The 2019 NFL schedule was officially revealed earlier this week, and while no teams have it incredibly rough throughout the year, the New England Patriots have been dealt a subtly difficult schedule, even though the teams they’re playing aren’t known for being incredible.
The Patriots 2019 schedule features a team coming off of their bye a league-high three times (via USA Today). This isn’t a huge advantage in and of itself, but it does mean that teams will have an extra day of preparation. The Patriots have also been given five primetime games, which is a sign of how good the team is, but also means their typical schedule will be changed for that week.
When you look further into the Patriots’ contests against the NFC East, a curious thing appears. All four NFC East games occur in two separate back-to-back pairs of games, at different points in the year. The games against the Washington Redskins and New York Giants occur on a dreaded Sunday-Thursday schedule, with the Patriots taking on Washington on the road on Sunday before traveling to New York for a game on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the Patriots and Eagles will both be coming off byes when they play each other, a rare occurrence for teams in the league. When the Patriots take on the Dallas Cowboys, it’ll be part of that same tough Sunday-Thursday stretch for the Cowboys.
Needless to say, it’s a weird combination of circumstances for both New England and the NFC East, so it’ll be interesting to see how that unfolds as the season goes on.
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