Week 1 vs. Miami Dolphins
The Patriots are scheduled to open the new season against their AFC East-rival Miami Dolphins, who won in Foxborough last season and force the Patriots into the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Patriots have opened the season at home against the Dolphins in four other seasons – 1970, 1974, 1987, and 1990. The Patriots are 3-1 in home openers against Miami with the loss coming in what was New England’s 1-15 season in 1990.
Week 2 at Seattle Seahawks
This will be the eighth trip to Seattle for the Patriots. The all-time series is tied, 9-9, but the Patriots are 4-3 in Seattle. New England lost its last visit there in 2012, 24-23.
Week 3 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The Patriots will make their first trip to Las Vegas to play the freshly relocated Raiders. It will be the eighth time Bill Belichick’s Patriots face the Silver and Black. His Patriots are 6-1 in the previous seven with the most recent win coming in 2017 when the clubs met at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Week 4 at Kansas City Chiefs
The Patriots will head to Arrowhead for the first time since the 2018 AFC Championship showdown. It will be the 39th meeting between these teams, 17 of those meetings came during each team’s AFL years. The Chiefs hold the overall series advantage, 19-16-3, and won, 23-16, in Foxborough last season. This will be a highly-anticipated road game against the defending Super Bowl champions.
Week 5 vs. Denver Broncos
For a while, it seemed the Patriots and Broncos played annually, but this will be Denver’s first visit to New England since 2014 when the Patriots took a 43-21 decision. The last four meetings have all come in Denver with the teams splitting two wins each. The Patriots have won the last five meetings in Foxborough, including one during which they came back from a 24-0 deficit to win in overtime.
Week 6 BYE
Since the re-introduction of the NFL Bye Week in 1990, the Patriots twice held a Week 6 bye. The first came in 1990 and the second in 2006. The Patriots are 1-1 in games coming off a Week 6 bye.
Week 7 vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Patriots and 49ers have only met 13 times in history with San Francisco holding an 8-5 edge. The Colin Kaepernick-led 49ers won in Foxborough back in 2012, the only of four match-ups with the 49ers that Belichick’s Patriots have lost. The Patriots are 3-1 vs. the 49ers since 2000, but the reigning NFC champions will come east with former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm.
Week 8 at Buffalo Bills
The Patriots 76 all-time wins over the division-rival Bills are their most against any opponent. They lead the all-time series, 76-43-1 and since losing 31-0 in Buffalo to open the 2003 season, New England is 30-3 against the Bills, including 14-1 in Buffalo. But the Bills are a team on the rise and many prognosticators spent the offseason predicting this will be the year Buffalo dethrones the Patriots atop the division. Still, New England hasn’t lost in Buffalo since 2011 and is 37-22-1 in Buffalo overall.
Week 9 at New York Jets
The Pats will visit the Meadowlands to face the arch-rival New York Jets in their first back-to-back road games of the season. The two clubs have met 122 times with the Patriots holding a 65-54-1 advantage. Since Belichick left the Jets after the 1999 season, he has coached the Patriots to a 31-11 record against New York including 14-5 in New Jersey. New England has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
Week 10 vs. Baltimore Ravens
While the Patriots and Ravens have been frequent playoff opponents over recent years, they have only played played nine times in the regular season since 2000 with the Patriots holding a 7-2 advantage in those games. This will be Baltimore’s first trip back since a 2014 Divisional Playoff loss that saw the Ravens lose two different 14-point leads. The Patriots won, 30-23, in the last regular season contest in Foxborough in 2016, but Baltimore handily won a home game vs. New England last season. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots have an answer for Lamar Jackson this time around.
Week 11 at Houston Texans
The Patriots travel to Houston for the second straight season after losing there last year, 28-22. Overall, the Patriots are 10-2 against the Texans and had an eight-game win streak snapped last year. The Patriots are 3-1 vs. the Texans in Houston and also won two Super Bowls in that stadium.
Week 12 vs. Arizona Cardinals
The all-important post-Thanksgiving part of the season begins with a home game vs. the Cardinals. The two teams have split 14 previous meetings, but the Patriots have won six of the last seven match-ups, though that one loss was a 20-18 decision in Foxborough in 2012.
Week 13 at Los Angeles Chargers
An extended West Coast trip begins with a match up against the Chargers in Los Angeles. This will be the Patriots 43rd game against the Chargers and first since the 2018 AFC Divisional Playoff Game. The Patriots are 25-15-2 against the Chargers and have won the last five meetings dating back to 2008. Both teams will have new starting quarterbacks in 2020 with Philip Rivers and Tom Brady having moved on.
Week 14 at Los Angeles Rams
The West Coast trip continues with a Super Bowl XXXVI and Super Bowl LIII rematch against the Los Angeles Rams. This Thursday night meeting will be the eighth game against the Rams for Belichick’s Patriots. The Patriots are 6-1 against the Rams since 2000, including two Super Bowl victories and a win in London. With the Chargers and Rams now sharing a stadium in L.A., the Patriots will play consecutive road games in the same stadium.
Week 15 at Miami Dolphins
The final road trip of the season will take place in Miami against the familiar Dolphins. The Patriots have historically struggled in Miami, posting a 17-38 record in South Florida. The Patriots did win in Miami in Week 2 of last season before a relatively-rare home loss to Miami late in the season. Miami holds a 56-53 series lead. Despite the Patriots AFC East dominance over the past two decades, they are just 9-11 on the road against the Dolphins since 2000.
Week 16 vs Buffalo Bills
In what appears to be coming an annual holiday, the Patriots and Bills will meet at Gillette Stadium in week 16 for the fourth consecutive season. The Patriots have won each of the last three home meetings and will look to capture their 40th home win against Buffalo. The Patriots are 17-3 at home against the Bills under Belichick, with the last loss coming in 2016 when an injured Jacoby Brissett started for New England in a 16-0 loss.
Week 17 vs New York Jets
The Patriots will close out the 2020 regular season with a home meeting against the division-rival New York Jets. This will be the fifth time these two teams have closed out their regular seasons against each other. The last two season-ending wins against the Jets, in 2017 and 2018, both set the Patriots up for lengthy playoff runs resulting in Super Bowl LII and LIII appearances.
