Welcome to Season 13, Episode 1 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious yet lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup . . .
It’s fitting, as the Patriots begin this season of subterranean expectations with more questions than probably any edition since Bill Belichick’s first in 2000, to kick this off with . . . one more question.
What will constitute success for the 2024 Patriots?
For nearly two decades, from that first euphoric Super Bowl victory to cap the storybook 2001 season, through Tom Brady’s final Patriots pass in the wild-card loss to the Titans in January 2020, expectations were set, at a minimum, of reaching the AFC Championship game.