<P> The modern NFL championship game, the Super Bowl, was founded in the 1966 season; the first four were contested between the champions of the AFL and the NFL . After the merger, the Super Bowl became the united league's championship . The Patriots made the 1963 AFL Championship Game, but struggled severely in the early years of the united league, not making the postseason until 1976 . After a few good seasons including a Super Bowl appearance against a champion Bears outfit, the Patriots reached a nadir between 1989 and 1993 when they won only 19 of 80 games . </P> <P> Since Bill Belichick was hired as the team's head coach in 2000, the Patriots have finished first or second in the AFC East every year except Belichick's first season, with both second - place finishes caused by tiebreakers . Over that time, they have won five Super Bowls, eight AFC Championship Games, and fourteen AFC East titles, while amassing a regular season record of 201--71 . The team's quarterback over that same period, Tom Brady, has been awarded the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player four times; he is one of only five players named Super Bowl MVP more than once, and the only one named 4 times . </P> <P> The Patriots have won five Super Bowl championships (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, and LI). They also played in and lost Super Bowls XX, XXXI, XLII, XLVI, and Super Bowl LII . During the 2007 regular season, the Patriots became the only NFL team in history to win 16 games, and the first since the 1972 Miami Dolphins (in a 14 - game season) to complete the regular campaign undefeated . Belichick's Patriots are one of only two teams to win three Super Bowls in four years (the other being the Dallas Cowboys from 1993 to 1996). </P> <P> Overall, the Patriots have made 24 playoff appearances, one of which was before the merger . Since the merger, they have played fourteen AFC Championship Games, winning ten of them to advance to the Super Bowl . In the Patriots' 56 - year history, they have an overall regular season record of 476 wins, 383 losses, and 9 ties, plus an overall postseason record of 32 wins and 19 losses . In the 2017 NFL season, the Patriots reached their 10th Super Bowl, breaking their own record for most Super Bowl appearances by any organization of all time . </P>

How many superbowls have the patriots won in a row
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