New England Patriots 2017 second half preview and predictions

Logan Jakubajtys

FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 22: Antonio Brown

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.

Game Prediction: Patriots 31, Broncos 17

Week 11: Sunday, November 19th 4:25 PM at Oakland Raiders (Mexico City)

Like the Denver Broncos, Oakland is also 3-5. They will take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday night, and a loss would really ruin their season. A win would mean the Patriots game in Mexico City could get them back to .500. I hope the Patriots are facing a dejected 3-6 team.

The Raiders are a weird team because they have won big games like week 1 against Tennessee and week 7 against Kansas City. Their only other win though came against the New York Jets. They’ve lost to Redskins, Broncos, Ravens, Chargers, and Bills so far.

New England should be able to control this game, but Marshawn Lynch and Derek Carr do scare me a little. I believe the Raiders will hang around for three quarters before Tom Brady takes over and leads the Patriots to win.

Game Prediction: Patriots 35, Raiders 24

Week 12: Sunday, November 26th 1 PM vs Miami Dolphins

The AFC slate of 4 games in 5 weeks begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving with a home tilt against the Miami Dolphins. Jay Cutler is out injured, so Matt Moore is now the Miami leader on offense. That’s not a great sign for them.

The Dolphins are 4-3 heading into their game against the Oakland Raiders tonight, but they have played even better than their record shows. They hung in their week 1 contest with the Eagles, but they somehow lost to the Jets and Saints. They’re hard to figure out, but division games are always tough no matter what. I think Stephen Gostkowski wins this one for New England as time expires.

Game Prediction: Patriots 27, Dolphins 24

Week 13: Sunday, December 3rd 1 PM at Buffalo Bills

After a nail-biter with the Dolphins, the Patriots will travel to Gronk’s homeland to take on the Bills. I think the offense really gets rolling in this one, scoring over 40 points. The Bills are right on the Patriots heels in the AFC East, but a week 9 loss to the Jets really hampered their hopes.

Buffalo should win their next 2 games against the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers, but they have to play the Kansas City Chiefs before this New England game. They’ll be worn down from that game and New England will roll in Orchard Park.

Game Prediction: Patriots 45, Bills 28

Week 14: Monday, December 11th 8:30 PM at Miami Dolphins

For the second time in three weeks, the New England Patriots will have to take on the Miami Dolphins. This could be another close contest down in Florida.

For some reason, it seems like the Patriots always struggle when they have to go to Miami later in the season. I think they’ll be able to control the clock with the running game though, and the defense will limit an offense that no longer features Jay Ajayi. In the end, the Patriots will win it by a touchdown.

Game Prediction: Patriots 24, Dolphins 17

Week 15: Sunday, December 17th 4:25 PM at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Patriots will likely be in a battle for the #1 seed in the AFC with the Steelers and the Chiefs. Kansas City has already beaten the Patriots this season, and sadly I think the Steelers will too. They’re tough to beat when they have Big Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and LeVeon Bell all healthy. Right now that’s the case, and although things could change I’m predicting this game as if they’ll all be in. The Patriots offense should be able to score, but I believe Pittsburgh will as well.

New England may very well have the better record at this point in the season though, as the Steelers have 5 games before this one. The Titans, Ravens, and Bengals could all potentially beat Pittsburgh but I doubt Green Bay or Indianapolis will.

The game with the Patriots will be extremely close, but I give Pittsburgh the home field advantage 3-point win.

Game Prediction: Steelers 34, Patriots 31

Week 16: Sunday, December 24th 1 PM vs Buffalo Bills

After a high-scoring game in week 13 in Buffalo, I believe we get a more defensive battle in week 16. This Christmas Eve matchup will hopefully be the beginning of a white Christmas in some snow. Those types of games are always the best as teams rely on their running game to slow the tempo and control the game. New England would have the edge, and they’ll find the end zone twice while their defense shuts down Buffalo.

Game Prediction: Patriots 20, Bills 0

Week 17: Sunday, December 31st 1 PM vs New York Jets

The Patriots may not have the luxury of taking a breather in week 17 this season as it could matter for playoff seeding. New England played poorly in New York against the Jets earlier this season, and in week 17 they could look to send a message with a beat down on New Year’s Eve. This is a midday game, so they’ll have time for the beat down before their nights out or in with the family to welcome 2018 to the world. They’ll earn themselves a bye week and a top-2 seed with the win over the Jets.

Game Prediction: Patriots 41, Jets 13

Second Half Record: 7-1

Season Record: 13-3

New England will finish the season at 13-3 if they are able to go 7-1 down the stretch. The lone loss against Pittsburgh here will look bad at the time, but we all know New England is the better team in the playoffs. For fun, here are my AFC and NFC standings for the end of the season, and my quick picks for the playoffs.

Standings

AFC East: Patriots (13-3)
AFC North: Steelers (12-4)
AFC West: Chiefs (13-3)
AFC South: Titans (12-4)
AFC Wild Card: Jaguars (11-5)
AFC Wild Card: Ravens (11-5)
NFC East: Eagles (13-3)
NFC North: Vikings (12-4)
NFC West: Seahawks (11-5)
NFC South: Panthers (11-5)
NFC Wild Card: Lions (11-5)
NFC Wild Card: Falcons (10-6)

Wild Card Predictions

Steelers over Jaguars
Ravens over Titans
Lions over Panthers
Seahawks over Falcons

Divisional Round Predictions

Ravens over Chiefs

Patriots over Steelers

Eagles over Lions

Vikings over Seahawks

Next: Patriots 10 best regular season games of the last 10 years

Conference Championship and Super Bowl LII Predictions

Patriots over Ravens
Eagles over Vikings
Patriots over Eagles