Not Primed For Primetime: Patriots’ Schedule Reaffirms Harsh Reality

The Patriots have plenty of storylines entering the 2024 NFL season: first-year head coach, first-round quarterback, etc.

Those storylines might be exciting in New England, but the league believes they’re not worthy of the national spotlight.

The Patriots and the other 31 teams had their respective schedules released Wednesday night. New England will play at least 11 of its games in the busiest window, including all six home games.

Details for Week 17 and Week 18 have yet to be announced. The Patriots will play primetime-caliber competition those weeks — the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills –but it’s fair to assume those will be 1 p.m. ET kickoffs, as well.

New England’s lone primetime game is against the New York Jets on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 3, a textbook under-the-lights clash. The Patriots also have a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8 in London.

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The lack of fireworks for Jerod Mayo and company reaffirms how the league views them. New England was a terrible television product last season, so much so that the league kicked it out of a late-season primetime slot against Patrick Mahomes, Taylor Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Carolina Panthers (zero) are the only team with fewer primetime games than the Patriots. The Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans are tied. That’s the harsh reality. The Patriots are less of a draw now than they were when Bill Belichick’s teams were missing the postseason. New England had five primetime games in 2020, three in 2021, four in 2022 and another four in 2023 before the league flexed its schedule muscles.

Oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook opened the Patriots as the underdog in every game this season.

While Robert Kraft is maintaining playoff-bound expectations entering the campaign, the league is operating with the wait-and-see approach. Perhaps the Patriots will get a primetime contest against the Chargers or Bills. New England fans shouldn’t count on it, though, especially since the Miami Dolphins will face the New York Jets in a Week 18 matchup that figures to be more exciting.

The likelihood is the Patriots will have one primetime game all season, which is more or less mandated. Despite an offseason full of changes, the league doesn’t want them as a standalone product.