The Patriots’ schedule is finally out, as the league plays 17 games for the first time in its history.
New England will get an extra home game as part of the rotation, so eight home games and seven road games. One of the things that stands out at first glance is the late bye, as Week 14 is very late since there will only be four games following the week off.
Here are 10 more thoughts on the schedule.
1. The first game everyone looked for was when the Patriots will host the Buccaneers for Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium. It will be Week 4 and on Sunday Night Football, which shows NBC’s power among television partners. Robert Kraft may have pushed for an afternoon game, but ultimately NBC gets the game that may draw the biggest rating of the entire regular season league-wide. It’s not a surprise the game is early in the year to protect against the Patriots having another down year and having a bad record at the time of the matchup.
2. Another thing that stands out of the lack of primetime games. Right now there are only three — Buccaneers (Sunday Night Football), Falcons (Thursday Night Football) and Bills (Monday Night Football). Obviously, this could change during the year with flex scheduling, but it does indicate the networks are a little wary of the Patriots in 2021. Double-digit 1 o’clock games in a single season haven’t come around too often in these parts in recent years.
3. The saying around Foxboro is real football starts after Thanksgiving and that is the case this year, as the Patriots’ schedule really gets tough then. After Turkey Day the Patriots will play the Titans, Bills, Colts, Bills, Jaguars and Dolphins. While the bye week is mixed in (between Bills and Colts), this will be the most difficult stretch of games that will likely have a ton of playoff implications. All those teams besides Jacksonville figure to be in the playoff mix.
4. Obviously, the biggest game on paper is the return of Brady, but another sneaky very good game is the home matchup against the Browns Nov. 14. If the Browns are as good as many people believe they will be, this could be a very good test for the Patriots to see where they stand against one of the better teams in the AFC. Some early Super Bowl predictions have Cleveland representing the AFC.
5. The early part of the schedule isn’t all that challenging with five of the first seven games being at home and against opponents such as the Jets (twice) and Texans, who figure to be among the worst in the league. It’s hard to project now, but the Patriots should be able to start the season at least 5-2.
6. Unlike with Miami last year switching from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tua Tagovailoa during its bye week, the Patriots do not have a logical transition point on their schedule. How long it takes for Mac Jones to start will be a storyline beginning over the summer. It will be interesting to see if Cam Newton makes it to Week 9 when the Patriots travel to Carolina to face his former team.
7. Patriots home games will feature a lot of talented/exciting quarterbacks on the other side of the field. Brady, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence will all play games at Gillette Stadium this year. Unlike past recent years, it feels like 2021 is a good home schedule.
8. New England avoided playing games on Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as playing an International game in London. There was a thought it could take on Atlanta in London, as that’s one of its away games, but that will now be a Thursday in November. This feels like the most “generic” Patriots schedule in some time.
9. Obviously, Miami has been a tough place for the Patriots in recent years in December and January and that could come into play again this year. The Dolphins feel very similar to the Patriots going into the season — likely a playoff team, but unclear exactly how good they will be — which could set up a very meaningful Week 18 game in South Florida. It’s the first time the Patriots have closed the regular season on the road since the 2016 season.
10. Do not be surprised if the Patriots have at least one joint practice this summer, as their preseason games are against the Washington Football Team, Eagles, and Giants. The Eagles and Giants seem to make the most sense, but we’ll see. Bill Belichick loves these and obviously because of the pandemic could not have any last summer. It's also worth noting there is a week off between the final preseason game and Week 1 of the regular season.