The Patriots Have the Hardest Schedule in the NFL Next Season and We Truly Can't Believe it
By Michael Luciano
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have a talent for feasting on the weak AFC East and somehow skating by with an easy schedule despite winning the division every year.
That way of manufacturing victories will not be replicated in the 2020 campaign, as the Patriots have the hardest schedule in the league in terms of opponents' combined 2019 winning percentage. Their division rivals in the Dolphins and Jets are right behind them at No. 2 and No. 3.
The #Patriots have the toughest strength of schedule in the NFL for the 2020 season: https://t.co/9QgBITydnJ
— PatriotMaven (@PatriotMavenSI) February 9, 2020
This...this is the NEW ENGLAND Patriots, right?
The Patriots, and all AFC East teams, will play an NFC West that features four talented quarterbacks in Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jared Goff, and Kyler Murray. They will also play the AFC West, which features Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs as well as a few teams on the upswing in the Broncos and Raiders.
Their first place finish also landed them matchups against Deshaun Watson's Houston Texans and Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens, both of whom beat the Patriots last year. Simply brutal.
Those yearly complaints about the Patriots "easy" schedule? You probably won't hear them in 2020. New England has the NFL's toughest sked next season. https://t.co/ZeRSSDMIAz pic.twitter.com/EZJl4eLQvd
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) February 19, 2020
For the first time in what feels like forever, Patriots fans will have to deal with one of the toughest schedules in the league. At least they've already got at least five easy wins inside of their own division.