Patriots 2018 Regular Season Schedule Breakdown

The Patriots 2018 schedule has been leaked early online so it won’t interfere with my Bruins playoff watching tonight. Nice. I always get excited when the campaign is laid out, the games are set and no matter who is or isn’t playing, the Patriots will take the field.

This season’s schedule features five primetime games in the first nine weeks of the season, a week 11 bye, then six Sunday games, four of which are at 1pm. On the surface there’s nothing that unfair or difficult about this schedule. Not that I ever really complain about that kind of thing since the opponents are set long in advance, but it’s nice not have any crazy road trips back to back or anything similar.

Most of all it’s just nice to finally know when it will all go down. Here’s a bunch of quick-hit thoughts on the 2018 schedule.

Here’s the Patriots’ full regular-season schedule: pic.twitter.com/kzCGq8Ynef

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) April 19, 2018

• First I always like to start with the bye week and it’s in the perfect spot, Week 11, which comes past the mid-point of the season. The later bye is always good, it gives a chance to heal up the countless small injuries that really pile up over the course of the season.
• I’m pretty sure the Texans are sick of coming to New England as they’ll come to town for the opener. Last year’s early-season matchup of these two teams was a fantastic one that the Patriots were lucky to escape. The Texans will be focusing all season on exposing the Patriots defense like they did in that one, with Deshaun Watson back under center challenging the Patriots.
• There’s no shortage of former-employee drama over the first three weeks with Bill O’Brien in Week 1 and Matt Patricia in Week 3. Then Mike Vrabel and the Titans in Week 11. Always fascinated to see how former Patriots attack Bill Belichick, and usually, it doesn’t go that well for them.
• Hard not to like back-to-back 1pm home games to end the season against the Jets and BIlls. I’m sure someday these games will matter for the Patriots but I don’t think this is it, at least with the Jets. If the Bills are good, and putting them on MNF against the Pats shows the NFL hopes and thinks they will be, could determine how competitive the AFC East is this year.
• The Week 2 AFC Championship rematch in Jacksonville scares me. The Pats are always inconsistent early in the season and this Jags team will throw everything they have into this one. In the Florida heat it should be a really challenging matchup. At least it’s not a 1pm start.
• Miami’s games are spread out between end of September and early December. It will be interesting to see how the teams evolve and survive in between those two meetings. Glad it’s New England in September and Miami in December too.
• It will be fun to see Aaron Rodgers finally play at Gillette in a regular season game. He was hurt in 2010 and has only played there in the preseason. That matchup in early November on Sunday Night Football might be the marquee matchup of the season.
• Once again the Pats go to Pittsburgh, this year in December in what will likely be another game with direct impact on the AFC standings. At some point you have to wonder if the Steelers are ever going to get a meaningful win over the Patriots again. The NFL is giving them a chance with this late-season slate.
• With the quarterback turnover in Kansas City it will be interesting to see if the Sunday Night Football matchup on October 14th has the same juice as it would’ve when Alex Smith was there. Now it’s Patrick Mahomes. Will KC remain a top AFC team? We all know what they did to the Pats last year. I always enjoy this matchup but it will evolve this season.
• Overall the Pats play a lot of the AFC iron this season which is always good to avoid the “they didn’t play anyone” baloney. They face seven playoff teams from last season, while it’s a good bet that the Packers, Texans and Lions are in the running for playoff teams in 2018.