Karen Guregian: Drum roll, please. And the Patriots 2026 record will be ...

Prediction/Record - Loss, 0-1.

Week 2: Steelers at Patriots (Sept. 20)

Lowdown - Whether Aaron Rodgers returns or not will have no bearing on the outcome.

The Patriots know given the difficulty of the schedule, they have to take care of the teams they should beat.

With extra time following their Wednesday night season opener in Seattle, they’ll make up for losing to Rodgers & the Steelers Week 3 last year at home.

Prediction/Record - Win, 1-1

Week 3: Patriots at Jaguars (Sept. 27)

Lowdown - Like the Patriots, the Jaguars were a surprise rags to riches team last year under first year coach Liam Coen.

The Jags were a 13-win team before being taken out in the AFC Wild Card round by Buffalo.

It’ll be warm in Jacksonville, but not too warm. The Jaguars are a good team, but the Patriots will rekindle their road warrior act and take care of business.

Prediction/Record - Win, 2-1.

Week 4: Patriots at Bills (Oct. 4)

Lowdown - One of the Patriots signature wins last year came Week 5 against the Bills in Buffalo in a prime-time game.

Don’t see the Patriots catching them by surprise this time around, certainly not early in the season.

The Bills dumped head coach Sean McDermott in favor of Joe Brady, who had served as the team’s offensive coordinator. It’s anyone guess if Brady will change their luck in the postseason.

The Bills, looking to regain their place atop the division, should take this one.

Prediction/Record - Loss, 2-2

Week 5: Raiders at Patriots (Oct. 11)

Lowdown - It still boggles the mind that the Pete Carroll-coached Raiders came in and upset the Patriots Week 1 in Foxborough last year.

Even with a new coach (Klint Kubiak) and first-overall pick Fernando Mendoza at quarterback, the Raiders can’t escape being one of the worst teams in the league.

The Patriots won’t let lightning strike twice.

Prediction/Record - Win, 3-2.

Week 6: Patriots at New York Jets (Oct. 18)

Lowdown - The Jets actually made some nice moves in free agency, and came away with quite a draft haul (David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq, Omar Cooper, D’Angelo Ponds).

But, they’re still the Jets. And, they still don’t have a quarterback. Geno Smith can’t save them. Plus he had a brutal year last year.

Prediction/Record - Win, 4-2

Week 7: Patriots at Bears (Oct. 22)

Lowdown - This is the first of two Thursday night football tilts for the Patriots.

Love the Caleb Williams vs. Drake Maye angle, the first and third overall picks in the 2024 draft.

Both will play well. The Bears will prevail.

Prediction/Record - Loss, 4-3

Week 8: Patriots at Miami (Nov. 1)

Lowdown - The Vrabel-coached Patriots overcame the heat and the Dolphins early last year.

The Fins are in full rebuild mode. The Pats will make it two in-a-row at Hard Rock Stadium, their former House of Horrors.

Prediction/Record - Win, 5-3

Week 9: Packers at Patriots (Nov. 8)

Lowdown - The Packers were a nine-win team last year and in many circles under-achieved.

No doubt the Cheeseheads will travel to Foxborough, but they’ll wind up disappointed in the Romeo Doubs revenge game.

Prediction/Record - Win, 6-3

Week 10: Patriots at Lions (Nov. 15)

Lowdown - This marks Maye’s second overseas game with the Patriots taking on the Lions in Munich, Germany. The quarterback’s second career start came on international soil in 2024, as New England fell to the Jaguars in London.

The Patriots will be playing NFC North opponents in back-to-back weeks. In any case, I see them splitting with the Packers and Lions.

The Lions get the edge here.

Prediction/Record - Loss, 6-4

Week 11: Bye Week (Nov. 22)

Week 12: Patriots at Chargers (Nov. 29)

Lowdown - The Patriots had their way with the Bolts in the Wild Card round last year.

In that game, LA’s offensive line was decimated - both starting tackles out - and Mike McDaniel wasn’t the offensive coordinator.

Now he is. He’ll be a difference-maker for Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense.

Prediction/Record - Loss, 6-5

Week 13: Bills at Patriots (Dec. 6)

Lowdown - I think the Patriots will split with the Bills this year, just like last year. Only, the order will be reversed.

They’ll beat Josh Allen & Co. in Foxborough in Round 2 to once again plant the seed that they’ll be a team to be reckoned with down the road.

Prediction/Record - Win, 7-5

Week 14: Vikings at Patriots (Dec. 10)

Lowdown - Kyler Murray? J.J. McCarthy?

They won’t scare Vrabel’s defense.

It’s a short turnaround for the Patriots second Thursday night game, but I still see them taking care of business and sneaking past the well-coached Vikings in Foxborough.

Prediction/Record - Win, 8-5

Week 15: Patriots at Chiefs (Dec. 21)

Lowdown - Will Patrick Mahomes be the same coming back from ACL surgery?

There’s no reason to think he won’t be, especially this late in the season.

Beyond Mahomes’ return, the Chiefs have solved their run game issues (hello, Super Bowl. MVP Kenneth Walker) and have beefed up the defense.

Arrowhead is always a tough place to play. Chiefs prevail.

Prediction - Loss, 8-6

Week 16: Patriots at Jets (Dec. 27)

Lowdown - We’re at the point where the Patriots will be in take-care-of-business mode.

Gang green can’t keep up.

The Patriots will complete the sweep of the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets with a blowout.

Merry Christmas.

Prediction - Win, 9-6

Week 17: Broncos at Patriots (TBD)

Lowdown - Assuming Bo Nix is healthy, the Broncos will be out for revenge when they pull into Gillette Stadium. The game will likely have playoff implications.

Maybe, it’ll snow once again, this time in New England.

The Broncos will get a bit of payback for their AFC Championship loss.

Prediction - Loss, 9-7

Week 18: Dolphins at Patriots (TBD)

Lowdown - The Fins will be well out of it at this point. The Patriots will want to close out strong, and they might need to win for playoff seeding.

No way the warm weather Dolphins will take down the Patriots in the freezing cold.

Prediction - Win, 10-7

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