The New England Patriots are one of the big surprises of the 2025 NFL season after Week 9. A team that won four games in 2024 (albeit one a gift from the Bills in the final game of the season) has already won seven. Is it their weak schedule at play, and not a sudden increase in proficiency? It's a valid question.
NFL schedules are what they are. If you're not good in the previous season, you get a break in the next. It's all for parity's sake. It goes for every team every year. Yet, sometimes teams that appear on a so-called "weak" schedule aren't so weak at all. In 2024, if you ran into the Washington Commanders, you found that out.
This season, it may have been the Patriots who were looked upon as patsies. Yet now, the NFL sees an emerging MVP-level quarterback in Drake Maye, and a team that's won six games in a row. The strength-of-schedule concern is a legitimate one, and perhaps will become clearer after the Patriots' important next game against the 6-2, NFC South Division-leading Tampa Bay Bucs.
Every team's schedule is set by the NFL based on last year's records - the Patriots were one of the worst teams in 2024
While the Patriots' schedule on paper may not look very daunting, in the NFL, any team can beat any other on any given Sunday. As they say, that's why they play the games. Teams that thought they'd have an easy time against the Patriots this season have been in for a rude awakening.
Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports raised the Patriots' strength-of-schedule as a question facing the current AFC East leaders.
"New England Patriots: Are they as good as their record? Things look pretty great in New England for the first time since the Brady-Belichick era ended. The Pats are 7-2, sitting in first place in the AFC East, and Drake Maye might be the NFL’s MVP if the voting took place today. But it’s hard to overlook their schedule. They’ve played the Raiders, Dolphins, Saints, Titans, Browns and Falcons. That’s six games (and five wins) against teams that are 11-40. They did beat the Bills in Buffalo, and they might end up as the AFC’s top seed since the rest of their schedule is also a big marshmallow. They face the Jets (twice), Bengals, Giants and Dolphins again down the stretch. Their record will be pretty. But they won’t be very battle-tested."
It's a fair analysis, but let's look at the operative words in that discussion: "... Drake Maye might be the NFL's MVP if the voting took place today...They did beat the Bills in Buffalo..." It was just one game, but beating the perennial AFC Championship contenders, the Bills, anytime is a solid achievement. Beating them at home is that much more daunting. And well, Drake Maye, he's the key to it all.
The Patriots will be who they are by the end of the season
The 2025 Patriots are not a finished product, whatever their record is at the moment or after the Bucs game. They have deficiencies, and they're pronounced. They surrender sacks in bunches, their defense isn't making enough plays, and their running game is lackluster. And they did nothing at the trade deadline to improve.
What they do have is the key ingredient for any NFL team with playoff aspirations and more. They have a top quarterback in Drake Maye, who's playing at an MVP level, as Ralph Vacchiano pointed out. That's the great equalizer in the NFL, no matter how good or poor the teams you're playing are.
The Patriots will continue to improve as the team further coalesces after a nearly 50 percent overhaul in the 2025 offseason. Star rookie starting offensive left tackle Will Campbell and solid rookie left guard Jared Wilson will be de facto "veterans" as Bill Belichick used to say, after about game 12 or 13. They're already playing well and improving weekly.
With Maye at the helm, getting more starts and reps with his remodeled offense, things will continue to trend upward as the season progresses. Whether the 2025 Patriots are the product of their schedule or are the real deal, we'll know better later, especially if/when they make the playoffs. One thing's certain, though, they have the quarterback in Drake Maye, and with him, anything is possible.