The New England Patriots finally have dates next to the opponents they'll be playing later this year after Wednesday's official 2025 NFL schedule release. There is more optimism surrounding the team this year with the hiring of Mike Vrabel as the new head coach and the many roster moves the team has made this offseason.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Patriots 2025 schedule: A year ago, under new head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots entered the fall with low expectations. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the roster wasn’t good – and the 2024 schedule reflected that.