The odds of any NFL team going 16-0 in the modern era are slim, but it’s certainly been done before. Who could stop the Patriots this year?
While it’s important not to overreact to anything that happened in Week 1 of the fledgling new NFL season, it’s also difficult to ignore just how thoroughly the New England Patriots steamrolled the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Behind a stifling defense, a dynamic aerial attack, and myriad contributions from unsung heroes like James White and Rex Burkhead, the Pats demolished the Steelers by a final score of 33-3. There wasn’t much to find fault in considering the performance, as New England illustrated just how complete they can be in all three phases of the game when executing to their full potential.
The rest of the league was surely put on notice. Once again, the road to the Super Bowl will probably go through the defending champs, and it would be a surprise if the Patriots aren’t playing in their ninth straight conference championship game come January, with a realistic shot of also reaching their fourth consecutive Super Bowl then in February.
In fact, New England looked so dominant against what was presumed to be one of their strongest challengers in the AFC, some fans and analysts are now openly wondering if this particular team might have what it takes to make a run at a perfect regular season.
No team has gone 16-0 since the 2007 Patriots team that featured Randy Moss and Wes Welker; but with Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon joining Julian Edelman and a stable of talented running backs, this offense suddenly has the necessary firepower to make scoreboards spin like they did 12 years ago. The defense this season also looks significantly better than that 2007 unit.
With the important precursory acknowledgment that it’s still early and there’s a very long way to go this year, who are the biggest obstacles standing in the way of New England once again completing an unblemished regular season?
5. Houston Texans
In 11 all-time meetings between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans (including playoffs), the Texans have emerged triumphant only once, way back in 2010 while Gary Kubiak was still the head coach. Since Bill O’Brien took over the Texans in 2014, Houston is 0-5 against Bill Belichick’s Patriots, getting outscored by a 2-1 ratio along the way.
So what makes this year’s Texans team any different than any of those squads?
It all starts with talent and experience. Even without Jadeveon Clowney, the Texans still boast one of the better defenses in the NFL. Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt both have the ability to blow open a game single-handedly at any point in time, and defensive coordinator/assistant head coach Romeo Crennel is still one of the better minds in football today. He and O’Brien also both know the Patriots well from their time spent together on Belichick’s staff in the early 2000s.
More than anything though, it’s the Houston offense that could pose problems for the Patriots down the line in Week 13. DeAndre Hopkins is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, and he’s joined by an explosive downfield threat in Will Fuller. Fuller has had a hard time staying healthy or on the field for previous matchups against the Patriots, but assuming both wideouts are active against New England, they could do major damage through the air.
Deshaun Watson is also a more experienced quarterback than he was last season in the 2018 opener between these two teams. He went into New Orleans on Monday night and almost led his team to an improbable road upset over a Saints team that many believe is a Super Bowl favorite this year.
Finally, the Texans look like they have a nice, complementary pair of running backs in Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson, despite the fact that they lost starter Lamar Miller to a torn ACL in the preseason.
It’s still a bit of a long shot, but Houston could theoretically upend the Patriots on Sunday Night Football the first day in December… particularly since they’ll be playing at home that evening, too.
4. Dallas Cowboys
One team that will not be playing at home when they take on the defending champions is the Dallas Cowboys. Separated by conference, the Cowboys and the Patriots rarely play one another, despite sharing the “honor” of being the two most despised franchises in the NFL by fans (and also two of the most popular, for the record).
Dallas has lost their past five contests against New England, though they won all seven of the games before that. The two teams have locked horns four times in the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era, with the Patriots emerging victorious each and every instance… most memorably back in 2007, when both teams entered that game undefeated (the Pats won in Dallas by a score of 48-27 over Tony Romo and company).
This 2019 Cowboys team has the makings of a Super Bowl contender, though. Even with star running back Ezekiel Elliott having missed all of training camp and the preseason while successfully holding out for a new contract, the ‘Boys blasted the New York Giants in Week 1 thanks to the arm and savvy decision-making of quarterback Dak Prescott, who himself should be due for a lucrative contract extension in the near future.
While Dallas’ offense will get most of the attention this season, its defense is pretty top-notch as well. Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch represent arguably the best linebacker duo in the entire league, and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will surely be a handful for right tackle Marcus Cannon to contend with in Week 12 – and that’s assuming Cannon is healthy and returned from a shoulder injury he sustained Sunday night.
The Cowboys’ head coach, Jason Garrett, isn’t much of a match for Belichick in terms of strategy or in-game adjustments, but that doesn’t mean Dallas will be an easy out for New England. There’s simply too much talent on Big D’s roster this season for this game to be considered a gimme.
3. Philadelphia Eagles
While Dallas is certainly a threat on New England’s regular season schedule this year, there’s another NFC East foe that should pose an even greater challenge for the Patriots… and that’s the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles are less than 20 months removed from their dramatic shootout victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl 52. While Philadelphia actually leads the all-time series against New England by an 8-6 margin in regular and postseason games, it’s interesting to note that current Philly QB Carson Wentz has still never faced the Pats. In the last two games between these franchises (both Philadelphia wins), the starting quarterback for the Eagles was either Nick Foles or Sam Bradford.
Most football observers and analysts would probably agree that Wentz is better than either of those guys, so it stands to reason that fans of the Eagles should approach this game with confidence come Week 11 this year. The Patriots will head to Lincoln Financial Field fresh off their bye week, which should also help instill some confidence in New England fans that Belichick will have plenty of time to draw up a good game plan for this particular opponent.
Like Dallas, Philadelphia began their 2019 campaign in thrilling fashion. Just as the Cowboys fell behind early to the Giants before rallying to an eventual rout, so too did the Eagles come back from a 17-0 initial deficit to defeat the Redskins.
The performance was far from perfect, but Philly showed tremendous heart and fight in clawing back from the hole they found themselves in to emerge with a ‘W.’ More importantly, Wentz looked to be in midseason form once he started firing bombs to electric wideout DeSean Jackson, showing the world along the way that he’s fully-healed from the back injury that cut short his 2018 season.
New England has a better team this year than the 2017 squad that fell to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t mean the Eagles couldn’t once again play spoiler and break the hearts of Boston fans all over again if everything goes according to plan for Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
Back in February, we identified the Patriots’ rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game as the most difficult regular season game on their schedule this year. That rationale hasn’t changed much since the season began, even with news that star Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill is set to miss 4-6 weeks with a clavicle injury sustained in Week 1.
Because the Patriots and Chiefs won’t meet until early December this year in Week 14, there’s a very good chance that Hill will be back in time for that game… provided he doesn’t have any setbacks in his recovery process or sustain any further injuries. This is significant, obviously, because not only is Hill one of the Chiefs’ best players – he’s also one that’s historically given the Patriots fits, though he was fairly well-neutralized by New England cornerback Jonathan Jones last January.
The Pats and Chiefs had two epic clashes last year: one in Foxborough at Gillette and one in Kansas City at Arrowhead. Even if you weren’t a fan of either team, it was hard not to come away from both games with an immense sense of satisfaction and appreciation for the sport of football… particularly if you like offensive fireworks.
Conceivably, the Chiefs should be an even greater threat to the Patriots in 2019 than they were in 2018, thanks largely to the improvement of their defense.
Old coordinator Bob Sutton was fired (primarily because of how his defense fared against Brady and the Pats in that conference championship game), and now Steve Spagnuolo is in charge. New Englanders will recall that “Spags” was the Giants defensive coordinator when they derailed the Patriots’ quest for a perfect season in Super Bowl 42.
In addition to a new coordinator, the Chiefs also now have ex-Seahawk Frank Clark playing at defensive end. Clark joins several other playmakers – namely Chris Jones and Dee Ford – as key contributors who could make the end result different when New England plays Kansas City again this year.
Of course, the No. 1 reason the Chiefs could disable the Patriots’ bid for a perfect regular season is third-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The NFL’s reigning MVP, Mahomes is quite simply the most exciting, electrifying, dangerous offensive threat in the league today. If he plays up to his full potential and the Patriots defense has an off-day on December 8, New England will surely fall to Kansas City.
1. Baltimore Ravens
In light of all the events that transpired around the league in Week 1, it’s hard not to be concerned about the Patriots’ Week 9 trip to Baltimore. The Ravens went down to Miami last Sunday and absolutely embarrassed the Dolphins by a final score of 59-10, showing just how far quarterback Lamar Jackson has come after a full offseason spent as the team’s unquestioned starting signal-caller.
To be fair, the Ravens were also playing the Dolphins. While Miami has staunchly denied reports and accusations that the franchise is in full-blown tank mode to try and get in better draft position next year, everything they’ve actually done seems to refute that notion. The Dolphins jettisoned many of their best players in order to accumulate future draft picks, and no one’s taking Ryan Fitzpatrick or Josh Rosen very seriously as legitimate starting quarterbacks.
All this being said, the Ravens still manhandled Miami through and through. As explosive as Baltimore was on offense, they were just as powerful and clamp-down on defense.
The trio of Mark Ingram, Justice Hill, and Gus Edwards at running back looks like it could lead the Ravens to the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL this year. Their pair of former Sooner skill position players, wideout Marquise Brown and tight end Mark Andrews, both had field days against the Dolphins, and they should be among the most-added players in fantasy football this week.
Baltimore has proven in recent years that they’re not afraid of New England, and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is one of the most well-respected football minds around. Assuming that second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson’s outing wasn’t just a one-time fluke, and that his throwing mechanics really are as drastically improved as they appeared to be on Sunday, this Ravens team is extremely capable of beating the Patriots at home on November 3.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen that way.
If New England can maintain the exemplary levels of play they showcased Sunday night against the Steelers across a full season – and escape without any major injuries to their players along the way – there’s absolutely no reason to think this team couldn’t conceivably finish with a perfect record of 16-0 heading into the playoffs.