The New England Patriots finished 13-3 last season, one of four teams with a league-leading 13 wins. It was the eighth consecutive time they have had 12 or more regular-season wins.
While oddsmakers aren’t quite as confident in them reaching that high a number of wins again, they do still have the Pats with an over/under 11.0 wins. That's down 1.5 wins from last year, but it still makes them favorites to lead the league in wins in 2018, per ESPN’s David Purdum.
As Purdum notes in his piece, oddsmakers believe New England now has a slimmer margin for error than in past years. Apart from Tom Brady being over 40 years of age, they no longer have a viable insurance policy at quarterback with Jimmy Garoppolo gone.
After constant speculation heading into the draft, they opted not to pick up a quarterback in the draft until the seventh round with Danny Etling.
The Patriots need to rebuild their offensive line once again after starting tackles Nate Solder and Cameron Fleming both left in free agency. They also need to address their defense, which was hardly convincing throughout the season and let them down during the Super Bowl.
But with Bill Belichick, Brady, and presumably Rob Gronkowski still on board, the Patriots still have as good a chance as any to continue their mastery over the rest of the league.
They also have – according to the Washington Post – the easiest schedule in the entire league in 2018. Two of their division rivals – the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets – are rebuilding, which should help the Pats rack up at least four wins.
While they might not be quite as dominant as in the past, the Patriots should like their chances of remaining Super Bowl contenders for 2018 as long as Brady stays healthy.
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