2020 Schedule Takeaways: Patriots Tied For Most Primetime Games in NFL

Some initial thoughts right after the official release of the 2020 NFL schedules.

The New England Patriots have revealed their schedule for the 2020 season, which includes their annually scheduled games against their division opponents, their opportunity to face the NFC West for the first time in four years, and several other key games that will take place as New England begins the post-Tom Brady era. If you want to see the entire schedule, click here. 

Let's go over some initial thoughts after analyzing the Patriots' schedule for the 2020 season:

Bye Week Comes Early For the Patriots This Year

The Patriots will get to experience their bye week in October this upcoming season. They are scheduled for a week of rest in Week 6 of the regular season, which is right after they play host to the Denver Broncos and right they play host to the San Francisco 49ers. 

Patriots Have 5 Primetime Games

Not having Tom Brady hasn't stopped the NFL from putting New England in the spotlight frequently going forward. The Patriots have one Sunday night game (Week 10 vs. BAL), three Monday night games (Week 2 @ SEA, Week 9 @ NYJ, Week 16 vs. BUF) and one Thursday night game (Week 14 @ LAR) during the 2020 season, which is tied for most primetime games for a single team in the entire league. 

Patriots Get to Stay Out West For Two Games

New England has to travel to the west coast for three separate games this upcoming season. However, they will only have to travel to California once despite having two games in Los Angeles. The Patriots face the Chargers in Week 13 and Rams in Week 14, which is a blessing for a team that has an early bye week and will be racking up their frequent flyer miles this season.

Miami Comes to NE For Season-Opener, Which is Good News 

The six-time Super Bowl champions will kick start their season by playing host to the Dolphins in Week 1. This is great news because that means the Patriots will get to travel down to the warm weather in Week 15 when they face the Dolphins again. One less game in cold weather is always a plus. 

Divisional Games Will Round Out the Regular Season

The last month of football for New England will begin by facing the Rams, but will finish by having back-to-back-back divisional games against the Dolphins, Bills and Jets, respectively. Buffalo in Week 16 looks to be the most importune divisional game of the season, as they are on the heels of New England for a division title in 2020 and could potentially win the division with a win over the Patriots in Week 16.