Schedule Note: Intra-division opponents are in
bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Miami Dolphins The game featured a slow start, with the first score coming via a
Jason Sanders field goal for the Dolphins with 4:06 remaining in the first quarter, and the first touchdown coming on a
Melvin Ingram fumble recovery, also for the Dolphins, coming at 7:40 left in the second quarter. The sole offensive touchdown went to the Patriots on a 6-yard reception by
Ty Montgomery from
Mac Jones, though the Patriots would lose the game 20–7, marking the second year in a row that the Patriots lost to the Dolphins on Opening Day, and the fourth straight loss to them in this rivalry. A late-game back injury to Mac Jones led to some post-game X-rays, but he was cleared to play in Week 2.
Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers The Patriots held the Steelers to a three-and-out on the opening drive, and themselves had a 13-play long ball-control focused first drive that resulted in a 28-yard
Nick Folk field goal and ate up 6:45 of game clock. The teams traded interceptions on the final two drives of the first period, with the Steelers getting their own field goal off the foot of
Chris Boswell to tie the game up at 3–3 with 8:35 left to play in the second quarter. With time running out in the half,
Nelson Agholor made a difficult catch while closely covered by the Miami defender to give the Patriots a 10–3 lead going in to half-time. The Patriots would not relinquish the lead; the Steelers bringing it to 17–14 following a
Pat Freiermuth reception on the first play of the fourth quarter and a
Diontae Johnson reception for the ensuing two-point conversion. The teams then traded punts for the remainder of the game, with the Patriots ending as they started, with another 13-play drive that used up the final 6:33 of game time, to preserve the win. For the 21st year in a row, the Patriots began the year with at least a 1–1 record.
Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens In the Patriots home opener against the Ravens, Baltimore scored first on a five-yard reception by
Mark Andrews. The Patriots answered with a
Nick Folk field goal and, on the next drive, a three-yard quarterback keeper by
Mac Jones to bring the Patriots to 10–7.
Lamar Jackson hit Mark Andrews for a second touchdown to take the lead back, while
Nick Folk hit a 50-yard field goal to bring the Patriots to within one point as time expired at half time. A two-yard
Damien Harris run on the opening drive of the second half gave the patriots a 20–14 lead. Baltimore took the lead 21–20 on the next possession, capping their 7-play, 74-yard drive with a 1 yard Jackson to
Josh Oliver pass for a touchdown. Baltimore would not relinquish the lead, despite a fourth quarter
Rhamondre Stevenson run and missed two-point conversion that brought the Patriots to within five, the Ravens scored on a 9-yard Lamar Jackson run that gave the Ravens their final 37–26 win. Mac Jones suffered a left leg injury at the two-minute warning of the final quarter after throwing his third interception. This was the Pats' first regular season home loss to the Ravens in franchise history, and their first home loss to them since the 2012 AFC Championship game.
Week 4: at Green Bay Packers Following the injury to Mac Jones the prior week, journeyman backup
Brian Hoyer was given the start, but he was taken out of the game on the Patriots second offensive series due to a head injury. At that point, the Patriots were up 3–0 on a Nick Folk field goal. Rookie third-string quarterback
Bailey Zappe played the rest of the game. Green Bay took their first lead on a
Christian Watson 15-yard run, while the Patriots'
Jack Jones returned an interception of an
Aaron Rodgers pass 40 yards to give the Patriots a 10–7 lead at halftime. The teams traded scores throughout the second half, with the game going into overtime tied 24–24. The Packers won the overtime coin toss for first possession, then each team was forced into a 3-and-out situation to start the overtime. The Packers then ran a clock-dominating 11-play drive to 13-yard line, and Mason Crosby kicked the game-winning field goal as the clock expired at the end of overtime. Zappe, in his first game action of the season, played efficiently and didn't make any major mistakes, ending the game 10-for-15 with 1 touchdown and no interceptions on 99 yards passing.
Week 5: vs. Detroit Lions For the first time in ten years, the Patriots played in their red throwback uniforms, with the popular Pat the Patriot logo occupying the center of the field. Bailey Zappe, who started the season third on the quarterback depth chart, was given his first start as both Mac Jones (leg) and Brian Hoyer (head) were injured. The Patriots dominated all phases of the game, earning a shutout win 29–0, as running back
Rhamondre Stephenson carried the bulk of the Patriots offensive output, accounting for 161 rushing yards on 25 carries, and adding 2 receptions for 14 yards. Zappe again played efficiently, going 17-for-21 with 1 touchdown on 188 yards passing; the lone blemish on his record being an interception that wide receiver
Nelson Agholor had in his hands, but lost to free safety
DeShon Elliott. On the defensive side of the ball, fan favorite
Matthew Judon had two sacks and a forced fumble in the shutout win. As of 2024, this is the last shutout win for the Pats. It was also the Patriots most recent win in the Patriot Pat uniforms until Week 13 of the
2025 season.
Week 6: at Cleveland Browns Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe started his second game in a row under center, and for the first time in his three appearances this season looked like more than a game manager, throwing the ball very well, going 24-for-34 with 2 touchdowns on 309 yards, for a 118.4
passer rating. Rhamondre Stevenson added two touchdowns on the ground and continued to carry the bulk of the Patriots running game, going for 76 yards on 19 carries. Rookie wide receiver
Tyquan Thornton played in his much-anticipated first game of the season, and produced immediately, scoring on both a receiving and rushing touchdown. Once again the defense dominated the opponent, with the Browns never leading for the entire game, which the Patriots won 38–15 in which the Browns only touchdown came too late in the game to matter. Matthew Judon ended his 5-game sack streak to start the season, but did contribute four tackles, one for loss, while both
Kyle Dugger and
Jalen Mills had interceptions.
Week 7: vs. Chicago Bears This was the first time in
22 years the Pats lost to the Bears, and their first-ever home loss to them in franchise history. The Bears rushed for 243 yards in the victory.
Week 8: at New York Jets This win not only marks their 13th straight against the Jets in this rivalry, but also was Bill Belichick's 325th career win, surpassing George Halas for second place in total career wins by a head coach, including the playoffs.
Week 9: vs. Indianapolis Colts With the win (their second straight this season), the Pats won their seventh straight home meeting against the Colts, and are now above .500 for the first time this season.
Week 11: vs. New York Jets This win, thanks to a punt return TD with five seconds left in the game, marks the third straight for this season and the 14th straight against the Jets in this rivalry. "Diamonds" by Rihanna was playing after Marcus Jones scored the game-winning punt return touchdown. This would be New England's last three or longer game win streak until
2025.
Week 12: at Minnesota Vikings Thanksgiving Day games Despite Mac Jones passing for a career-high 382 yards and two touchdowns, the Patriots were unable to beat
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings, losing a
Thanksgiving night shootout 33–26. With their 1st loss to Minnesota since
2000, the Patriots fell to 6-6 and finished 1-3 against the NFC North.
Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills Despite forcing Buffalo to punt for the first time in 23 drives in games played between the two division rivals and scoring on their opening drive, the Patriots struggled on offense throughout the game as they lost to the Bills 24–10. This was the third season in a row the Pats lost to the Bills at home in this rivalry.
Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals The Pats won due to a strong performance by the rushing attack and defense, in addition to Cardinals quarterback
Kyler Murray suffering a
torn ACL on the third play of the game. Unfortunately, several of New England's starters were also injured during the game, including running back
Rhamondre Stevenson, receiver
DeVante Parker, and cornerback
Jack Jones.
Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders Despite a strong performance from Rhamondre Stevenson, who returned from injury, and overcoming an early 17–3 deficit, the Patriots allowed the Raiders to tie the game at 24 with a controversial touchdown pass from
Derek Carr to
Keelan Cole, then lost off a walk-off touchdown by Raiders defensive end and former Patriot
Chandler Jones, who intercepted an attempted
lateral pass from receiver
Jakobi Meyers as time ran out. Notably, the failed lateral play by Stevenson and Meyers at the end of the game, which has gained the monikers the "Lunatic Lateral" and "Col-lateral damage" from the media, happened just over four years after the
Miracle in Miami, which was a successful lateral pass play by the
Miami Dolphins to defeat the Patriots. With the Pats' first loss to the Raiders in
20 years, they fell to 7–7 and just outside the playoff picture.
Week 16: vs. Cincinnati Bengals With their first loss to Cincinnati since
2013 (first at home since
1986), New England fell to 7-8 and finished 2-2 against the AFC North.
Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins With the win, the Patriots improved to 8-8 to keep themselves alive in the playoff race. The Pats finished 4-4 at home as a result. This would be New England's last win over Miami until
2025.
Week 18: at Buffalo Bills With the loss, along with Miami's win over the Jets, the Patriots were swept by the Bills and they were eliminated from playoff contention while also securing their second losing season since 2020. The Pats ended their season at 8-9, finishing 3-3 against the AFC East and 4-5 on the road.
Standings Division Conference ==References==