New England Patriots 2024 Expectations
The New England Patriots are set to head to Cincinnati to square off against the Bengals on September 8th for their first game of the 2024 NFL season. The Patriots have struggled to maintain relevance since 2020. Now they are in a brand new era when it comes to the coaching position. Having a new head coach for the first time in 25 years with the legendary Bill Belichick parting ways with the team, and now former Patriots linebacker, Jerod Mayo, is now wearing the headset.
The Patriots ended the 2023 season with a record of 4-13, finishing fourth in the AFC East and making it the first time they have won less than five games in 25 years. Having problems all over the offensive side, particularly the quarterback position. Ever since Tom Brady departed from New England, we have seen the likes of Cam Newton, Brian Hoyer, Mac Jones, and Bailey Zappe. Now a returning Jacoby Brissett and newly drafted Drake Maye. Brissett was just named the starting quarterback going into Week One. Brissett holds an 18-30 win-loss record as a starter with his best season being 7-8 in the 2019 season with Indianapolis. In that season, Brissett threw just over 3,000 yards with a 60.9 completion percentage and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 18:6.
The Patriots trade of Matt Judon to the Atlanta Falcons is really going to hurt the defensive side, mainly because he was their star rusher between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He only played four games in the 2023 season due to injuries, already leaving a very noticeable void in the Patriots’ defense. The 17th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Christian Gonzalez is returning for his second year this season after sustaining a torn labrum last year. Gonzalez only ended up playing four games in his rookie year. The addition of receiver K.J. Osborn and tight end Austin Hooper can be beneficial to the offense, but how often are they going to get the ball if the quarterback may have some trouble due to a poor offensive line?
The Patriots’ expectations this season are very low at the moment, especially going into Week One, but they are under an almost entirely new coaching staff. They may have looked questionable during the preseason, but the regular season could be different. Everyone needs to know that the Patriots are now in a rebuilding stage. New coaches and younger players are being brought in. Jerod Mayo needs to show the league that this is his team, and after his retirement and joining the coaching staff in 2019, he has been pretty much groomed for this position. On September 8th at 1 p.m. ET in Cincinnati is only going to be the start of a new era for the New England Patriots.
