On Sunday, the Patriots moved to 14-3 to close out their 2025 regular season, beating the Dolphins 38-10 and clinching the No. 2 seed in the AFC for this upcoming postseason run.
In doing so, the franchise set an NFL record for 14-win seasons, as Sunday marked the sixth time in franchise history the team was able to achieve that mark (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2016, 2025). In four of those previous five instances, New England advanced to the Super Bowl. And in three of those four, they won the whole damn thing.
Obviously a lot of football left to be played between now and Super Bowl LX, with their first obstacle being the Chargers (11-6) this upcoming Wild Card Weekend. The Patriots will host Los Angeles on Sunday night in primetime on NBC and Peacock, with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. ET.
The last time these two teams played, the Patriots were in a very different position, to say the least.
In Jerod Mayo’s penultimate game as head coach, the Patriots were blown out 40-7 in front of a soggy, sparsely-filled stadium that, at times, almost felt like a Chargers home game, if that’s even possible given how spotty their fanbase is for actual home games at SoFi Stadium.
It felt like a true rock-bottom for a franchise that had dominated this millennium. No one in that building would have been surprised if Mayo was relieved of his duties that Saturday evening (which ultimately occurred eight days later).
Fast forward a little more than a calendar year, and New England has become one of the league’s great turnaround stories along with the Bears (11-6), Jaguars (13-4) and Panthers (8-9). All four teams are the latest in a 35-year run of teams who missed the playoffs the year prior making it the following season.
So even with the Patriots winning 14 games in 2025, there is still an air of “I can’t believe this team is doing this” to the whole situation. Not to look ahead too much, but to go from four wins to Super Bowl champion is almost unheard of in the modern game. Off the top of my head, you have the five-win 2000 Patriots turning into the 2001 Super Bowl champs one year later, and you have the four-win 1998 Rams turning into the 1999 Super Bowl champs one year later.
Outside of those two examples, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something similar to what we’re witnessing at 1 Patriot Place right now. The one control in all of these situations, however, is a massive upgrade at QB. The Rams had Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, those Patriots had future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, and these Patriots have potential MVP Drake Maye.
But before we start vaulting Maye into those discussions, they’ve got to take care of business on Sunday.
“What do you think of the Pats’ draw against the Chargers?” WEEI’s Adam Jones asked NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran during his weekly appearance on Jones and Keefe.
“A good one, and I'm sure the Chargers look at the Patriots across the field and say, 'We don't mind playing them, either,'” said Curran. “Patriots are susceptible to rushing attacks, as we've seen later in the year.
“Toss out what happened against Miami with no [De’Von] Achane and a couple of guys who are missing on their offensive line, and you realize that Omarion Hampton is going to be a player that the Chargers will try to feature frequently against the Patriots. They don't want to drop back, although the Patriots pass rush is not one that's going to really expose the Chargers, necessarily.”
“But I think for the Patriots, it's a great matchup. There's a guy that I rely on, UnexpectedPoints.com, and he does all the analytics - takes everything into account. His power rankings has the Chargers as the 15th best team in the National Football League, the only team that makes the playoffs whose points over expected offensively and defensively combined [puts] them behind every playoff team.”
As of publishing, the sportsbooks see this as a close one, with the Patriots favored by just 3.5, sitting on the moneyline at -196. The total is set somewhere between 46 and 46.5, depending on where you’re doing your betting.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.