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The Patriots are entering the gauntlet of their schedule — or are they?

By Zachary Downing

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 21: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots leads his team onto the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 21: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots leads his team onto the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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How tough is the upcoming mid-season stretch of games for the New England Patriots? Let’s break down each of the six matchups, one by one.

All season, there’s been talk about a six-game stretch wherein the New England Patriots would play nothing but tough teams. Now that we’re finally here, will it be as difficult as everyone thought?

The arrangement of team schedules has been an oddly hot topic for the 2019 season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders have complained about their schedules, which include tons of travel distance in flights as well as London contests played overseas counted as home games. The New Orleans Saints have gotten a lot of respect for powering through a very tough stretch to start the season, including the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks.

The 2019 schedule has perhaps been most discussed in the context of the Patriots’ hot start to the season. As unbelievable as the defense has been, it can’t be denied that New England’s first seven games have been against some of the league’s worst teams, save for the Buffalo Bills. The flip side to their easy streak is that after Week 7, the schedule was generally considered to be very imposing.

From Weeks 8-14, the Pats face the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, and Kansas City Chiefs, in that order. Three of these squads were in the NFL’s top six ranked teams after Week 1, and many fans believed that even if New England made it to this stretch undefeated, they’d probably have to eat a couple midseason losses.

Well, their schedule in the first seven weeks was just as easy as many expected it to be. Now that we’re finally at Week 8, are these six teams still as threatening as we initially thought?

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