The New England Patriots may end up 1-9 entering their bye week in 2023

After another horrible loss, the New England Patriots truly might not win another game as they approach their bye week in 2023. It is very possible that the New England Patriots do not win another one of their next four games. That's how many they have until they reach their bye week in the 2023 NFL season.

Another poor offensive performance from the Patriots dropped them to 1-5 on the season, a record that I don't think many of us saw coming. This team is lifeless on both sides of the ball, and losing both Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez was the final nail in the coffin. With both sides of the ball not doing enough, we might be looking at the worst team in football.

Where can the Patriots hang their hats? At least with other 1-5 and 0-6 teams, there appears to be something that those teams can at least latch onto. That doesn't exist for the Patriots. New England has four more games until their bye week in 2023. In order, they face the Buffalo Bills at home, Miami Dolphins in Miami, and the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts at home.

The combined records of those teams are 15-9. None of them have a losing record as of now and all of them have at least 3 wins. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins are just exponentially more talented than the Patriots on both sides of the ball with better QB play. The Washington Commanders have a punishing defensive front and a young but encouraging QB in Sam Howell.

The Indianapolis Colts aren't overly talented, but this team is 3-3 with Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew at QB, so the coaching appears to be very good. I don't think the Patriots should be favored in any of these games. It might be a rough next four games for the team, and could force them to begin to be active at the trade deadline, which is on October 31st at 4PM. This date comes right after Week 8, so the Patriots will have played the Bills and Dolphins, and would likely be looking at a 1-7 record.

The team at that point should punt on the season and should see if they can "earn" the #1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which would likely guarantee them Caleb Williams, the stud QB from USC. If the Patriots can land Williams or Drake Maye, the 2023 season might not be as brutal as it feels right now.