1960 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the inaugural American Football League ' s 1960 season with a record of five wins and nine losses , and thus were last place in the AFL ' s Eastern Division . The team played their home games at Boston University ' s Nickerson Field ( formerly the site of the Boston Braves ' home ballpark Braves Field ) . Season summary . In 1960 , the inaugural season for both the Boston Patriots and the American Football League , the team played in several important " firsts " . The first ever AFL exhibition pre - season game was played between the Patriots and the Bills , which the Patriots won . The Patriots also played in the inaugural regular season game , a loss to the Broncos on September 9 , 1960 . The Patriots started the year going 2 – 2 , before running into a three game losing streak . They played a five game home stand , winning three of them to return their record to 5 – 5 , before ending the season on a four game slide . They finished the year with a 5 – 9 record , worst in the AFL ' s Eastern Division . Butch Songin was the leading passer , and Alan Miller the leading rusher . Gino Cappelletti was a defensive back and placekicker the first year . Just before the final game , a receiver was slow getting back to the huddle , so Gino Cappelletti filled in . He was impressive , and would be a receiver for the rest of his career . Game - by - game results . Home games in bold . Game 1 : The Patriots lost to the Broncos 13 – 10 in the AFL season opener . The patriots struck first , with a 34 yard field goal in the first quarter . On the first play of the second quarter , Denver receiver Al Carmichael caught a pass in the flats and scampered 41 yards for a touchdown . In the third quarter , Bronco Gene Mingo took a punt 76 yards for a touchdown . Later in the quarter Patriot receiver Jim Colclough lost a fumble on the Denver 38 . However , two plays later , Patriot defensive back Chuck Shonta took an interception 60 yards to the Denver 10 , setting up a 10 - yard touchdown pass from Butch Songin to Colclough in the right side of the end zone . In the fourth quarter , the Patriots seemed to be on a game - winning drive until an interception at the Denver 2 . The Broncos then ran 16 plays to run out the clock . Game 2 : The Patriots won a thriller at the Polo Grounds against the Titans , 28 – 24 . The Patriots dug themselves into a hole , down 24 to 7 in the fourth quarter . They were down 24 – 21 on the last play of the game . The center , Mike Hudock , gave a low snap to the Titans punter , who fumbled and Patriot Chuck Shonta picked it up and raced 52 yards for the game - winning score . Game 3 : The Patriots were shut out 13 – 0 against the Bills , the highlight being a 58 - yard touchdown pass from Tommy O ' Connell to Carl Smith . Game 4 : The Patriots won their first decisive win of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Los Angeles . It began with an 11 - play drive capped by a Gino Cappelletti field goal . On the following kickoff , Charger Don Norton fumbled , leading to a quick touchdown for Boston . The Patriots followed it up with a 19 - yard touchdown pass . On the next drive , Jim Crawford scored a touchdown , set up by a 78 - yard Billy Wells reception . A Harry Jacobs interception set up a Wells touchdown , and another Boston field goal wrapped up the day , as the Patriots rolled over the Chargers 35 – 0 . Game 5 : The Patriots , after their terrific win over the Chargers , were given a rude awakening in Oakland . On just the third play of game , Jack Larscheid scored on an 87 - yard run , and the Patriots never regained the lead . The Raiders quickly built up a 27 – 14 lead with 11 : 45 left to go in the first quarter . However , the Patriots twice drove deep into Oakland territory , both times winding up with Butch Songin throwing interceptions . The Patriots were sloppy throughout the game , with multiple unnecessary penalties and turnovers . Game 6 : The Patriots dropped a game that should have been theirs . Early in the third quarter , the Patriots led 24 – 0 . Boston had dominated , with three Songin touchdown passes and a field goal . The Broncos were down but not out , and rallied back to stun the Patriots . In the last quarter and a half , the Broncos scored 31 unanswered points to win the game . Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka lead the way , completing four touchdown passes to three different receivers . The game is still one of the largest deficits that a Patriot opponent has come back from to win . Game 7 : After an embarrassing loss several weeks before , the Chargers had revenge on their minds . They got it . The Chargers won the game by the time the first half arrived . When Paul Maguire fell on a fumble in the end zone early in the third quarter , they matched the 35 - point lead the Patriots had in the previous game . Despite the Patriots ' two following touchdowns , the Chargers ran over the Patriots 45 – 16 . Game 8 : The Patriots faced the Raiders in a must - win game . The Patriots dominated throughout three quarters , aided by three Songin passing touchdowns . Boston held a 31 to 14 lead entering the fourth quarter , and seemed to be on the verge of their third win of season . The Raiders tried to pull off a similar comeback that the Broncos had two games earlier . The Raiders scored twice on running plays , and were soon driving for the game winning score . The Patriots managed to avoid a loss or tie , intercepting future Patriot quarterback Babe Parilli with just under two minutes to go . The Patriots had won just their third game of the season . Roster . All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1960 Boston Patriots .