5 keys to the Patriots making the playoffs in 2024

Predictions are running rampant about the New England Patriots' chances in 2024. Throw them all out the window if they suggest countenancing a “rebuilding,” aka losing season. This team has capabilities far above that “popular opinion” of the day.

One of the current predictions by Pro Football Focus is that the 2024 Patriots team will have a ceiling of 6.49 wins. While that is an improvement over the deplorable 2023 Patriots, the thought here is that it may be way too pessimistic if certain things happen.

You never know what a season might hold. That, as the saying goes, is why they play the games. If the Pats take five key steps, it may just be possible to avert all those hopeless predictions.

Let’s look at when this happened before, could happen again, and how the Patriots might surprise everyone and make the playoffs.

It all starts for the Patriots with rookie quarterback, Drake Maye

The Patriots were effectively without a true starting quarterback in 2023. While they signed veteran backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, rookie third-pick overall, Drake Maye provides the Pats with their best chance to win. Brissett is a nice backup option.

Maye's dual-threat skills, passing and running, make his starting essential if the team’s objective is to actually win games. Rebuilds are for losers. You play your best and let the chips fall where they may. Maye is your best quarterback.

To assist the rookie, you need a true left tackle. The team’s hierarchy, inexplicably and obtusely, neglected to provide one. They can still do so now by trade. Whatever the cost, they should pay it. Otherwise, while still not impossible, it becomes much harder to win.

The third key to the season is to run the ball effectively. There, the Patriots have an option. But just one. It’s recently re-signed top back, Rhamondre Stevenson. Behind him, there’s little at all. The Patriots' pass protection is a question mark, and running is an excellent option.

The team should add another back, but regardless, they need to run to take pressure off the rookie QB. If they can’t, PFFs 6.49 predicted win total may be optimistic. Regardless, if Stevenson stays healthy and his carries are managed correctly through skillful play-calling, the team can have a decent offense. That's all they'll really need.

The Patriots' last two necessities to possibly make the playoffs in 2024

Utilizing the tight end during the Gronk era was a no-brainer. With the current youth at QB and wide receiver, it's essential to use that position heavily again. Quick, short passes to big tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper over the middle are an excellent option for Maye, especially with his suspect offensive line. Those will open things up for the rest of the receivers, including versatile rookie H-back Jaheim Bell.

The Patriots' 2001 team, led by Tom Brady, rode their great defense into the Super Bowl. The prime objective then, and will be now, was to protect the ball. In the past two seasons, giveaways wrecked the Patriots' chances. It's not an option but an imperative.

Like Brady did in 2001, Maye must not lose games since his defense is capable of stopping almost anyone else. Innovative play-calling will fall on Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt (AVP). He has to plan to minimize risk for his rookie quarterback, especially at the outset.

Maye gives AVP a lot to work with. Maye can hit on programmed rollouts, and high-percentage passes on the run. In addition, quick hitters and pitches to third-down back Antonio Gibson will also be low-risk options. If the 2024 Patriots' offense protects the ball, this team can win.

Those are five keys to the Patriots possibly making the playoffs in 2024. They did so in 2021 with rookie Mac Jones at the helm. The 2024 defense is better than in 2021, and Maye can be better than Mac Jones was then, as well.

From the owner on down, the Patriots should reject any notion of “rebuilding” out-of-hand. It’s nonsense, a sham, and a loser's attitude. There is no season but the one right in front of
you, certain NFL "experts" viewpoints notwithstanding.

You play to win now, or why bother? There’s no other season. The Patriots, a terrible team in 2000, won a Super Bowl in 2001 with an untested quarterback. The 2021 Pats made the playoffs with a rookie quarterback, not nearly as capable as Drake Maye will be.

If you’re not in Foxborough seeking to win every game, concede nothing, and make the playoffs, your team's leadership is way over its head. Anything else is folly and, without a shred of a doubt, unquestionably unworthy of the New England Patriots.

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