New England Patriots 2017 second half preview and predictions
With a 6-2 record, the New England Patriots are in their bye week preparing for the second half of the season. Here’s how I see the next 8 games shaking out.
As the New England Patriots sit back and enjoy their Sunday without football, we’ll take a look at the upcoming second half of their season.
New England hasn’t played their best yet, but they are 6-2 through 8 games in 2017. They sit atop the AFC East for now, but they have 5 division games still remaining. They barely beat the New York Jets, and those teams will meet again in week 17. Before then, the Patriots have to take on the Bills and Dolphins twice each, in a 5-week span.
The Patriots other 3 games in the second half will come against the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers. All three are tough teams, but they have underperformed a bit so far this season.
Week 10: Sunday, November 12th 8:30 PM at Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos have fallen apart. They have lost their last three games (Giants, Chargers, Chiefs) and as I write this they’re getting blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles at halftime. So, it looks like Denver will be 3-5 as they head into the Sunday Night Football clash with the Patriots.
The Denver defense is still solid, but they’ve begun to give up points. I think New England is going to be extremely eager to get the offense back on the field after a poor showing in week 8, and they’ll reach 30-points once again for the first time since the Carolina game.
New England’s defense should be able to handle Denver’s offense no matter who the quarterback is, be it Brock Osweiler or Paxton Lynch or Trevor Semien. This will be a let down for a Sunday night game as the Patriots win it easily off their bye week.