We are officially a week away from the start of the New England Patriots regular season action. By this time next week, we will all be getting ready to watch Mac Jones and the Pats kick off their regular season schedule against the Miami Dolphins. The hope is that the Patriots can put together a much better season than they did last year.
The recent announcement of Jones as the Patriots starting quarterback has completely changed the trajectory of this season. Where the offense seemed like it may be a bit handicapped with presumed starter Cam Newton under center, Jones natural fit into the offense will hopefully open things up this season.
With Jones now under center rather than Newton, it seems like a good time to revisit the Patriots schedule and see how this team stacks up against their opponents in the 17 contests they have this season. We already took part in this exercise a few months ago right after the NFL Draft, but so much has happened since then that it warrants another look now that we are closer to the start of the season.
Jones elevation to starter is just the beginning. Around the NFL there have been numerous new developments as well that have added exciting new wrinkles to each matchup on the regular season schedule. So with that being said, let’s run through the Patriots 2021 schedule and redo our predictions for each game they are set to play.
Week 1: New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, Sept 12, 4:25 PM
Despite some rumors picking up recently that Miami was eyeing a trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, they are set to roll into the season with second year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa under center. Tagovailoa struggled with consistency last season, and it’s fair to assume that may happen again this time around. The Dolphins also boast a solid defense that could give Jones some trouble in his first start, but it won’t prevent the Pats from kicking things off with a victory in this one. Patriots: 20 Dolphins: 12
Week 2: @ New York Jets, Sept. 19, 1:00 PM
It will be a battle of two rookie quarterbacks in Week 2 action, as the Pats head up to New York to take on the second overall pick Zach Wilson and the Jets. Wilson was impressive during preseason action, and has given Jets fans a level of excitement they haven’t had in awhile. Despite that, the rest of the Jets roster isn’t at good as New England’s, and the Pats should be able to coast to victory in this one. Patriots: 27 Jets: 13
Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints, Sept. 26, 1:00 PM
The tenor of this matchup has drastically changed since we last discussed it. Jameis Winston has been appointed the Saints new starting quarterback over Taysom Hill, and Michael Thomas will be missing in action in this contest. This one will most likely come down to the performance of Winston, who has been notoriously streaky throughout his career. Thomas being out swings the pendulum in favor of New England, who just squeak by with their third straight win. Patriots: 23 Saints: 21
Week 4: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oct. 3, 8:20 PM
One of the most anticipated games on the NFL calendar this season becomes even more exciting with New England undefeated after the first three weeks of action. It will be interesting to see if head coach Bill Belichick can devise a gameplan to slow down old friend Tom Brady and the Bucs offense. While he does a good job at this, the offense falters, and Tampa Bay hands New England their first loss of the season. Buccaneers: 16 Patriots: 9
Week 5: New England Patriots @ Houston Texans, Oct. 10, 1:00 PM
The Houston Texans messy offseason has remained unresolved, as Deshaun Watson still is facing 20+ sexual assault allegations, and hasn’t softened his stance on not wanting to play in Houston anymore. Maybe his situation will get figured out by Week 5, but even then, the Patriots have a better team than Houston. The Texans will score, but their defense has no answer to New England’s high-powered rushing attack. Patriots: 31 Texans: 21
Week 6: vs Dallas Cowboys, Oct. 17, 4:25 PM
After their playoff aspirations were crushed last season when Dak Prescott suffered a serious injury, the Cowboys, and Prescott, will be back looking to make up for last season’s struggles. The Cowboys offense has the potential to be one of the more dangerous units in the league if everything goes their way. All eyes will be on the Pats offense vs. the Cowboys defense in this one, but Jones will throw a pick with less than a minute to go to give Dallas a hard fought win. Cowboys: 30 Patriots: 27
Week 7: vs. New York Jets, Oct. 24, 1:00 PM
The Patriots get their second meeting with the Jets out of the way relatively early on, and pick up a similar result in their second go round. Wilson and the Jets offense have a better outing their second time around against the Pats defense, but so does Jones and the Pats offense. Jones throws for three touchdowns in this one, and powers New England to their fifth win of the season. Patriots: 35 Jets: 21
Week 8: @ Los Angeles Chargers, Oct. 31, 4:05 PM
The Pats will take on a Chargers team that is looking to build off an impressive rookie season from quarterback Justin Herbert. The question has always been whether the Chargers defense can support their offense, and in this game they do. The three headed monster of Herbert, Austin Ekeler, and Keenan Allen is too much for New England’s defense, and they suffer a tough loss in this one. Chargers: 28 Patriots: 16
Week 9: New England Patriots @ Carolina Panthers, Nov. 7, 1:00 PM
The Panthers are set for an interesting season as they continue to try to find their quarterback of the future. They landed on Sam Darnold this offseason, and it will be interesting to see how that pans out considering the talented weapons he has around him. It doesn’t work out against the Patriots, as Darnold’s struggles against Bill Belichick continue. Patriots: 24 Panthers: 10
Week 10: vs. Cleveland Browns, Nov. 14, 1:00 PM
The Browns appear to have finally found their way out of their nearly two decade stretch of irrelevance. Led by Baker Mayfield and an under the radar defense, Cleveland is going to be a team to watch in a packed AFC North. They prove as much against the Pats, as they sack Jones five times and never let him settle in during his worst game of the season so far. Browns: 30 Patriots: 7
Week 11: @ Atlanta Falcons, Nov. 18, 8:20 PM
The Falcons offense took a blow this offseason when they were forced into trading Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. Still, they have a dangerous trio in Matt Ryan, Calvin Ridley, and the fourth overall pick Kyle Pitts. Unfortunately, their defense can’t slow down Jones and the Pats offense, and New England bounces back after a tough loss the week before. Patriots: 26 Falcons: 14
Week 12: vs. Tennessee Titans, Nov. 28, 1:00 PM
Speaking of the Titans, they only managed to get stronger this offseason by making a big splash for Julio Jones, and now have one of the more dangerous wide receiver duos in the league with him and A.J. Brown. Not to mention they have Derrick Henry in the backfield as well, so it’s clear Tennessee is going to score a lot all season long. That trend proves true against the Patriots, who just can’t keep up with the Titans high-powered offense. Titans: 37 Patriots: 31
Week 13: @ Buffalo Bills, Dec. 6, 8:15 PM
The Patriots have to wait until Week 13 to get their first look at the presumed AFC East frontrunners, as this gives them a chance to see how far they are behind the top team in their division. While the Bills ground game won’t torch New England like it did last season, Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen continue to incite rage in Patriots fans all around New England. They get the best of them this time around again, with the offense unable to keep up with a top tier offense for the second week in a row. Bills: 31 Patriots: 23
New England Patriots begin with a Week 14 Bye
Week 15: @ Indianapolis Colts, Dec. 19, TBD
The Colts new quarterback experiment with Carson Wentz has gotten off to a rough start, as Wentz missed a considerable amount of training camp. Despite that, Indianapolis has a solid defense and will rely on their ground game to win them games. Two teams with similar gameplans leads to a tight contest, but the Patriots defense will force Wentz into a turnover late in the fourth to help secure a hard fought victory. Patriots: 24 Colts: 20
Week 16: vs. Buffalo Bills, Dec. 26, 1:00 PM
It’s tough to beat a Bill Belichick coached team twice in one season, but the Bills manage to pull off this tough feat this season. Despite slowing down the Allen-Diggs combination this time around, Allen finds his secondary targets for three touchdowns in this one to help lead Buffalo to a win. Jones gets New England in the red zone on the last drive with a chance to win the game, but the Bills defense forces a turnover on downs to close out this one. Bills: 21 Patriots: 17
Week 17: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Jan. 2, 1:00 PM
The Patriots will welcome in the top overall pick in this year’s draft, Trevor Lawrence, for a Week 17 visit in Foxboro. Belichick has a history of slowing down rookie quarterbacks, and while Lawrence has a good day, it isn’t enough to pull out a win, as he is outplayed by Jones on the other side. The Jaguars defense gets picked apart by Jones and the offense, as the Jaguars head back to the drawing board on his to fix their defensive unit. Patriots: 35 Jaguars: 24
Week 18: @ Miami Dolphins, Jan. 9, 1:00 PM
The Patriots will end their season against the same opponent they started it against, and they will get a similar result this time around. Jones shows how far he has progressed on the season, and will throw four touchdowns for the second game in a row. Tagovailoa has a better outing this time around, but the Dolphins lack of weapons makes things too easy for the Patriots defense. Patriots: 32 Dolphins: 23
Final Record: 10-7
This may be a bit optimistic considering we don’t know how Jones will perform, but there are a lot of winnable games on the New England Patriots schedule this season. It will be important to get off to a good start in the first half of the season, as the second half has some much more daunting contests that could derail the team’s season. Despite the change in quarterback, it wouldn’t be surprising to see New England in contention for a wild card spot by the season’s end.