New England Patriots Schedule 2018 Patriots Schedule

The Patriots are on their way to another playoff season, and continue to dominate within their own division. The Pats have been unbeatable at home, while on the road they have struggled a bit. New England got off to a slow start, losing two of their first three games. They then rattled off six straight wins before another road loss against Tennessee. New England has two tough games smashed in between some easier divisional games. They get a home matchup against Kirk Cousins and the Vikings, and then go on the road to face the Steelers in a potential playoff matchup. Outside of that, they face the Jets twice, the Bills once, and the Dolphins. The divisional wins are all winnable, which should propel them to double-digit wins again.

New England has been mostly trying to get fully healthy, as Rob Gronkowski, Sony Michel, and Rex Burkhead have had lingering injuries over the last few weeks. The Patriots will likely play it safe with these names for the rest of the season, but getting home field advantage has to be a priority right now. The Patriots have never been a team to run a full workload, so expect more committee work with James White, Michel, and Burkhead the rest of the way. Cordarrelle Patterson will likely have some work, but in a limited fashion.

Getting the defense prepared for some good AFC offenses in the playoffs will be key, and buckling down on the weaker New York and Miami offenses is going to likely set them up for a run into the postseason. Josh Gordon is looking more and more like the WR1 in New England, seeing 6+ targets since getting adjusted to the offense. Once Gronkowski comes back, it will be interesting to see if this volume holds. Either way, the Patriots got Gordon for an absolute steal.

Patriots Preseason Schedule Analysis

The Patriots continue to play in a division where they will get five or six wins against their far lesser opponents. Buffalo is in shambles, while New York and Miami have no real direct plan for the future. The Patriots also get the AFC South again, but also a very intriguing NFC North. This sets up a game that will headline Tom Brady Vs. Aaron Rodgers. The Patriots will be able to feast upon teams like Indianapolis, Kansas City, Chicago, and Tennessee, which adds another few wins to their already growing total. Games against Houston and Jacksonville will be a bit tougher when facing the AFC South opponents, but both are winnable games when you have Tom Brady under center. When you finish first in the division you play other division leaders, and this year it is Minnesota and Pittsburgh. The Steelers are familiar enemies, but the Vikings will be new opponents that we don’t usually see play often. Both will be fun near the end of the year games, especially when the Patriots actually have some viable competition which doesn’t happen most weeks. The Patriots game on the road against Detroit early on is an interesting game, because it feels like one of those games where the Pats slip up then go on a major run for the rest of the season. While this team has lost some bodies, and the players get older, they continue to churn out wins. This division is dreadful, which benefits the Patriots a great deal.