The 2008 season was the New England Patriots' 39th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 49th overall. The Patriots were defending AFC champions. Despite finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record, the Patriots did not qualify for the playoffs—becoming the first 11-win team since the expansion to a 12-team playoff in 1990 to miss the playoffs, as well as only the second team (after the 1985 Denver Broncos) since the NFL expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. They also were the first team to go undefeated in the previous regular season and miss the playoffs the next season.