Biggest Takeaways From The Patriots 2020 Schedule

1. No shortage of Primetime Games

A question every Patriots fan had going into the release was, how many prime time games New England would have with the departure of Tom Brady? Most people, including myself, thought we would see more 1:00 games than we are used to but that was not the case. You would think the NFL programers still believe in the Pats, scheduling them a league high five nationally televised games. This many primetime games can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing for the out of market fans and fans who like to tailgate all day, but a curse if the Patriots aren't the Patriots we know. If things don't work out how we'd like, we will be watched as much as any other team this year. It sounds dumb, but losing in primetime is worse.

2. The West Coast Road Trip + Miami

The hardest part about the schedule is not playing the defending champion Chiefs, or Lamar and the Ravens, it is the 4 days we have between weeks 13-14 both while on the road. The Patriots will head to LA to play the Chargers on Dec. 6 and then the Rams on Dec. 10 on Thursday night football. Sure, only having to travel to California once to play two teams is nice, but having 4 days of preparation in between is never ideal. The road trip continues to Miami. The Patriots struggles in Miami do not need to be explained in depth. In the last five years they are 6-4 against The Dolphins in games that include the "Miami Miracle" and last seasons collapse. They will have extra time to prepare for Miami as they play on Thursday night. This road trip should be one of the biggest tests of the Pats this season.

3. Lots of Young Quarterbacks To Face

Baring Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyrod Taylor holding out the guys that the Dolphins and Chargers made clear on draft night they want to be the future of their franchise, the Patriots will be playing two this years top five selections in Tua Tagovailoa (Week 1 or Week 15) and Justin Herbert (Week 13). The Patriots have not had struggles with rookie QBs in the past. Belichick, at home, vs rookie quarterbacks is 13-0. If the Dolphins give Tua the nod for week 1, the odds are not in his favor.

More than rookie's the Patriots have a stretch of young, mobile quarterbacks from weeks 10-12 with Baltimore, Houston, and Arizona. The Pats have made noticeable changes to the defense to combat the RPO, which haunted them last season. The Patriots first three defensive selections in the draft were all two things, athletic and versatile. Kyle Dugger isn't a stranger to playing linebacker and neither is free agent acquisition Adrian Phillips. The former all-pro safety was part of the 2018 Chargers defense that shut down the Lamar led Ravens.

The Patriots have spent the offseason preparing for team like Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City who were all loses for them a season ago. With Kyler Murray's led Cardinals now added to the mix it is clear the Patriots must defend the RPO this season to win.

4. The Bye Week Comes Early

The Patriots haven't had a bye week this early since 2010, when they had a bye week at week five. A week six bye might come as a blessing with the schedule front loaded with competition. Placed in between Denver and San Fran after coming off Kansas City, the Patriots will probably be looking for rest. Slow starts are anything but uncommon, but this year they may not be able to afford it.

5. A Possible Meaningful Divisional Game Late

For the first time in a long time, there isn't a clear favorite for the AFC East. With Buffalo and New England the odds on favorites for the AFC East crown, the week 16 matchup could be a battle for the top. We got a small glimpse of it last season in week 16 as Buffalo had a shot to win the East for the first time in 25 years.

6. Difficulty of The Schedule

This has been all the talk since the release of the opponents. The Patriots have a strength of schedule of .537, being just one of two teams (Jets) to have a schedule over .530. The Patriots schedule does not look easy by any means. They have some tough stretches as previously mentioned.

The issue with the metric is that it can only be based off last season. We have no idea how good any team will be this year. How many fans saw the Niners on their schedule last year and looked them over? How many of us saw the Eagles and thought that was going to be a lot harder than it was? The answer is probably a lot.

The point is, that the NFL has more parity than any other league. Anything can happen. Injuries will occur and some teams won't be the same team by November, that is how it always goes.

We are one step closer to football season (hopefully)