Do you wish our schedule was tougher?

[jmt57]

The Patriots will have plenty of 'tests' over the course of the season

- Buffalo x2
- Pittsburgh, who will win the AFCN
- Cleveland has the #1 ranked defense & #1 run defense in the NFL, based on yards/game
- Atlanta is a playoff contender, has defeated Minnesota, Washington and Buffalo, and owns the NFL's #2 defense
- at Tampa Bay, who will have Mike Evans back by then, and the potential 2025 MVP (Baker Mayfield)
- Cincinnati, rejuvenated with Joe Flacco throwing to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, looked good beating Pitt
- NYG has a good QB in Dart (remember the preseason game?), has defeated LAC and Phil, and nearly won at Denver
- Week 16 at Baltimore will be tough, as they'll have injured players back before then


That's plenty of tough games for a rebuilding team coming off a 4-win season.

 

[ViperGTS]

They only won in Buffalo because they followed my gameplan, which was to score more points than the Bills.

You sir, are Canton bound.

 

[mayoclinic]

We play the NFCN next year as opposed to the NFCS this year. That alone makes it tougher, plus not playing a last place schedule.
I will gladly take this years schedule and smile all the way to....11 wins?

13, I hope.

Next year:

- 6 games against Division opponents
- 4 games against AFC West teams
- 2 games against 1st or 2nd place AFC North and South teams
- 4 games against NFCN
- 1 game against NFCW

That will be brutal. NFCN, NFCW and AFCW are 3 deepest divisions in football.

Enjoy the creampuffs while we can.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

13, I hope.

Next year:

- 6 games against Division opponents
- 4 games against AFC West teams
- 2 games against 1st or 2nd place AFC North and South teams
- 4 games against NFCN
- 1 game against NFCW

That will be brutal. NFCN, NFCW and AFCW are 3 deepest divisions in football.

Enjoy the creampuffs while we can.

I was trying to be overly guarded on the 11.....I think 13 is in the realm of possible, but still feels a little high. I will be very happy to be wrong.

 

[mayoclinic]

We could win 13 games this year, field a much better team in 2026, and be very fortunate to go 10-7 against that schedule.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

No. In 2016 we had a crazy easy schedule but it didn’t matter.

2007 and 2010 teams dominated against incredibly tough schedules but still got knocked off at the end. Im not concerned about‘testing ourselves’ , getting wins is the priority

 

[dliverey44]

The 1st year of a new HC and OC and a 2nd year QB, I want an easy schedule. Next year will be more difficult because they will have a season of film on Maye with this offense.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Perfect year for easy schedule
Between players learning new systems
Drake getting into a groove and gaining confidence
Learning how to win

 

[Vindicate]

No. This is a single game series sport. The talent disparity is pretty low and even lower in the playoffs. If you make it there, generally you can hang with the talent there.

This team has been tested a few times already. They're not beating the breakers off competition, and even when they do, they're in precarious positions like being down 10-3 with the Titans making moves to score and bring it to 17-3.

Being battle tested is another way of saying "have you faced and overcome adversity", and I think this team has so far and will continue to do so. At that point, strength of schedule doesn't mean a whole lot once you're in the playoffs.

 

[Tunescribe]

When I was young I wanted the Patriots to have the easiest possible route to victory. If I could have I'd have had us playing each playoff round against a team of blinded monkeys. But as I've gotten older I appreciate that a team has to be tested at different points in their season to really show that they're special enough to win a title.

Watching some Blue Jays games this year I saw them fight through adversity and thought they could be special, and tonight we'll find out if I was right. But I feel a Hell of a lot better as a fan going in to Game 7 knowing we've been tested before. So, I'm wondering what each of you thinks about our level of competition.

The "easy schedule" argument is way overrated. The NFL is defined by parity, even more so this year,

 

[A Defiant Goose]

 

[festy1986]

Does it make a difference? They're not going to win the Superbowl with this roster.

Just enjoy the ride because 4 weeks ago I thought they could easily rip out at 6 or 7 wins.

 

[dliverey44]

Does it make a difference? They're not going to win the Superbowl with this roster.

Just enjoy the ride because 4 weeks ago I thought they could easily rip out at 6 or 7 wins.

So much this

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Does it make a difference? They're not going to win the Superbowl with this roster.

Just enjoy the ride because 4 weeks ago I thought they could easily rip out at 6 or 7 wins.

I mean?

They could?

 

[Triumph]

Trigger warning

Yes

5 - 2 vs top teams would mean the Pats are really back.During the Dynasty years we would disect opponents as Frauds for not really beating anybody.

We were right about the fraud more than wrong about them too.

There is the phenomenon of the lucky fortunate team getting hot and taking down the juggernaut team. The 16 - 0 Pats vs the 10 - 6 Giants is one such example.

Just sayin

 

[XLIX]

The Patriots are playing well. It is an exciting season. But.....

.... can we please dial down the hubris in this forum??

To wish for a harder schedule is the most moronic thing I have heard in quite some time.

 

[bresna]

Any given Sunday, right? I mean c'mon... they lost the season opener at home to a terrible Raiders team. Then they lost to a crappy Steelers team by coughing up the ball 5 times.

I wouldn't care if they played the Washington Generals every week, as long as they win.

 

[PYPER]

I expect the schedule will turn out a little harder than it might appear right now. In addition to the games against Buffalo and Tampa Bay there are four additional games against teams that will likely be significantly better in the second half of the season than they have been up to now.

Atlanta is going to be a tough game for us. Penix is still inconsistent but when he's on, that team is extremely dangerous.

Baltimore is currently 1-5 but they've got a cupcake schedule remaining and If LJ get healthy, they still have a realistic shot to finish with 9 or 10 wins.

Joe Flacco completely changes the Bengals. That game was looking like a cakewalk after Burrows went down but old man Flacco might be the best version of Flacco. If protected and surrounded by the skill position guys they have over there, I can see Cincy getting back in the playoff race.

The Giants are also a dangerous team with JD at the helm. That was a crushing loss at Denver but this Giants team has the ingredients to be dangerous. They had the best draft in the NFL. Their pass rush has the potential to be the best in the league and Skattebo is the type of running back every fan wishes their team drafted. Don't be surprised to see them stockpile wins during the second half of the season.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Trigger warning

Yes

5 - 2 vs top teams would mean the Pats are really back.During the Dynasty years we would disect opponents as Frauds for not really beating anybody.

We were right about the fraud more than wrong about them too.

There is the phenomenon of the lucky fortunate team getting hot and taking down the juggernaut team. The 16 - 0 Pats vs the 10 - 6 Giants is one such example.

Just sayin

I think it's fair for us to look at this team and the league differently with this team being so young and coming off back to back 4-13 seasons compared to how we sat on a high horse amidst a 20 year run of success that's unparalleled in league history.

Are we going to get weeded out as a "fraud" team at some point? I hope not, but if I had to bet I'd say probably. But that's ok. I hope we still get that playoff experience.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

I expect the schedule will turn out a little harder than it might appear right now. In addition to the games against Buffalo and Tampa Bay there are four additional games against teams that will likely be significantly better in the second half of the season than they have been up to now.

Atlanta is going to be a tough game for us. Penix is still inconsistent but when he's on, that team is extremely dangerous.

Baltimore is currently 1-5 but they've got a cupcake schedule remaining and If LJ get healthy, they still have a realistic shot to finish with 9 or 10 wins.

Joe Flacco completely changes the Bengals. That game was looking like a cakewalk after Burrows went down but old man Flacco might be the best version of Flacco. If protected and surrounded by the skill position guys they have over there, I can see Cincy getting back in the playoff race.

The Giants are also a dangerous team with JD at the helm. That was a crushing loss at Denver but this Giants team has the ingredients to be dangerous. They had the best draft in the NFL. Their pass rush has the potential to be the best in the league and Skattebo is the type of running back every fan wishes their team drafted. Don't be surprised to see them stockpile wins during the second half of the season.

Everything you said is true but you're kind of just highlighting how weak the schedule actually is by saying it. These are all pro teams. Even an "easy" schedule doesn't mean you play the 0-16 Lions every week. The BAL thing is very legit because of guys returning from injury, but if ATL/CIN/NYG are the tougher games on the schedule that's a very favorable slate.