Patriots face tough schedule next season
By Bud L. Ellis
In half of their games in 2010, the New England Patriots will face teams that made the playoffs last season.
The National Football League has released its schedule of home games and road games for the upcoming season. Dates and times have not been finalized, although the Patriots may be playing on Thanksgiving Day at Detroit.
The road schedule doesn’t appear too daunting. Only two of the eight games are against playoff teams: AFC East division rival the New York Jets, and AFC West champion San Diego. The rest of the road slate includes trips to Buffalo, Miami, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago.
At home? That’s a different story. Six of the Pats’ eight home games are against playoff teams. It’s a murderous slate that includes matchups with the Jets, AFC wild-card qualifier Baltimore, AFC North champion Cincinnati, NFC wild-card qualifier Green Bay, NFC runner-up Minnesota and AFC champion Indianapolis. Also at home will be division games against Buffalo and Miami.
Based on opponents’ win percentage from last season, the Patriots’ schedule is sixth-toughest in the NFL.
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Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 7:16 pm by bud
Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers
