Patriots Insider Cites ‘Breezy Schedule’ As Reason For 2025 Optimism
The New England Patriots are inspiring hope of a swift turnaround under Mike Vrabel in 2025. An insider identified this season’s schedule as one reason why New England should improve.
NBC Sports’ Tom E. Curran named six factors promising a better season for the Patriots, who went 4-13 in 2024. Along with a new coaching staff, stout secondary and bolstered front-seven, Curran pointed to New England’s opponents.
While last year’s schedule wasn’t overly brutal, Curran feels the Pats will experience a decline in opposing quarterback play. Drake Maye could outplay several of his competitors during his second season.
“The home schedule is — on paper — cinchy (as we used to say in the 70s). And the quarterback nod should go to the Patriots more than half the year,” Curran wrote. “If Maye progresses as expected.”
The numbers back up Curran’s claim. NFL analyst Warren Sharp has the Patriots possessing the NFL’s second-easiest schedule behind the San Francisco 49ers, based on their opponents’ Vegas win projections.
Eleven of New England’s 17 games are against teams that recorded a losing record in 2024. The Patriots play eight games against last year’s bottom-10 finishers, all of whom went 5-12 or worse.
Just two of their nine home opponents (Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers) finished over .500 last season. As a result, DraftKings’ opening odds favored the Patriots to win 11 of their games.
Of course, things don’t always go the way they’re expected to on paper.
The Patriots opened the 2024 campaign by upsetting a Cincinnati Bengals squad with Super Bowl aspirations. They then lost to the Seattle Seahawks, who finished 10-7, in overtime and split two close games against the Bills to close the schedule.
However, New England also lost all four games to an AFC South grouping that went a combined 25-43 with a minus-314 point differential. The Tennessee Titans still edged out the Pats for the No. 1 pick despite a Week 9 overtime victory behind Mason Rudolph.