For the entire 2026 offseason, most of the conversation around the Patriots focused on the difficulty of their upcoming schedule and how it differed from what many had called a historically easy route to the Super Bowl last season.
Based on their first four games, going 2-2, it's clear their strength of schedule was exactly as difficult as the projections suggested. But they fared much better than most analysts predicted, sitting at 4-3 after Week 7.
They're in the middle of an easier stretch, with a game against the Dolphins in Miami next, followed by a home game against the Packers the following week. Even better, they have only four away games left on the docket, not counting their international game, and they have only one more back-to-back away series.
That's much different from the first month of the season, when they were on the road in three games and four times in their first 7 weeks. The Patriots will need to take advantage of this much more than they did last year, since they went undefeated on the road and only lost at home.
So defending Gillette Stadium will need to be their main focus moving forward.
The Patriots need to shift their focus to creating a home field advantage again this season
After starting the season against the Seahawks, Steelers, Jaguars, Bills, Raiders, Jets, and Bears, the Patriots have 10 more games in 2026 and a mostly ideal schedule that should result in more wins and a playoff push.
- Week 8: @ Dolphins
- Week 9: vs. Packers
- Week 10: vs. Lions (international game)
- Week 11: BYE
- Week 12: @ Chargers (SNF)
- Week 13: vs. Bills
- Week 14: vs. Vikings (TNF)
- Week 15: @ Chiefs (MNF)
- Week 16: @ Jets
- Week 17: vs. Broncos
- Week 18: vs. Dolphins
That's a far different outcome than almost anyone predicted for this season, as most analysts expected them to fare much worse in the first month and ultimately lose more games than they won. They predicted the Bills would regain the division and the Patriots wouldn't even make the playoffs.
But if they can continue their recent climb, they can put an end to those predictions for good.
Drake Maye's bounce-back has been a major contributor to that effort, and it wouldn't be unfair to say that his performance since the win over the Bills is the main reason for the Patriots remaining in games or even winning them.
He was the main reason they almost left Chicago with a win last Thursday, and his impressive touchdown reach went viral. With injuries piling up across the team, especially on offense, there will be a lot of pressure on the quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Drake Maye reaches for the score 🙌
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 23, 2026
📺 Prime Video pic.twitter.com/GvRdrWHNp5
They'll need that effort from Maye for the rest of the season, too, but it would be nice if they could take advantage of some of their easier opponents so he doesn't have to play Superman every Sunday.
They can do that by beating the Dolphins on the road next week, a game that has historically been difficult for the Patriots, even when Tom Brady was under center. It might be trickier this time, too, because they're coming off their first win of the season over the Jets, and just one game removed from putting up 24 points against the Bengals in Week 6.
So they'll have to play some of their best football in recent weeks, which they'll hopefully do after a mini-bye.
That would also move them up the AFC East as the first team to reach 3 division wins, inching them one step closer to winning the crown once again.
It would be the right way to start the 3 games before their bye week, which they could easily go into with 3 wins, and to take on the last stretch of their schedule, which looks more difficult than expected, with greater confidence about their chances.
Add us as a preferred source on Google