Rough Stretches In Schedule
There are stretches in this schedule that will challenge the Patriots. First, they start the season with tough opponents from week one through week four, playing against Seattle, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and the Bills. Seattle, Jacksonville, and Buffalo are away games. This stretch to start the season will tell and show a lot about how good this Patriots team is going to be. Starting the year like this will be exceptionally rocky, but it is extremely important for New England as it will set the outlook for the rest of their season.
Weeks nine to 15 will be another big stretch for New England, with its bye in week 11. Week nine, they face the Packers at Gillette Stadium. New England will then travel internationally to Germany to see the Lions before the bye week. The week 11 bye will be huge for the Patriots. By that time of the season, it will be helpful to have the week off to regroup and prepare, with tough games everywhere surrounding the bye week.
After the bye, there’s no slowing down in the schedule as they go to Los Angeles to play the Chargers in primetime fashion on Sunday night. Followed by two important home games in weeks 13 and 14, playing the Bills, a division rival in week 13, and the Vikings on primetime Thursday night in week 14. Taking advantage of home field this late in the season is what New England will have to do. Week 15 strikes another difficult matchup for the Patriots on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs. Having this hard of a six-game stretch in the second half of the season could be the make-or-break for New England.
Overall Schedule Reaction
This schedule for the Patriots is exciting, with five nationally televised games and tough opponents, as it will give fans the chance to see how good they actually are and stop being in denial.
