There is a solid argument to be made that the Patriots underwent the biggest overhaul of any team in the NFL this offseason. Not only did New England revamp its coaching staff by hiring Mike Vrabel to be the head coach and reuniting with Josh McDaniels to lead the offense, the Patriots spent $355 million in guaranteed money in free agency and reloaded its offense via the draft.
CBS Sports likes the Patriots' chances to be a postseason team, prognosticating that New England will be way over its projected win total of 7.5 and will be a sure wild-card contender.
Given the combination of the Patriots' retooled roster and coaching staff, along with its relatively easy schedule, a playoff push is not a reach if things click on the field for New England. But perhaps what's even more encouraging is that the Patriots are not projected to be a disappointment.
Patriots are deemed unlikely to fall short of win projection
It's not that difficult to find at least seven or eight wins on New England's schedule, so one could argue that anything less than that would be an extreme disappointment. However, the optimism for double-digit victories is somewhat high, given the retooled offense built around Drake Maye and a defense that has the potential to be one of the league's best units.
In fact, numerous teams the Patriots will be facing this season were listed among CBS Sports' list of teams expected to fall short of projected win totals.
Among them are the New Orleans Saints, the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. That should amount to at least five wins for the Patriots. We'll give the Week 2 matchup in Miami a pass, given the Patriots haven't won in South Florida since 2019.
The Steelers are New England's Week 3 opponent and are forecasted to fall short of their 8.5-win prognostication. Even if Pittsburgh brings in Aaron Rodgers, let's remember how horrendous Rodgers was with the Jets last year, and the Steelers likely don't want Rodgers' off-the-field drama to cloud their locker room.
The Browns are the Browns and are a complete mess at quarterback. They were forecasted to win 5.5 games, so they'll be lucky to get to five. The Saints are in a full rebuild, and the Dolphins appear to be a mediocre season away from blowing things up.
The fact that the Patriots aren't in the same conversation as any of those teams should give fans a lot of eternal hope. They have their quarterback, a talented roster around him, and a top-notch coaching staff. Fans should be taking the over when it comes to the Patriots this season.