Pats release their schedule for 2014

FOXBOROUGH – The National Football League announced the 2014 regular season schedule on Wednesday and the New England Patriots and their fans learned that the team will host the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 4:25 p.m. and is scheduled to play in five nationally-televised games during the regular season, including two at Gillette Stadium. The first prime time home game will be Oct. 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals on NBC (8:30 p.m.) followed by a Thursday night game on Oct. 16 against the New York Jets on NFL Network/CBS (8:25 p.m.).The 2014 season will mark the third straight year that the Patriots will play against the Jets on Thursday Night Football. Last season, the Patriots beat the Jets, 13-10, in a Week 2 matchup on NFL Network. In 2012, the Patriots traveled to face the Jets in a Thursday game on Thanksgiving night at MetLife Stadium and earned a 49-19 victory. Including this year?s game, four of the last five Thursday games for the Patriots have been against the Jets.The Patriots are scheduled to be featured in four other prime time games, including three NBC Sunday Night Football contests and one ESPN Monday Night Football game. On Sept. 29, the Patriots will make their only appearance on ESPN?s Monday Night Football when they face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. It will be New England?s first trip to Kansas City since 2005. The teams last met in a Monday night matchup on Nov. 21, 2011 at Gillette Stadium with the Patriots claiming a 34-3 victory.The Patriots will play in back-to-back primetime games when they follow the Kansas City game by hosting the AFC North Champion Cincinnati Bengals on NBC?s Sunday Night Football on Oct. 5. The Patriots traveled to Cincinnati last season with a 4-0 record before suffering their first loss of the year in a 13-6 decision at Paul Brown Stadium.The Patriots will travel to face the AFC South Champion Indianapolis Colts in a rematch of the AFC Divisional Playoff game in a Sunday night contest on Nov. 16 at 8:30 p.m. The Patriots rolled to a 43-22 victory over the Colts in the postseason last year to advance to their third straight AFC Championship Game. The Patriots and Colts will face off for the 12th consecutive year. The Patriots will also travel to San Diego to face the Chargers on Sunday Night on Dec. 7.In addition to the five scheduled nationally-televised games, the Patriots will be the featured game of the week twice. New England will host the Denver Broncos in a rematch of the 2013 AFC Championship Game on Nov. 2 at 4:25 p.m. on CBS and play at Green Bay on Nov. 30 on CBS at 4:25 p.m.The Patriots will play each of the other AFC East rivals twice and will play one game against each of the AFC West and NFC North teams. As the AFC East Champions, the Patriots will play the 2013 division winners of the AFC North (Cincinnati) and the AFC South (Indianapolis).