2006 New England Patriots season

The 2006 season was the New England Patriots' 37th in the National Football League (NFL), their 47th overall and their seventh under head coach Bill Belichick. They finished with a 12–4 record and a division title before losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs.

The Patriots entered the season without their two starting wide receivers from 2005; David Givens left in free agency while Deion Branch held out for a new contract before being traded in early September. They were eventually replaced with Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney, who was signed as a street free agent in October. Back-to-back losses in November ended the team's streak of 57 games without consecutive losses, three games shy of the NFL record. The field surface of Gillette Stadium was changed from natural grass to Field Turf in time for the November 26 game against Chicago.

With a 12–4 record and their fourth straight division title, the Patriots entered the playoffs as the fourth seed. They defeated the New York Jets in the wild-card round. A close win over the top-seeded 14–2 San Diego Chargers on the road in the divisional round set the Patriots up to face their rival Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game. Despite opening up a 21–3 lead, the Patriots stumbled down the stretch at the RCA Dome and the Colts emerged with a 38–34 victory, from which they would go on to win Super Bowl XLI.

This would be the last year the Patriots would win a Wild Card game until 2025. For many years, this was primarily due to securing the no. 1 or no. 2 seed and receiving the first-round bye when entering the playoffs. For their final two playoff outings before 2025, these being in 2019 and 2021, they would lose in the Wild Card round.