New England Patriots season won’t truly start until January… again

The New England Patriots don’t care about the first 16 games of the season. Why should they?

Since 2001, the Patriots have missed the playoffs twice. The first time was a classic Super Bowl hangover in 2002. The next time was when Tom Brady blew out his knee in Week 1, and New England still managed to win 11 games with Matt Cassel under center.

Coming into 2019, look at the AFC East. The Miami Dolphins are in a full-blown rebuild, the Buffalo Bills are still in the process of building — all while keeping fingers crossed Josh Allen can become something — and the New York Jets are better but no threat to win in the double digits.

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In short, New England is rolling to its 11th straight division title.

As has been the case for much of the last 15 years, there are holes in the roster that will scare fans in New England and excite pundits looking for a new storyline. Rob Gronkowski decided to retire this offseason, deciding eight years of punishment and three Super Bowl rings was the right mixture. Trey Flowers left to sign with a familiar face, leaving for the Detroit Lions and former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Oh, and that $90 million didn’t hurt either.

In the AFC, the biggest threat to the Patriots is time. New England is attempting to reach a fourth consecutive Super Bowl, something only done by the Bills from 1990-93. Tom Brady has been able to fend off Father Time perhaps better than any player in history, but he’s 42 years old. At some point, Father Time is coming for victory. The same can be said for Julian Edelman, who is 32 and must be feeling all those hits in the arena.

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On the field, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs and little else that should have Bill Belichick awake at night. Sure the Los Angeles Chargers have a quality roster, but look at what happened only five months ago. There’s little reason for the Patriots to fret thinking about Philip Rivers and Co.

While New England dispatched the Chiefs both in Week 6 of the regular season and the AFC Championship Game, both games were literally decided on the final play. Kansas City was incredibly close, especially in the latter affair, where Dee Ford and about three inches was the difference. This year, the Chiefs could break through.

But those are all concerns for winter. The New England Patriots can rest now and for the next six months, knowing they’ll be ready, rested and waiting come the postseason.