New England Patriots Schedule Reset: This is the toughest part

By Kevin Parvizi | Nov 14, 2015

Following the Denver Broncos Week 9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals are the only two undefeated teams remaining in the AFC. It’s the Patriots, of course, who are seen as the favorites to finish the season undefeated, as they are led by the NFL’s shoe-in for the MVP award. Andy Dalton and Arizona Cardinals veteran passer Carson Palmer have compelling cases, but it’s hard to vote against a passer with a 113.5 QB Rating and 11:1 TD:INT ratio.

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Tomorrow, the Patriots will face off against the New York Giants, beginning a series of games that includes battles with the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 and the Denver Broncos in Week 12. That isn’t exactly a true gauntlet, but that series of three games represents the most difficult stretch on the Patriots schedule this season, mostly thanks to the battle against the Broncos.

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Although the Giants have one of the NFL’s worst defenses and don’t seem to be much of a threat to the Patriots, we’ve all heard about how Tom Coughlin is 5-1 against Bill Belichick when both of these great coaches go head-to-head. We all remember when the Giants famously spoiled the Patriots shot at an undefeated season, and there are some who believe that a similar scenario could unfold tomorrow afternoon.

The Giants are tops in the NFC East with a 5-4 record, and while they clearly aren’t the favorites over a juggernaut that is first in the NFL in scoring and fifth in scoring defense, this game isn’t seen as a lock for New England. The important thing here is that that the Patriots could conceivably slip up in any of these upcoming three games, particularly in Week 12 against a Broncos team that generally plays them tough.

But even if the Patriots sheer statistical brilliance this season doesn’t blow your mind, maybe you’ll be impressed by the fact that the general reaction to most of the team’s on their schedule is a, “Meh, we’re expected to win this one, too.”

Perhaps we don’t truly take the Patriots annually elite play for granted, but it’s pretty crazy to think that the Patriots are roundly favored to win every game in the meatiest part of their schedule here in November. The Broncos have one of the best defenses we’ve seen in recent memory, and yet Brady and the Patriots can feel confident that they can overcome Dion Lewis‘s injury and excel against Denver.

Sure, it won’t be easy to knock off a 7-1 team, especially if C.J. Anderson starts to get going. However, we saw the Patriots dethrone a fearsome Seattle Seahawks defense on an even bigger stage, and Brady is currently playing arguably the best ball of his life. I mean, how can you not pick him to lead the Pats to a “W” in Week 12?

Sandwiched in between these two games against familiar foes in the Giants and Broncos is a second date for Belichick against his most familiar foe of all. Rex Ryan and his defense were able to gut out an important Thursday Night Football victory over the New York Jets that had both personal and playoff benefits, but there’s no doubt that he’d also like to take a swipe at the Patriots, perhaps spoiling their perfect record if the Giants aren’t able to up-end them first.

Although the Week 16 game against the Jets will be a more difficult battle for New England, Ryan and the Bills aren’t a punching bag of a team. With LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins now at their best (the former’s emergence and playmaking could be a massive mis-match for the Patriots) and Tyrod Taylor presumably ready to avoid the trainer’s table going forward, the Bills offense has some juice.

Sep 20, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Patriots beat the Bills 40-32. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

In Week 2, the Patriots absolutely embarrassed Ryan’s vaunted defense by dropping 40 on them with over 500 yards of total offense in a game with a 40-32 scoreline that flattered Buffalo.

Ryan will be out for revenge next week, meaning that he’ll likely assemble a much more effective approach to shutting down an elite Patriots passing attack.

We could see more work from LeGarrette Blount on the ground to counter-act that, and Lewis’s season-ending injury (he had 98 receiving yards against the Bills in their earlier meeting) might not matter if Danny Amendola can shine.

In all three of these games, New England are the favorites to varying degrees, and that’s to be expected when you are 8-0, coming off of a Super Bowl win, and have Tom bleeping Brady running the league’s highest-scoring offense.

However, the key point here is that none of these games are slam-dunks, no matter how little faith you have in Peyton Manning, the Giants defense, or the Bills in general.

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One of these teams is elite, one is leading the division, and the other is a legitimate Wild Card contender in the AFC. Beating all three of them gives the Patriots a decreased margin for error, and it will be interesting to see if the Pats struggle with any of these three opponents.

Teams like to jump on weaknesses they see on film, so any blips could give one of these three teams (or a future opponent) some ideas.

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