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New England Patriots fans may have technically had the shortest offseason, but it certainly feels like the longest.

After losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, Pats supporters must concentrate on the new season and now finally know exactly who they are playing and when.

The defending AFC Champions have a long road ahead of them to get back to the postseason, but were fortunate enough to draw the easiest schedule in the league—according to the Red Zone.

Let’s take a look at who the Patriots are playing and where during the 2012-13 NFL season.

Schedule

Week 1 9/9: New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 2 9/16: Arizona Cardinals vs. New England Patriots, 1 PM ET, Fox

Week 3 9/23: New England Patriots vs. Baltimore Ravens, 8:20 PM ET, NBC

Week 4 9/30: New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 5 10/7: Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots, 4:15 PM ET, CBS

Week 6 10/14: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 PM ET, CBS

Week 7 10/21: New York Jets vs. New England Patriots, 4:15 PM ET, CBS

Week 8 10/28: New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 9 11/4: BYE WEEK

Week 10 11/11: Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 11 11/18: Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 12 11/22: New England Patriots vs. New York Jets, 8:20 PM ET, NBC

Week 13 12/2: New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 14 12/10: Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots, 8:30 PM ET, ESPN

Week 15 12/16: San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots, 8:20 PM ET, NBC

Week 16 12/23: New England Patriots vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 PM ET, CBS

Week 17 12/30: Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots, 1 PM ET, CBS 

Analysis

The hardest games for New England this year are going to come against the Ravens, Texans, 49ers and Broncos.

Of course, the divisional matchups against the Jets, Bills and Dolphins are always tightly contested and should not be marked down as wins just yet.

Fortunately, the Patriots play a number of teams that weren’t much of contenders last season, including the Seahawks, Rams, Titans, Jaguars, Cardinals and Colts. This definitely contributes to their insanely easy strength of schedule.

The combined win total from last year of the Patriots 2012-13 opponents was just 116, compared with their 140 losses.

Hopefully Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and co. are able to run right through the regular season and get back to the playoffs without much trouble.

Anything less than another Super Bowl appearance and victory would be a disappointment, especially considering the itinerary.

Tom Brady is hoping to get back to the Super Bowl in 2013.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Most Pivotal Matchup: Patriots vs. Broncos (Week 5)

The Broncos just added a fierce old rival, Peyton Manning, to their roster and it’s going to be a bloodbath in Gillette.

New England stomped on the Broncos twice last season, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs.

Now that they ditched Tebow for Manning, Denver is a lot more dangerous, especially against the Pats’ weak secondary.

Expect this game to be extremely exciting and important to the AFC playoff picture.