It's a new season, but NFL analysts remained focused on the New England Patriots' strength of schedule.
New England capitalized on a light slate to go 14-3 in Mike Vrabel's first season as head coach. An encore won't be easy with a tougher 2026 schedule starting with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seattle Seahawks.
As a result, Ryan Clark expects the reigning AFC champions to regress significantly this season. The former Pittsburgh Steelers safety discussed New England's plight on ESPN's "Get Up" following Thursday night's schedule reveal.
"This is a totally different schedule with different expectations," Clark said on Friday morning. "Nobody thought about Drake Maye as an MVP candidate or Mike Vrabel as a Coach of the Year candidate or this team being the type of team that can get to the Super Bowl. It's different now. You aren't sneaking up on anyone."
Clark doesn't just see the Patriots losing a few more games in 2026. He has them falling short of the postseason altogether despite maintaining favorable matchups against two weak AFC East opponents.
"I believe they not only take a step back, but in my opinion, the New England Patriots miss the playoffs this year based on this schedule," Clark predicted. "I know what everyone's gonna say. They got four wins because they got Miami and they got the New York Jets (twice each), but I believe the rest of this schedule makes it extremely difficult."
The Patriots have the sixth-toughest schedule based on their opponents' winning percentages from last season. That method also severely downplays the difficulty of a Week 15 road game against the Kansas City Chiefs, who went 6-11 in 2025.
New England still has nine games against 2025 playoff teams, including four straight (three on the road) to start the season. Given that arduous path, the Patriots can't take a return to glory for granted.
More NFL: Patriots Predicted To Have Losing Record For Foolish Reasons