After a rocky start to the 2025 season, the New England Patriots have pulled off one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent NFL memory - and now they’re headed to their record 12th Super Bowl appearance.
Let’s rewind. The Patriots opened the season 1-2, dropping the opener to the Raiders and falling again in Week 3 to the Steelers.
At that point, not many would’ve pegged them as a title contender. But then came the surge - a 10-game win streak that completely reshaped their season and reintroduced New England as a legitimate force in the AFC.
Even after a narrow Week 15 loss to the Bills, the Pats closed out the regular season strong with three straight wins, then rolled through the playoffs with victories over the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos. Now, they’re one win away from hoisting their seventh Lombardi Trophy.
Let’s be clear: the road wasn’t exactly paved with elite competition. New England faced the league’s easiest regular-season schedule - their opponents combined for just a 39.1% win rate. That’s not just the softest slate in 2025; it’s the ninth-easiest since the 1970 merger and the lightest since the 1999 Rams, who also happened to cap their season with a Super Bowl win.
Of the Patriots’ 14 regular-season victories, only one came against a team that finished above .500 - a Week 5 road win in Buffalo. The only playoff-bound teams they beat in the regular season?
Buffalo and Carolina. Still, wins are wins in the NFL, and the Patriots stacked them in bunches.
The story here isn’t just about a favorable schedule - it’s about a franchise that went 4-13 in back-to-back seasons before handing the reins to Mike Vrabel. In his first year as head coach, Vrabel engineered a 10-win improvement, tying the NFL record for the biggest single-season turnaround.
That’s not just impressive - it’s historic. Their 17 total wins (regular season and playoffs combined) already top their combined win total from the previous three seasons (16 from 2022-24).
Let that sink in.
Patriots 2025 Regular Season Recap
Here’s how the Patriots’ season unfolded week by week:
- Week 1: vs. Raiders - L, 13-20
- Week 2: at Dolphins - W, 33-27
- Week 3: vs.
Steelers - L, 14-21
- Week 4: vs.
Panthers - W, 42-13
- Week 5: at Bills - W, 23-20
- Week 6: vs. Saints - W, 25-19
- Week 7: at Titans - W, 31-13
- Week 8: vs.
Browns - W, 32-13
- Week 9: at Falcons - W, 24-23
- Week 10: vs. Buccaneers - W, 28-23
- Week 11: at Jets - W, 27-14
- Week 12: at Bengals - W, 26-20
- Week 13: vs. Giants - W, 33-15
- Week 14: BYE
- Week 15: vs.
Bills - L, 31-35
- Week 16: at Ravens - W, 28-24
- Week 17: vs. Jets - W, 42-10
- Week 18: at Dolphins - W, 38-10
Final Regular Season Record: 14-3
Patriots 2025 Playoff Run
- Wild Card Round: vs. Chargers - W, 16-3
- Divisional Round: vs. Texans - W, 28-16
- AFC Championship: at Broncos - W, 10-7
Next stop: Santa Clara, where they’ll face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
Preseason Expectations? Not So High
When the season began, oddsmakers weren’t exactly bullish on New England. The Patriots entered the year with +6000 odds to win the Super Bowl - longshot territory by any measure. Yet here they are, defying expectations and chasing ring number seven.
A Legacy on the Line
The Patriots already own six Super Bowl titles from 11 previous trips. A seventh would not only tie them with the Steelers for the most in NFL history but also cement this season as one of the most improbable championship runs the league has ever seen.
From 4-13 to the Super Bowl in one year? That’s the kind of turnaround that doesn’t just get remembered - it gets immortalized.