Pats Pulpit
The first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season have been a rollercoaster for the New England Patriots and their fans. Entering the regular season as one of the most optimistic fan bases in the league, the opening week loss against Las Vegas caused those positive feels to evaporate: only 56 percent of fans felt positive about the team’s outlook coming out of the game, a drop of 35 percent.
The Patriots were able to get back on track in Week 2, however, thanks to a solid showing and a 33-27 victory over the Dolphins in Miami. As a consequence, the good vibes are back in Foxborough as well.
According to the newest SB Nation Reacts survey, fan optimism climbed back up to 90 percent.
The Patriots and their upcoming opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are both entering Week 3 with identical 1-1 records. However, those numbers do not tell the full story as a look at the Pittsburgh fan optimism shows: only 14 percent of Steelers fan feel good about the club’s direction at the moment.
What gives? Part of the low approval rating has to be the 31-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks the Steelers had to absorb on Sunday. Similar to the Patriots in Week 1, that particular game left a sense of deflation in Pittsburgh that led to a sizable drop in fan confidence from previous 69 to mere 14 percent.
As a result, Steelers fans are now the second most pessimistic in football ahead of only the Dolphins’ (4%). The Patriots, meanwhile, can now enjoy the support of the seventh-happiest fan base.
In order for that ranking to improve even further, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel will need to earn its second win of the season. They will get their chance against the Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. ET.
