Where Do the Patriots Go From Here?

Zak Drapeau
Feb 10
4 min read

by Zak Drapeau

Sportz Nation - 2/10/2026

Super Bowl Summary

The Patriots' remarkable 2025 season came to a close on Sunday with a 29-13 Loss in Super Bowl LX to the Seahawks. After months of being one of if not the best team in the AFC, the final game ended up being a blowout with the Seahawks' defense dominating the Patriots from start to finish.

The game was close through the first 3 quarters with the Patriots' defense being almost equally as good as the Seahawks but letting them score 3 field goals before the titular quarter.

The 4th quarter ended up seeing both teams score Touchdowns but in a lackadaisical, the games-over-kind-of-way. The Seahawks drove down the field and scored their first Touchdown to bring the score to 19-0 and increase the pressure on the Patriots. The Pats who already had a turnover in the game, would go on to turn the ball over 2 more times while also scoring 2 Touchdowns.

Frauds?

So the Pats are runner ups and the "2nd best" team in the league this year. Their team is headlined by a new Head Coach and a 2nd-year Quarterback so everything points to them being back to the big game soon.

The problem is, the Patriots had one major hangup from most fans this season that we weren't sure was true or not but seems to have been proven right in this game: The Patriots are FRAUDS who hadn't faced a great team all year.

The Seahawks did 2 things at an elite level this season: Run the ball and Pressure opposing Quarterbacks. In the Super Bowl, the Seahawks did both at the best level we'd seen all season and clearly outmatched the Pats.

Before we get to their Offensive line, it should be noted that Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker had a really great game. He consistently bounced the ball outside to get chunk plays while most of his carries were 4-5 yard tough runs through the heart of New England's defense. The Seahawks' O-line was awesome in their zone blocking schemes and altogether had a great run-gameplan that worked in keeping field position and tiring out the Patriots.

Now... for the other side of the ball. The Patriots offense had the worst 3 quarters of the entire season to start this game and it was mostly thanks to the battle between the Seahawks Front-7 and the Patriots' O-line. Not only did the Patriots never get a real groove in running the ball, but Drake Maye had an all-time pressure rate in his face of over 50% of his dropbacks.

Will Campbell has faced most of the backlash with 14 pressures allowed in 53 dropbacks while allowing a sack too. Other starters like Jared Wilson and Garrett Bradbury didn't fare much better but haven't gotten near the amount of criticism Campbell has.

What's Next?

The 2026 NFL Offseason has officially started and the Patriots actually have one of the highest-potentials for the Offseason of any team.

The first reason is their cap space which ranks 10th-most at $36.7 million. This is a great number for a team that just won a Conference championship and still has two years left of a rookie-QB contract.

The second reason is last offseason, where the Patriots were the highest spenders and showed they are willing to go after star players to improve their team. With it working so well this season, it's very likely we see a spending spree again this year.

The third and final reason the Patriots offseason should be successful is a lack of stars leaving in Free Agency. Right now, the best players on the team in danger of leaving for Free Agency are K'Lavon Chaisson, Jaylinn Hawkins and Austin Hooper. Good players yes, but none of them will be a huge loss for this team.

Looking to Next Season

This part is just a little extra wanted to add for the 2026 season. The Patriots should be even better next year on paper, with their young QB getting an extra offseason with Vrabel and McDaniels not to mention players like Tre Henderson, Will Campbell and Christian Gonzalez. Not to mention other players that will be added through Free Agency.

The thing is, there is usually a Super Bowl hangover the season after a team loses the Super Bowl. Historically, teams are more likely to miss the playoffs than get back to a conference championship the year after losing the Super Bowl, such as the 2025 Chiefs that ended the season 6-11 this year.

Now here's the real kicker, the Patriots' 2026 schedule will almost assuredly be a lot harder. Holding the "easiest" schedule of 2025 was one of the biggest detractors to Patriots' haters this season for good reason, their opponents average win percentage was 38% where the next "easiest" was 43%.

Heading into next year, with a Super Bowl hangover possible, being the "team to beat" in the AFC and having a much harder schedule, I think Patriots fans should be ready for a not-as-great 2026 season.

The new-look Patriots will be back to a Super Bowl and have a bright future I FIRMLY believe that... but it might not happen next year.