Buy or Sell: New England Patriots to Make the Playoffs

The New England Patriots aren’t expected to do much damage in the AFC in 2023, evident by having the lowest win total in the AFC East. There are a lot of question marks about this team, and they’re coming off an eight-win campaign, which had them fall short of the postseason. The Pats have missed the playoffs in two of the last three years, creating questions about whether their historic run in the AFC is over. There isn’t a lot of optimism surrounding the team, with Mac Jones lining up under center. There are questions about whether he has the qualities the Patriots are looking for in a starting quarterback and if he can do enough to elevate a relatively poor offense.

Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.

New England’s bread and butter has been running the football, and Rhamondre Stevenson broke out in a big way last year. He’ll be tasked with a heavy workload again in 2023, but there isn’t much to get excited about with this offense. They do have a new offensive coordinator in Bill O’Brien, which alleviates some work from the plate of head coach Bill Belichick. O’Brien has found much success at the University of Alabama, but we’ll keep a close eye on whether that can carry over to the NFL level. 

Check out SportsGrid’s NFL game picks and NFL Props Picks all Season Long.

In addition to a strong ground game, the Patriot’s defense is expected to play a significant role in whether they can find success this season. There are some really good pieces on that side of the football for New England, a top half of the league team in points allowed per game in 2022. If the defense can even take another slight step in 2023, there’s a real possibility that this team can get to the playoffs. That ultimately will depend on if we can get at least a semi-competent Mac Jones throwing passes. 

Buy or Sell: New England Patriots to Make the Playoffs at +240

The Patriots have been generating a lot of interest to make the playoffs, and that might be the correct call if you factor in that it’s never a good idea to count out Belichick and company two years in a row. There will need to be some adjustments, specifically with Mac Jones under center. In saying that, the AFC is loaded with high-end talent, and it will take some strong game planning to stay in football games when you don’t have an edge at quarterback. As nice as the value is here for the Patriots to make the playoffs at +240, better teams in the AFC warrant backing. Just because the price is appealing doesn’t mean we want to support the number when looking at a loaded AFC, even if that means fading Belichick.