New England Patriots - NESN.com
It probably is ambitious to expect the Patriots to win a bunch of games this season and reach the playoffs. After all, we’re talking about a team that won a combined eight games the last two seasons.
However, it’s probably fair to assume New England will be much more competitive in the upcoming campaign than it was in recent years.
The Patriots sparked that optimism by developing a franchise quarterback, hiring a proven head coach, adding accomplished veterans in free agency and addressing longstanding needs in the draft. New England still has a lot of work to do before it regains contender status, but ESPN’s Mike Reiss believes Drake Maye and company will at least be relevant when the playoffs start approaching.
“The Patriots are still in playoff contention coming out of the early-December bye,” Reiss shared as his bold prediction for New England after its schedule was released Wednesday. “This assumes a clean bill of health for quarterback Drake Maye, but the overall schedule appears to be more forgiving than last year’s slate.”
Reiss isn’t the only person who believes Mike Vrabel’s group will at least be in the hunt for a playoff spot come the home stretch of the regular season. Even after a string of terrible seasons in Foxboro, Mass., oddsmakers listed the Patriots as betting favorites in 11 of 17 games after the schedule dropped.
Will the Patriots hoist the Lombardi Trophy at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8? Almost certainly not. But unlike seasons past, New England fans appear bound to root for a team that will stay interesting the whole way through.
