The New England Patriots and Head coach Mike Vrabel ended the 2025 season with a humbling loss to the clearly superior Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. For Patriots Nation, it was anything but a fitting conclusion to a Cinderella season. It was a massive disappointment.
Now, even with a huge year expected for quarterback Drake Maye, NFL.com has predicted the teams with the best 2026 Super Bowl odds, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, and the Patriots surprisingly are nowhere to be seen on their list.
There were certainly mitigating circumstances in that lopsided loss to Seattle. The most important was Maye playing with a significantly injured right shoulder. Additionally, the second most important player on the team, left tackle Will Campbell, was also playing at much less than 100 percent.
Those were odds that were too tough for the upstart Patriots to overcome.
The New England Patriots' biggest Super Bowl obstacle may be the talent behind their starters
Now, even with a presumably healthy Maye and Campbell, and the additions of top receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, the Patriots are still getting little respect. They're not even rated in the top seven contenders suggested by FanDuel.
Interestingly, second on the list is the Buffalo Bills, the team the Patriots bested for the AFC East title on their way to the Super Bowl.
There's no question that the Patriots' offense is better than it was in 2025. On defense, assuming top cornerback Christian Gonzalez is on the field and not out due to a contract dispute, they are also improved. The addition of All-Pro safety Kevin Byard III alone cemented that.
Yet, it's the Bills who are being touted as early Super Bowl contenders.
"Bills over Rams," NFL.com writer Matt Okada wrote. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. I picked Bills over Rams in this exercise last year, and I'm back for Super Bowl LXI. The Rams are the league's best team, but it's (finally) Josh Allen's time."
This should be even more motivation for the Patriots to prove any naysayers wrong. In 2025, they beat the Bills in Buffalo, and lost the second tilt at Gillette Stadium despite building an early 21-0 lead.
The Patriots' first 2026 test will be on Sept. 9 against the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks. The NFL world will get its first glimpse of how well the team did this offseason to narrow the massive chasm between the two teams.
Regardless of the outcome of the Seattle game, the Patriots have to answer whether their roster depth can get them across the finish line after a grueling 17-game season and maybe beyond.
That's the key question. The answer is that they clearly appear to be lacking. Great teams are built in the offseason and must be ready to weather injuries.
At present, the Patriots don't appear to be capable of doing so, and that could make all the difference.
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