The 2025 season was a rough one for the New England Patriots haters. The team had an incredible year, making it to the Super Bowl, something that the haters did not appreciate. The big excuse that Pats haters latched onto was that New England had an overly easy schedule.
Those same haters will be happy to know that the road back to the Super Bowl in 2026 won't be easy for New England. In fact, Dan Patrick said on his show on Tuesday that the upcoming schedule is the perfect chance for the Patriots to prove they're for real. He doesn't seem all that convinced that they'll do that, however.
"Those of you who thought that the Patriots were imposters because they had a really easy schedule... Well, you'll be happy to know New England's schedule is out and it's not pretty. It'll be tough. If they get back to the Super Bowl, nobody's gonna complain about the schedule," Patrick said.
"New England has a first-place schedule and there's no favors here, no shortcuts... If they're for real, then they're gonna prove it next year... This will not be easy and this is a situation where you might even see New England not even make the playoffs next year."
Patriots' opponents will help them prove they're for real in 2026
It's worth noting that Patrick defended the Patriots and their "easy" 2025 schedule, noting that they don't pick their schedule. They can only play the teams on their schedule, which is what they did.
They also had to win two playoff games to reach the Super Bowl, something that people seemed to ignore.
Nothing he said here is incorrect. The Patriots will have a much tougher schedule in 2026 with games against the Bears, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Lions, Packers, and Seahawks. Patrick also mentioned that the Patriots' road schedule is an absolute gauntlet, and it's hard to argue with that, considering they'll play on the road against the Bears, Bills, Chargers, Chiefs, Jaguars, Lions, and Seahawks.
Patrick also makes a great point, though, in that this will give New England a chance to show this team is for real. If the Patriots continue to play well against a much-improved schedule, the haters' argument that they were only good because of their easy schedule will go entirely out the window.
As for Patrick saying the Pats could miss the playoffs entirely, yeah, that's certainly possible. This team, however, has a ton of cap space to work with in the offseason, and they're going to be even more motivated to run through these teams in 2026.
That should hopefully work in their favor but we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out.