2011 New England Patriots Schedule

Written by Steve Janus

The New England Patriots finished the 2010-11 NFL season with an NFL-best 14-2 regular season record, but were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the New York Jets. It was a disappointing finish to the year for quarterback Tom Brady, who won his second MVP. While the season didn’t end the way many thought it would, the Patriots are a very young team that figures to only get better.

Let’s take a look at the Patriots schedule for the 2011-12 NFL season to get a better idea of where this team might be headed. Outside of the six AFC East division games against the Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Miami Dolphins, New England will take on the AFC West, NFC East, Indianapolis Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Patriots went 5-1 against their division rivals last season, with their only loss coming to the Jets in week 2. The Patriots should have no trouble sweeping the Dolphins and Bills again this season, but beating New York has been a challenge for this team, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if these two teams split their season series again. While the Patriots won the division last year by 3 games over the Jets, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see New York take over the top spot.

In the Patriots four games against the AFC West they get the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs at home, while having to go on the road to take on the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders. Expect the Patriots to be favored in each of these games, but both home games against the Chiefs (Monday Night Football) and Chargers figure to be tough. The Chiefs are building their team with a similar mold to New England with former Patriots GM Scott Pioli, while the Chargers and Patriots simply don’t have a whole lot of respect for the opposing team.

New England will be tested in their four games against the NFC East. The Patriots will host the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, two teams that are more than talented enough to win in New England. Their two road games don’t figure to be much easier against the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. Washington doesn’t figure to provide a huge challenge, as they continue to build under new head coach Mike Shanahan, but winning in Philadelphia is no easy task. There’s no question the Patriots are talented enough to go 3-1 or possibly even 4-0 against the NFC East, but I feel like a 2-2 split is more likely.

By winning the division last year, the Patriots set themselves up with two difficult conference games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts. New England has to go on the road to take on the Steelers in week 8, while getting the Colts at home on Sunday Night Football in week 13. New England faced both of these teams in the same locations last year, beating the Steelers 39-26 and the Colts 31-28. With both Pittsburgh and Indianapolis out for revenge, it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see New England lose both of these games.

2011 Preseason Schedule
Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)
1	Thursday, August 11	Jacksonville Jaguars	7:30 PM
2	Thursday, August 18	@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7:30 PM
3	Saturday, August 27	@ Detroit Lions	8:00 PM
4	Thursday, September 1	New York Giants	7:30 PM
2011 Regular Season Schedule
Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET)
1	Monday, September 12	@ Miami Dolphins	7:00 PM
2	Sunday, September 18	San Diego Chargers	4:15 PM
3	Sunday, September 25	@ Buffalo Bills	1:00 PM
4	Sunday, October 2	@ Oakland Raiders	4:15 PM
5	Sunday, October 9	New York Jets	4:15 PM
6	Sunday, October 16	Dallas Cowboys	4:15 PM
7	BYE WEEK
8	Sunday, October 30	@ Pittsburgh Pirates	4:15 PM
9	Sunday, November 6	New York Giants	4:15 PM
10	Sunday, November 13	@ New York Jets	8:20 PM
11	Monday, November 21	Kansas City Chiefs	8:30 PM
12	Sunday, November 27	@ Philadelphia Phillies	4:15 PM
13	Sunday, December 4	Indianapolis Colts	8:20 PM
14	Sunday, December 11	@ Washington Redskins	1:00 PM
15	Sunday, December 18	@ Denver Broncos	4:15 PM
16	Saturday, December 24	Miami Dolphins	1:00 PM
17	Sunday, January 1	Buffalo Bills	1:00 PM

More NFL Team Schedules

AFC
AFC West	AFC North	AFC South	AFC East
Kansas City Chiefs Schedule	Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule	Indianapolis Colts Schedule	New England Patriots Schedule
San Diego Chargers Schedule	Baltimore Ravens Schedule	Jacksonville Jaguars Schedule	New York Jets Schedule
Oakland Raiders Schedule	Cleveland Browns Schedule	Houston Texans Schedule	Miami Dolphins Schedule
Denver Broncos Schedule	Cincinnati Bengals Schedule	Tennessee Titans Schedule	Buffalo Bills Schedule
NFC
NFC West	NFC North	NFC South	NFC East
Seattle Seahawks Schedule	Chicago Bears Schedule	Atlanta Falcons Schedule	Philadelphia Eagles Schedule
St. Louis Rams Schedule	Green Bay Packers Schedule	New Orleans Saints Schedule	New York Giants Schedule
San Francisco 49ers Schedule	Detroit Lions Schedule	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule	Dallas Cowboys Schedule
Arizona Cardinals Schedule	Minnesota Vikings Schedule	Carolina Panthers Schedule	Washington Redskins Schedule

More Patriots Info:

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