The New England Patriots didn’t come away with the victory on Sunday, but CBS Sports NFL analyst Tony Romo believes they should be viewed as a legitimate threat this season.
Despite having two starting offensive linemen and their No. 1 wide receiver out with injuries, the Patriots came within a red zone drive of knocking off the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Buy Patriots Tickets“I think the Patriots are for real this year. This team’s gonna be competitive all year,” said Romo. “There’ll be a game here and there, but for the most part, no one’s walking over this team. Now, maybe the hardest schedule definitely for the division in ball. You could be a good team and not make the playoffs because of that. But we’ll see. I think the Patriots are gonna be just fine this year.”
Tony Romo believes in the Patriots this year. He thinks they’ll be competitive in every game this season. More below: pic.twitter.com/T4Jx1qyxLy
— Ben Belford-Peltzman (@thepatriotsbeat) September 11, 2023
The Patriots could very well be a much-improved team and finish with a worse record than they did in 2022. They’ll have to find a way to overcome a brutal schedule, including six tough divisional matchups against AFC East opponents.
The path to success might not be as close as fans in New England want it, but it’s clearly there with an elite defense full of young playmakers and an offense that finally gets it under newly-hired coordinator Bill O’Brien.