The NFL released the league’s schedule during their ‘Schedule Reveal ’20’ program on NFL Network. Teams and fans finally found out exactly when they’ll match-up against divisional rivals and appear on primetime.
For the Patriots, the schedule was going to be difficult no matter what. Based on last year’s winning percentage, New England has the toughest slate of games this season, as their opponent’s won 53.7% of their games last year. A lot of that is aided by their match-ups with the NFC West that had three teams win at least nine games including the defending NFC Champion 49ers led by former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
While the schedule is fairly simple, there are a few surprises for the Patriots as well.
New England will play in five primetime games
When Tom Brady left, there was an understandable feeling that the Patriots were going to have a considerable drop-off. Without one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, it seemed as though the Patriots wouldn’t get as much respect from the rest of the league. However, they have been given the maximum number of primetime games during this process.
The NFL still feels that the Patriots would still be a competitive team that people will want to watch. Whether that is true remains to be seen. But, for now, Bill Belichick is getting the respect he deserves.