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2020 New England Patriots Schedule: Full Listing of Dates, Times and TV Info
May 7, 2020
The New England Patriots will begin a new era in 2020 without Tom Brady lined up at quarterback.
With the 42-year-old joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Patriots are left with a group of unproven players at the position: Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer and undrafted free agents Brian Lewerke and J'Mar Smith.
The defense also lost some key players in free agency, including Jamie Collins Sr., Kyle Van Noy and Danny Shelton.
It creates more question marks for this team than we have seen since Bill Belichick first took over in 2000.
This should make for an interesting season with the following schedule:
Analysis
While much of the focus this offseason has been on losing Brady, the Patriots still have the foundation of a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in both points and yards allowed in 2019.
Even with key players such as Van Noy and Collins leaving, New England still has high-level options like Stephon Gilmore, Dont'a Hightower and Devin McCourty anchoring the unit at every level. Draft picks Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings should also play a significant role in 2020.
Considering Belichick has helped oversee a top-10 scoring defense in 13 of the last 14 years, the Patriots should have few question marks on that end of the field.
This type of consistency has also helped the Patriots go 13-6 in games not started by Brady since he got the job full time.
It won't be easy this time around, but New England does still have enough talent to win the division for the 12th straight year. That could come down to the rest of the AFC East, as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold both hope to take big leaps in 2020.
Pivotal Matchup
The Patriots' divisional games should be more intriguing than they have been in past years, especially against the Bills, who went 10-6 in 2019 and added No. 1 wideout Stefon Diggs this offseason.
However, it's still tough to trust anyone in the AFC East. The Patriots haven't lost more than one game in the division since 2015, going 20-4 over the past four years.
This leaves the non-divisional games for fans and players to highlight on the schedule.
In Week 10, New England takes on the Baltimore Ravens, a team that led the NFL with a 14-2 record last year. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson embarrassed the 8-0 Patriots last season in a 37-20 rout.
The Pats go on the road to face Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, getting a rematch against Patrick Mahomes after he led a 23-16 win at Gillette Stadium last year.
A Week 7 home game against the San Francisco 49ers should also be interesting with Jimmy Garoppolo returning to face the organization that drafted him. The fact that the Niners reached the Super Bowl last season should also make this a must-see matchup.
Storylines aside, these games will be vital in serving as a measuring stick for the Patriots in 2020.