On February 16, 2005, three days after playing in the 2005 Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, linebacker Tedy Bruschi suffered a mild stroke while at his home in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.

[10] However, three-time Pro Bowl defensive back Ty Law was released in a salary cap move[9] and would stay in the division, signing with the New York Jets.

[15] Veteran linebacker Roman Phifer, who had started on all three of the Patriots' Super Bowl teams, was also released,[16] along with nose tackle Keith Traylor.

Linebackers Chad Brown and Monty Beisel started six games together to begin the season,[19] but both were benched in favor of Mike Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi, after returning from his stroke.

Free agents or potential free agents Brandon Gorin,[10] Patrick Pass,[10] Stephen Neal,[10] Tom Ashworth,[10] Don Davis,[10] David Givens,[28] Jarvis Green,[28] and Troy Brown (after being released) were all re-signed,[29] while Tom Brady,[30] Mike Vrabel, and Green all received long-term contract extensions.

Notations Coming off their second straight Super Bowl win, the Patriots and Gillette Stadium played host to the extravagant NFL kickoff celebration and the Oakland Raiders.

The Patriots would respond with an Adam Vinatieri field goal, and then take the lead on an 18-yard touchdown reception by reigning Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch.

After a Jarvis Green strip-sack of Collins was recovered by Vince Wilfork deep in Raiders' territory, the Patriots expanded their lead on an 8-yard Corey Dillon touchdown run.

Following a blocked Josh Miller punt, the Raiders had the ball in Patriots territory and capitalized, with Collins completing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Anderson.

The win would prove costly for the Patriots, though, who lost starting tackle Matt Light and safety Rodney Harrison to season-ending injuries.

This game marked the return of Tedy Bruschi, who had sat out the whole season due to a stroke suffered in February (see above) The undefeated Colts and quarterback Peyton Manning traveled to Foxboro looking for their first win there since 1995.

The Patriots defense though, proved ineffective at stopping the Colts on third down, giving up a 17-play drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Edgerrin James.

On their next drive, a Mike Vrabel interception of Manning gave the Patriots good field position, only to be squandered by a Corey Dillon fumble at the Colts' 18-yard line.

Down 20 points, Brady mounted another scoring drive, this time hitting Troy Brown on a 19-yard touchdown strike to cut the Colts' lead to 34–21.

Brady was held without a touchdown pass for the third time in the previous two seasons and Adam Vinatieri surpassed Gino Cappelletti as the Patriots' all-time leader in points.

[36] Patriots backup quarterback Doug Flutie converted a drop kick for an extra point for the first time since the 1941 NFL Championship Game.

Neither team could score in the first quarter, but early in the second, New England receiver Tim Dwight returned Chris Hanson's 46-yard punt 27 yards to the Jaguars' 37-yard line.

Two 4-yard runs by Corey Dillon and an 18-yard burst from Kevin Faulk then moved the ball to the 11-yard line, and Brady capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown.

On Jacksonville's ensuing possession, Jimmy Smith's 19-yard reception his team a first down for the first time in the game and moved the ball to the Patriots' 44-yard line.

But on the next play, a tackle from safety Eugene Wilson caused Alvin Pearman to fumble the ball, and defensive lineman Richard Seymour recovered it.

Quarterback Byron Leftwich completed five passes for 59 yards on the drive, and Josh Scobee finished it with a 36-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 7–3.

After the kickoff, Faulk's 21-yard reception moved the ball to midfield and gave the Patriots a chance to increase their lead before halftime, but receiver Deion Branch dropped a pass from Brady at the Jaguars' 10-yard line with 19 seconds left.

Then after forcing a punt, Brady threw a short pass to Watson who broke several tackles en route to a 63-yard score, increasing New England's lead to 21–3.

On the next play, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a 51-yard completion to André Davis, setting up Adam Vinatieri's 40-yard field goal to give New England a 3–0 lead.

With New England leading 3–0 with less than two minutes left in the first half, Broncos linebacker Ian Gold recovered a fumble from Kevin Faulk on the Patriots' 40-yard line.

Later in the fourth quarter, Troy Brown muffed a Denver punt and the Broncos recovered it on New England's 15-yard line, setting up Rod Smith's four-yard touchdown pass from Plummer.

Notations 53 active, 11 inactive, 6 practice squad Numerous players were the recipients of awards for their performances in the 2005 regular season: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and defensive end Richard Seymour were both named to the AFC team in the 2006 Pro Bowl.