By John Sarianides
The NFL released their 2017 schedules tonight. On paper, the Patriots have a difficult schedule to navigate through if they want to win their third Super Bowl in four years.
Here are five thoughts on their 2017 schedule.
1. Open the Season with 5 of 8 at Home: The Patriots open the season with five of their first eight games at home. The NFL season kicks off with the Chiefs coming to Foxborough. After Kansas City, the Patriots travel to New Orleans in week two in what could be a potentially tough game.
Weeks three and four see the Patriots host the Texans and Panthers in what could be challenging home games.
The Patriots then travel to Tampa to battle Jameis Winston and the upstart Bucs in Week 5. The following week, the Patriots travel to MetLife Stadium to battle the lowly Jets.
The Falcons visit Gillette for a Week 7 Super Bowl rematch on Sunday Night Football. The league was hesitant to put the Falcons in the opener after Panthers coach Ron Rivera complained after last season that it was unfair for the Super Bowl loser to open on the road the following season against the Super Bowl winner.
The Patriots will then host the Los Angeles Chargers (sounds weird) Week 8 before their bye. It should be a winnable game but you never know with Phillip Rivers and company.
2. I Like the Week 9 Bye: For the second straight year, the Patriots will have a Week 9 bye. It’s great having the bye late because it gives a team a chance to rest and recharge coming down the stretch.
Patriots fans will point to the fact that they lost to the Seahawks after the bye last season but that means nothing. I would still rather have the bye late.
By the way, the Patriots are in Denver Week 10. They will have two weeks to prepare for the Broncos in what will be a pivotal AFC match up.
3. Five Prime Time Games: The defending champs are once again prime time darlings. The Patriots play five prime time games this season. They open the season on Thursday night September 7th against the Chiefs and then play the Bucs (10/5) a month later on Thursday night football. The Patriots play the Falcons (10/22) and Broncos (11/12) on Sunday Night Football and the Dolphins (12/11) on Monday Night Football.
4. Patriots, Raiders in Mexico City: The Patriots and Raiders will meet in Mexico City on November 19th in a possible AFC Championship Game preview.
The late season meeting could have major seeding implications in the AFC. Oakland could very well be the Patriots toughest competitor in the AFC.
5. Close the Season with 5 of 8 on the Road: The Patriots will spend quite a bit of time on the road after their bye week. Five of their last eight games are on the road.
The Patriots play the Broncos (11/12), Raiders (11/19), Bills (12/3), Dolphins (12/11) and Steelers (12/17) all on the road before closing out the season at home against the Bills (Christmas Eve) and the Jets (New Years Eve).
The Patriots schedule is tough but they are good enough to once again win 12-14 games and contend for the number seed in the AFC. As long as they still healthy, the Patriots should have no problem navigating through this schedule.