FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots' 2025 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Wednesday.
First-year head coach Mike Vrabel set lofty goals for his tenure -- to win the AFC East, host playoff games, and compete for championships -- and the 2025 schedule gives the team an early chance to re-establish a home-field edge that has been lost in recent years. Three of the Patriots' first four games are at Gillette Stadium -- against teams that New England appears to match up with favorably.
Can they turn things around at home? From 2000-2022, the Patriots posted a 134-35 record at Gillette in the regular season. Over the last two seasons, however, they were 3-13 at Gillette in the regular season.
Here's what's in store for the Patriots:
Patriots 2025 regular-season schedule
Week 1: Sept. 7 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Week 2: Sept. 14 at Miami Dolphins
Week 3: Sept. 21 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 4: Sept. 28 vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 5: Oct. 5 at Buffalo Bills (SNF)
Week 6: Oct. 12 at New Orleans Saints
Week 7: Oct. 19 at Tennessee Titans
Week 8: Oct. 26 vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 9: Nov. 2 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 10: Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 11: Nov. 13 vs. New York Jets (TNF)
Week 12: Nov. 23 at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 13: Dec. 1 vs. New York Giants (MNF)
Week 14: BYE
Week 15: Dec. 14 vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 16: Dec. 21 at Baltimore Ravens
Week 17: Dec. 28 at New York Jets
Week 18: Jan. 3/4 vs. Miami Dolphins
Strength of schedule: The Patriots have the third-easiest schedule in the league (opponents had a .429 winning percentage in 2024).
Over/Under: 8.5 wins
Biggest takeaway
If a goal is to win the division, the Patriots will need to start the season on the right foot. The first two AFC East games are on the road, with a visit to South Florida on Sept. 14 likely to be a sizzler, and an Oct. 5 prime-time road game at the Bills in a frenzied environment. That could potentially put the Patriots in an early hole in the division.
Circle this date: Sept. 7 vs. Raiders
Why not start with the first game of the Vrabel era? That it comes against former Patriots coach Pete Carroll in his first year as Raiders coach adds another exciting twist to it.
Key stretch
Similar to last year, the Patriots have a late bye and then four games to finish the regular season. Just as the final four games last year were a key stretch -- owner Robert Kraft said that's when he first began seriously considering moving on from coach Jerod Mayo -- this year's final four-game stretch could also be telling in terms of what direction the franchise is heading under Vrabel. Three of the final four games are against AFC East foes, and the other is one of the toughest games on the schedule -- at Baltimore.
Bold prediction
The Patriots are still in playoff contention coming out of the early-December bye. This assumes a clean bill of health for quarterback Drake Maye, but the overall schedule appears to be more forgiving than last year's slate.
How much juice will the Patriots have for Vrabel's return to Tennessee?
The Oct. 19 game will be the third straight on the road for the Patriots, who surely would love to give Vrabel a victory against his former team. As Titans head coach from 2018-2023, Vrabel was 54-45 in the regular season and 2-3 in the playoffs, in addition to being named Coach of the Year in 2021.