The 2018 NFL Regular Season schedule has been released. The Patriots will kick-off their season at home against the Houston Texans at 1:00 pm on September 9th, and their bye week will be Week 11. While we still have a long way to go until the season begins (including the draft, which will be vital for teams like the Patriots who are contenders but have real holes), it is never too soon to do a little prognosticating about the NFL’s upcoming season.
Here are some of my early thoughts:
Toughest Games Ranked:
At Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 2: After playing the Texans in the opener, the Patriots will face the best defense in the AFC on the road--that’s a tough one. Not much has changed on other side since the AFC title game last season, and just in case you forgot, the Jags were fantastic for almost the entire game, but of course against Tom Brady that’s never enough. This time, in Jacksonville, I think the Jags deserve to be the favorites. They’ll exploit the horrid Patriots run defense with their stud running back Leonard Fournette. If the Pats make some additions to the defensive line in the draft, the run game could be mitigated, but Fournette will be a force to be reckoned with regardless. I also think the Jags’ addition of Donte Moncrief is severely underrated. He’s a solid deep threat and a sneaky red zone target. This is easily the Patriots’ hardest game of the season.
At Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 15: If it weren’t for Jesse James being an idiot, the Steelers would have won this matchup last season. Once again, unless we see big upgrades, the Patriots will struggle to contain the Steelers offense, especially with Le’Veon Bell carrying the pigskin. This is a very tough matchup for the Pats.
Vs. Minnesota Vikings, Week 13: If this game were in Minnesota, I would absolutely have it ranked first. In fact, I’d have it more first than first. I don’t know what that number would be, but second wouldn’t even be close to it. An already stacked Vikings team added Kirk Cousins and will be getting the great Dalvin Cook back from the torn ACL that ended his 2017 rookie campaign. Brutal matchup for the Patriots, but being in Foxboro will certainly make this one a little easier.
Vs. Houston Texans, Week 1: Absolutely BRUTAL opening draw for the Pats; I assume that DeShaun Watson will be back at full strength. If this is the case, the Texans are a serious threat to the Patriots--not just in this game, but for the AFC crown. Houston has a nice defense, which will have JJ Watt back and ready to chase down Tom Brady, plus Lamar Miller (I can see you rolling your eyes, he’s good, lay off my man Lamar) will probably torch the weak Patriots defensive line.
Vs. Green Bay Packers, Week 9: Yeah I know the Packers suck, but they have Aaron Rodgers, and he’s enough to give anyone nightmares.
Honorable Mention: At Miami, Week 14: I felt a bit weird about putting the Dolphins on this list, so I decided to make them an honorable mention. The Dolphins should never be a tough game for the Patriots (and they won’t be when they come to Foxboro), but for whatever reason, the Pats struggle in Miami. They’ll probably lose this one.
Game-by-Game Picks:
Week 1 vs Houston: W by 4
Week 2 @ Jacksonville: L by 4
Week 3 @ Detroit: L by 3
Week 4 vs Miami: W by 24
Week 5 vs Indianapolis: W by 13
Week 6 vs Kansas City: W by 6
Week 7 @ Chicago: W by 9
Week 8 @ Buffalo: W by 14
Week 9 vs Green Bay: W by 5
Week 10 @ Tennessee: W by 3
Week 11 Bye Week
Week 12 @ New York Jets: W by 5
Week 13 vs Minnesota: W by 2
Week 14 @ Miami: L by 5
Week 15 @ Pittsburgh: W by 4
Week 16 vs Buffalo: W by 31
Week 17 vs New York Jets W by 23
Final Record: 13-3
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