Best-case scenario for the Patriots' 2024 schedule
By Rhys Knott
If there’s one thing you can say about the NFL with a degree of certainty, it’s that they’re totally unpredictable. The schedule is no different. But there appear to be a few hints floating around.
The Patriots front office expects to play the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in England, and based on recent history, the last two games of the season are likely to be divisional matchups.
If The Patriots do travel to London to play the Jags, they will have more fans in Wembley than the home team. That game is scheduled to happen on the 20th of October, so Week 7. Presumably, the Patriots would opt to take their bye the following week, so Jerod Mayo’s team should have an early reset.
If the season does culminate with two divisional games, then in a best-case scenario, the Dolphins will have to visit Foxborough in late December. Miami lost their final two games of the regular season in 2023, and even though they concluded the season at home, they didn’t adapt to the winter weather anywhere.
When they visited Kansas City in the playoffs, they only scored one touchdown in the extremely low temperatures. While it won’t be record-breakingly cold in New England at Christmas, the weather will undoubtedly slow down Achane and his pals.
In a perfect world, the other divisional game at the end of the season would be against the Jets. It seems incredibly unlikely Aaron Rodgers will make it to the business end of the season. He’ll be 41 by then, and even if you ignore whatever he might get up to in the offseason, completing 16 games will be tough after almost a whole year recovering from his torn Achilles.
Best-case scenario for the Patriots' 2024 schedule
The best-case scenario for a season opener would involve a meeting with the Bills. Playing the Bills early should give the Patriots the best chance to surprise the reigning division champions. Like the Patriots, there are a few new pieces in western New York that need to bed in.
Everyone remembers Stefon Diggs leaving for Houston, but the biggest change is on the offensive line. Center Mitch Morse followed Gabe Davis's lead and upped sticks to Jacksonville.
A new center-to-quarterback exchange can be practiced thousands of times, but it’ll be different in a game scenario. With Christian Barmore desperate to prove he’s worth his new $83 million contract lining up opposite someone who played guard last season or maybe a rookie in the shape of Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, the Patriots' defense should force some fumbles.
Here’s how the Patriots 2024 season could look if the chips fall in their favor -
- Week 1 – vs. Bills
- Week 2 – at Bengals
- Week 3 – vs. Colts
- Week 4 – at Bills
- Week 5 – at 49ers
- Week 6 – vs. Seahawks
- Week 7 – at the Jaguars (Wembley)
- Week 8 – Bye Week
- Week 9 – at Dolphins
- Week 10 – vs. Texans
- Week 11 – at Titans
- Week 12 – vs. Jets
- Week 13 – vs. Chargers
- Week 14 – at Bears
- Week 15 – vs. Rams
- Week 16 – at Cardinals
- Week 17 – vs. Dolphins
- Week 18 – at Jets
Check out the Musket Fire YouTube channel for more Patriots content!
More Patriots coverage:
manual