Image courtesy of the New England Patriots

The Patriots 2024 schedule was unveiled on Wednesday night. Here are six observations on what will be a tough schedule for Jerod Mayo in his inaugural season as head coach. 

1. Brutal start: The Patriots schedule is tough overall but especially early on. They open against the Bengals in Cincinnati which will be challenging. They then come home for a good Seattle team and then they play the Jets on Thursday night, Week 3. The next three games after that, at San Francisco, Miami and Houston at home. Ouch! 

2. One prime time game: The Patriots only prime time game of the year will be Week 3 against the Jets on Thursday Night Football. That’s it. It speak to the current state of affairs for this once prominent franchise. 

3. London’s calling: The Patriots are playing an international game again this season. On October 20th, they will take on the Jaguars in London. It will be a 9:30 am kick off. I think this is actually one of the two winnable games on their schedule the first eight weeks of the season. 

4. Late bye again: The Patriots once again will have a late bye. This time it is Week 14. Of course depending on what happens in training camp and the first 14 games, that is when we could potentially see Drake Maye play. If the season is lost by that point, he might take over as the starter come Week 15. 

5. Nine away, eight at home: The schedule flips this season. The Patriots are playing nine road games and eight home games. The road schedule is manageable. The Patriots have to travel to San Francisco but the rest of their non-division schedule features the Jaguars, Titans, Bears and Cardinals. All games they can compete in and possibly win.

The home non-divisional portion of the schedule is brutal. The Seahawks, Texans, Rams, Colts and Chargers all visit Foxboro. 

6. Predicting the final record: Man. This is a tough question. The Patriots defense should once again be good and the offense should be better. You will however have a rookie head coach with a new staff and possibly a rookie starting quarterback. All of it adds up to another potential down year as the Patriots continue their rebuild. I think based on this schedule, 5-12 or 6-11 is a realistic wins and losses range for the 2024 Patriots. 

I have said it all along. 2024 season is a bridge season for the Patriots. It is about development and finishing with a better record than 2023. If they can do that, it will be a success. I know that is hard to believe but that is reality. One thing we can say about the NFL. You know know though. A lot can happen during the course of a season.