There was plenty of talk when it came to the Patriots’ success in 2025 because of their schedule.
New England statistically had one of the easiest schedules last season. The team finished 14-3 en route to a Super Bowl 60 appearance before the Patriots fell to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Patriots’ path to the Super Bowl also saw them play a Los Angeles Chargers team that featured Justin Herbert with a broken hand, a Houston Texans team without Nico Collins and a Denver Broncos squad without Bo Nix.
Super Bowl 45 champion Greg Jennings wants to do away with the strength of schedule talk when it comes to the 2025 Patriots.
“We have to stop this,” the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver said on “First Take.” “No. I don’t think I’ve heard, in any year of me being in tune with NFL football, it talked about as much as last year of a team having an easy schedule.
“Not a single coach in my 10 years of players has ever gotten in front of a team and said, ‘Guys, this year is gonna be tough. We have a first-place schedule,’” Jennings added. “Or, ‘This year’s gonna be a lot easier. We got a really layup schedule now. We can take advantage of this.’
“Your opponent is who your opponent’s gonna be,” he concluded. “You understand you have to put together a game plan every single week.”
Coach Mike Vrabel called the narrative “mind-boggling” early in the season. He pointed to the fact that he doesn’t make the schedule and that because of the salary cap, “everybody spends the same amount of money.”
The Patriots’ schedule will be harder in 2026 than in ‘25 which includes games against the Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs.
New England does have areas of need to address in the offseason if it wants to improve and make it back to the Super Bowl next year. The Patriots also have decisions to make on a handful of pending free agents.