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The New England Patriots will get their first taste of competition this Thursday, as they gear up to face the Houston Texans to start the NFL preseason. But as the regular season looms, oddsmakers don’t seem to expect big things from New England in 2023. Out of 17 matchups, they are favored to win just three–against the New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders, and Indianapolis Colts.
As someone who believes Bill Belichick still has some gas in the tank and Mac Jones isn’t a bottom 10 quarterback, I’d like to think the Pats can muster more than three victories. So here are five teams they can pull off upsets against this upcoming season.
Which 5 teams will the Patriots surprise this season?
1. Week 1: vs Philadelphia Eagles
Should Philadelphia win this game? As the reigning NFC champions with a 5-point spread in their favor, absolutely they should. But will it be a guaranteed, walk-in-the-park, complete clowning? No, I don’t think it will.
The NFC East has been known for the last couple decades as being volatile, having no repeat winners since 2004. The Boston-Philly rivalry will be full blast under the Gillette Stadium lights, and I can already see it as a turning point for both teams right out the gate. It’s a tough ask, but watch out for a shocking season opener in Foxborough.
2. Week 6: at Las Vegas Raiders
I’ll consider Allegiant Stadium as a house of horrors for possibly the rest of my life. What the Patriots did there last season was an unforgivable blight against the beautiful game of football. It’s not that I want New England to win this game; I need them to.
The Pats should’ve walked away victorious the last go around against Las Vegas, but a horrible mistaken touchdown call in the fourth quarter and a comedy of errors on the final play gave the Raiders the win. Now, I believe they’ve downgraded at the quarterback position and head coach Josh McDaniels won’t make it past midseason with his job. The Patriots are 1-point underdogs, but I think they win comfortably.
3. Week 12: at New York Giants
The New York Giants are complete and utter frauds. They snuck into the playoffs as a wild card having only beaten subpar teams throughout their easy schedule. While they were able to pull out a playoff win, it was against the incredibly mediocre Minnesota Vikings, who only narrowly won all of their regular season games.
The Giants offense lacks any weapon that is capable of penetrating the Patriots’ staunch defense. When I close my eyes, I can already see Daniel Jones throwing four interceptions in this game. The Patriots are going to tear them apart, and I think the 1.5 points New York is favored by should be taken as an insult. Lock in a win for the Pats.
4. Week 16: at Denver Broncos
This is yet another matchup that surprises me to see the Patriots as underdogs for. Denver was only able to muster five wins last season. The Broncos put on display one of the most vile offenses fans have had to watch on primetime four separate weeks.
A lot of people will point to Nathaniel Hackett as the man to blame for the Broncos’ lackluster performance in 2022, but I don’t see Sean Payton as the cure-all for this franchise. Russell Wilson is just no longer in his heyday anymore. Despite having the mile-high advantage in this game, I think once again the Patriots defense will dismantle the home team and the two points favored toward them.
5. Week 18: vs New York Jets
New England isn’t favored in a single division matchup this season, but I think most reasonable fans can agree they won’t go winless in these games. While I think the Patriots could actually win two or three of these vital contests, I’ll throw out this Week 18 bout as one of the more likely ones to go their way.
The last game of the season is always unpredictable, but I believe both of these teams will be fighting for playoff contention and giving it their all. I’ll give the Jets a home win in Week 3, but no way they come into Gillette and steal another. Aaron Rodgers has a very talented roster around him, but last season showed he’s getting toward the end of his career. The Patriots will be able to slow him down enough to get a win off of their rivals despite being 1-point underdogs.
Note: all odds used in this article come from DraftKings Sportsbook.
