The New England Patriots’ 2025 schedule features a mix of familiar AFC East foes, matchups against the AFC North and NFC South, and intriguing cross-conference contests based on their 2024 division finish. The season includes three nationally-televised primetime games and a late Bye week.
Here’s a breakdown of the Patriots’ 2025 schedule:
Preseason Schedule:
Week 1 (Aug. 8): vs. Washington Commanders
Week 2 (Aug. 16): at Minnesota Vikings
Week 3 (Aug. 21): at New York Giants (Primetime – Prime Video)
Regular Season:
Week 1 (Sept. 7): vs. Las Vegas Raiders – The Mike Vrabel era kicks off at Gillette Stadium against the Raiders. Could this be the Tom Brady statue reveal game? To be determined.
Week 2 (Sept. 14): at Miami Dolphins – An early AFC East divisional road test. Can Vrabel end the Miami jinx? We will see. Tough first road game considering how hot it will be in South Florida.
Week 3 (Sept. 21): vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers come to Foxborough in a game that should be a good early season test. Still not sure who the Patriots defense will have to prepare for at quarterback for Pittsburgh.
Week 4 (Sept. 28): vs. Carolina Panthers – A winnable game against a Panthers team that is still rebuilding. Patriots need to take care of business in games like this.
Week 5 (Oct. 5): at Buffalo Bills (Sunday Night Football) – A surprising Sunday night football game. I did not think the Patriots would get an SNF game. Shows you the power of Vrabel and the appeal of Maye.
Week 6 (Oct. 12): at New Orleans Saints – A winnable game against a Saints that will struggle to score points this season.
Week 7 (Oct. 19): at Tennessee Titans – Mike Vrabel returns to face his former team. Is it a revenge game? Probably not to Vrabel but it will be to the media.
Week 8 (Oct. 26): vs. Cleveland Browns – The Browns game comes at the right time. After a tough three game road slate, the Patriots need a winnable game at home.
Week 9 (Nov. 2): vs. Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons will be a tough test at home. A barometer game at this point in the season.
Week 10 (Nov. 9): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs will give the Patriots and everyone else fits. It will be tough matching up. Good news. Heat shouldn’t be as much of a factor.
Week 11 (Nov. 13): vs. New York Jets (Thursday Night Football) – A divisional battle under the lights at home. The Patriots should win this game given the current state of this Jets team.
Week 12 (Nov. 23): at Cincinnati Bengals – The Patriots beat the Bengals to kick off last season. That was the season opener. The Bengals tend to play better as the season goes along so this will be a tough match-up.
Week 13 (Dec. 1): vs. New York Giants (Monday Night Football) – A surprise prime time game, especially at this point in the season. The Giants will be better but this is a winnable game.
Week 14 (Dec. 7): BYE WEEK – Another late bye which as we’ve seen in recent seasons, has not been a good thing for the Patriots.
Week 15 (Dec. 14): vs. Buffalo Bills – Could this be for the upper hand in the division? Too early to tell but I do think the Patriots could end up being the second best team in the division this season.
Week 16 (Dec. 21): at Baltimore Ravens – Ooof…Tough match-up to end the season. The Ravens will have plenty to play for. Will the Patriots? We shall see.
Week 17 (Dec. 28): at New York Jets – The Patriots lost to the Jets in New York last season but I do not see it happening this season. Provided the Patriots are healthy and have something to play for, they should win this game.
Week 18 (TBD): vs. Miami Dolphins – Admittedly, I love the getting the Dolphins here in January. Especially because this game could determine whether or not the Patriots make the playoffs potentially.
Schedule Observations:
*The Patriots will play every team from the NFC South and AFC North, as well as the 2024 fourth-place teams from the NFC East, AFC South and AFC West.
* The Patriots open the season at home for the fifth consecutive year.
* They have three primetime games, an increase from one in 2024.
* The schedule features a three-game road trip in October (at Buffalo, at New Orleans, at Tennessee).
* Mike Vrabel’s return to Tennessee in Week 7 is a notable storyline.
* The Bye week falls in Week 14, the latest possible.
* Based on opponents’ 2024 records, the Patriots are projected to have one of the easier schedules in the NFL.
* They will face several teams with new head coaches and potentially young quarterbacks.
* The team’s travel burden is relatively light compared to previous seasons, with no international games or trips to the West Coast.