The New England Patriots are favorites to win the AFC East this season, but they have the most difficult schedule of any team in the division.
It is not going to be effortless for New England since they have the sixth-toughest schedule in the NFL this season.
The Patriots are favored in their opening game on September 12th as they host the Bengals.
The New England Patriots will, in all likelihood, be road underdogs at the New York Jets in Week 2 before they go back home to host Buffalo in Week 3.
They will have a challenging game in Miami in Week 4 after which they have their bye in Week 5.
After the bye week, the schedule is truly tough for New England.
They've got a rematch with the Ravens who eliminated them in the playoffs last season, after which they go to San Diego for a challenging game vs the Chargers.
They might get a break if Brett Favre stays retired, as they host the Minnesota Vikings.
Games at Cleveland and Pittsburgh will not be effortless and then New England has their yearly fight with the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11.
Since it is a substantial letdown match after facing the Colts and it is on Thanksgiving, the match vs Detroit in Week 12 should be effortless but could wind up being troublesome for the Patriots.
The New England Patriots find some added relaxation after that game and then confront the New York Jets on Monday night in Week 13.
After that, they have tough games at Chicago and at home vs Green Bay in Weeks 14 and 15.
The Patriots wrap up at Buffalo in Week 16 NFL and at home vs Miami in Week 17.
The Patriots will play eight games vs playoff teams from a year ago, but six of those games will be at home.
New England has 4 prime time competitions including two on Monday night.
They will play at least two games on Sunday night and possibly more as NBC has the right to change their agenda late in the season as warranted.
The Patriots are anticipated to challenge for the AFC East championship this season but to do so they are going to have to navigate a pretty tough schedule.
In spite of their challenging schedule, the Patriots have been a pretty remarkable team in the last decade.
From 2001 to 2005, they became the eighth team to win sequential Super Bowls and the 2nd team in NFL history to in 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.
They've also compiled the longest winning streak consisting of regular season games and playoff games in NFL history, with a 21-game streak from October 2003 to October 2004.
Last season the New England Patriots had a 10-6 record that they will be looking to improve on this season.
They still likely have a pretty good chance at making the playoffs again this year, and they have Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as head coach.
It only is still to be seen if they can their navigate this challenging schedule successfully.