Despite the nearly unanimous belief throughout the 2025 offseason that the Patriots would not win double-digit games this season and miss the playoffs, the narrative has now shifted to they were given an easy schedule, and that it shouldn't be a surprise they won 14 games.
It's funny how an unexpectedly successful season under new leadership and a second-year quarterback can change the discourse around a team so quickly and abruptly, but that's where the Patriots are and will be until next season.
Because we already knew who most of their opponents would be since divisions are rotated in a pattern, it was clear that their 2026 opponents would be much more difficult than those they faced this year, at least, on paper.