Patriots Become 2nd Team to Reach 10 Wins in 12 Straight Seasons

The New England Patriots improved to 10-3 with Sunday's 23-14 win over the San Diego Chargers, becoming the second franchise since the AFL-NFL merger to win 10 or more games in 12 consecutive seasons, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The feat was previously accomplished by the San Francisco 49ers from 1983 to 1998, with the franchise winning four of its five Super Bowls during the 16-year span. The 49ers only missed the playoffs once during that time, falling short because of a tiebreaker at the end of a 10-6 season in 1991.

The Patriots have found similar success during their current run, which began in 2003, following a 9-7 campaign in 2002. The team won Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004, with the only playoff miss coming in 2008, when New England went 11-5 but missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds the record for most consecutive 10-win seasons by a coach, as the 49ers had three different bench bosses—Bill Walsh, George Seifert and Steve Mariucci—during their 16-season streak.

The 49ers' leading passer was either Joe Montana or Steve Young in each of the 16 years, while Tom Brady has been the Patriots' leading passer in 11 of the 12 10-win seasons, with the lone exception being 2008, when he went out for the season in Week 1 with a torn ACL.