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Three must-see games for 2025 New England Patriots
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to throw against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Three must-see games for 2025 New England Patriots

The 2024 season offered more of the same for Patriots fans as the team finished with a 4-13 record for the second straight year. This season should be more exciting, especially with these three matchups. 

Week 5 at Buffalo Bills

This contest will be one of three prime-time games for the Patriots after playing in just one last season. New England ended the 2024 season with a 23-16 home win against Buffalo, snapping a six-game losing streak when another loss would have guaranteed them the top pick in this year’s draft.

After spending a league-high $365M on 16 free agents including former Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams (four years, $104M) and Texans receiver Stefon Diggs (three years, $63M), the Patriots hope to improve their 3-7 record against the Bills since quarterback Tom Brady left New England in 2020.

Diggs had 1,535 yards and eight scores for the Bills that year, his first in Buffalo after five years with the Minnesota Vikings. He’d spend four Pro Bowl seasons with the Bills before being traded to Houston, where he suffered a torn ACL in Week 8 of the 2024 season.

The 31-year-old receiver also had a tumultuous relationship with the Bills and quarterback Josh Allen in particular. He had six catches for 82 yards against his old team last season and will look to do even better on "Sunday Night Football."

Week 7 at Tennessee Titans  

Former Patriots linebacker and new head coach Mike Vrabel started his head coaching career with the Tennessee Titans in 2018, leading the team to four winning seasons while being named AP Coach of the Year in 2021. He was replaced with former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan in 2024 after a pair of losing seasons in 2022 and 2023.

Last year, Tennessee beat New England 20-17 in overtime at Nissan Stadium. Former and now current Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph went 20-33 with two touchdowns for the Titans that day, but this time, Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, should start for Tennessee.

Ward threw for 6,966 yards and 48 touchdowns with Washington State from 2022-2023 and set single-season records for touchdowns (39), yards (4,313) and completion percentage (67.2) with Miami last year.

Only Syracuse’s Kyle McCord threw for more yards (4,779) last season, but while he tries to make it as a third-string quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Ward will look to win NFL Rookie of the Year by putting up big numbers on struggling teams like the Patriots.

Week 13 vs. New York Giants

On paper, a Monday night matchup between the 3-14 Giants and the 4-13 Patriots hardly seems worth the effort, but if things go as expected, this game could feature two up-and-coming quarterbacks.

No one believes 36-year-old quarterback Russell Wilson will play all 17 games for the Giants next season and by Week 13, the team will likely turn to first-round pick Jaxson Dart. The former Rebel threw for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns with 495 rushing yards for Ole Miss last season. While he’s not regarded as highly as Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, the third overall pick in last year’s draft, New York saw enough to trade back into the first round for him.

With New York facing the league’s toughest schedule (per NFL research) with little hope for the playoffs, Patriots fans should count on seeing Dart in early December.

Bruce Ewing

Bruce Ewing is 183 pounds of twisted steel and Happy Meals. His work has appeared on Yardbarker, 5th Down Fantasy, Inside the Iggles and MSN. Give a Philly fan a break and follow him on Twitter/X at @fantasybruce.

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