New England Patriots Schedule - Three Of Four At Home To Start Season

Preseason

Thursday, August 11, 2016 - 7:30pm
New Orleans Saints @ New England
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Thursday, August 18, 2016 - 8:00pm
Chicago Bears @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Friday, August 6, 2016 - 7:30pm
New England Patriots @ Carolina Panthers
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Thursday, September 1, 2016 - 7:00pm
New England Patriots @ New York Giants
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

******************************

If - IF - New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady ends up serving a four-game suspension stemming from the DeflateGate madness, he will end up missing two of the Patriots' five prime-time matchups, at Arizona to open the season and then again in Week 3 when New England hosts Houston in a Thursday night game.

More importantly, he would miss two divisional games, hosting both Miami and Buffalo in weeks 2 and 4 respectively.  Whether or not that is likely to happen is not for us to decide, but it is interesting that three of the four games are at home against what would likely still be inferior opponents - and not a New York Jet logo in sight.

Once Brady were to return, hypothetically, of course, he would face three straight AFC North division opponents, sandwiching a home contest with the Bengals around road trips to Cleveland and Pittsburgh - then they catch another break with the bye week coming smack in the middle of the schedule...

...but get no favors after that as they host the Seattle Seahawks coming out of the break, then must travel to the west coast to meet the 49ers the following week.

A trip to meet the Jets follows before a showdown with the Rams in Foxborough, then a curious Monday night matchup looms against the Baltimore Ravens - perhaps the schedulers felt that either Baltimore would put up a good fight or the Patriots would be debilitated in some manner, as this game has all the makings of a smelly dog.

Which is fortunate, since the following Sunday night the Patriots travel to Denver to play the champs before finishing by hosting the Jets on Christmas Eve and then traveling to Miami to play a New Years Day bowl game.

On a side note, the Patriots finish with the same two divisional games that they played last season as they faded down the stretch...


Regular Season
.
Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 8:30pm
Sunday Night Football (NBC)
New England Patriots @ Arizona Cardinals
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Sunday, September 18, 2016 - 1:00pm
Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 8:25pm
Thursday Night Football (CBS & NFLNetwork)
Houston Texans @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Sunday, October 2, 2016 - 1:00pm
Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Sunday, October 9, 2016 - 1:00pm
New England Patriots @ Cleveland Browns
First Energy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Sunday, October 16, 2016 - 1:00pm
Cincinnati Bengals @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 4:25pm
New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Sunday, October 30, 2016 - 1:00pm
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

BYE Week

Sunday, November 13, 2016 - 8:30pm
Sunday Night Football (NBC)
Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Sunday, November 20, 2016 - 4:25pm
New England Patriots @ San Francisco 49ers
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Sunday, November 27, 2016 - 8:30pm
Sunday Night Football (NBC)
New England Patriots @ New York Jets
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Sunday, December 4, 2016 - 1:00pm
Los Angeles Rams @ New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Monday, December 12, 2016 - 8:30pm
Monday Night Football (ESPN)

Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Sunday, December 18, 2016 - 4:25pm
New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

Saturday, December 24, 2016 - 1:00pm
New York Jets @ New England Patriots

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Sunday, January 1, 2017 - 1:00pm
New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins
Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida