best 1,635 rush yds & posted 9 100-yd games in ’04, tying club record (CURTIS MARTIN, 1995)……WR DAVID GIVENS reached career-highs in catches (56) & yds (874) in ’04. TE DAVID GRAHAM (7) tied for 2nd-most TDs by TE yr ago……Pats have 5 INTs in 2 career mtgs vs. Oak’s Collins. DT RICHARD SEYMOUR led D-line in tackles for past 3 yrs & has blocked 5 FG tries in 4 yrs, including playoffs. LB MONTY BEISEL (w/KC) had 1.0 sack vs. Oak in last mtg (12/25/04). S RODNEY HARRISON (27.5) is NFL’s all-time DB sack leader.

NFL 2005 - Who's Who in NFL Quarterbacks

Patriots & Raiders Kick Off NFL 2005 Season

NFL 2005 - Eagles & Falcons in Rematch

McNabb and Vick have established themselves as two of the premier quarterbacks in football, each with the ability to amaze with both their arm and legs.

In addition to the excitement generated by the QBs, the game is a rematch of last season’s exciting NFC Championship, won by the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 on a cold, blustery January day in Philadelphia.

Super Bowl XL