The New England Patriots 2016 schedule and opponents have been set
The 2015 season started with a ton of controversy – DeflateGate, pissing matches between Robert Kraft, Tom Brady and Roger Goodell, lawsuits, court dates, suspensions and tabloid fodder. None of it mattered. Per usual the Pats were a wrecking ball.
Really, the only thing that slowed down the Pats was a barrage of injuries. LeGarrette Blount went down, as did Dion Lewis, for the season. So did Dominique Easley. Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski all missed games. And the team must have shuffled through 30 different offensive linemen. The team was basically battling the emergency room for the last half of the season.
Nonetheless, the Patriots were still the toast of the AFC. They once again took first in the AFC East and proved once more that the Brady-Belichick combination is one of the greatest quarterback-coach duos in the annals of National Football League history.
The 2016 season should be an interesting challenge for the Patriots, as they have to face off against the NFC West – this means we get another Super Bowl XLIX rematch between the Pats and Seahawks, and a fun matchup against the Cardinals’ vaunted defense. There’s also games against the AFC North, leading to contests against an explosive Steelers offense and the always-fun Pats-Ravens contests.