This week, mandatory organized team activities in the NFL kicked off for teams in the league, including the New England Patriots.
The Patriots, of course, lost the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles and should theoretically be set up to have a proverbial hangover and struggle this season as many other Super Sunday losers have the year after defeat.
But, judging by his prediction for their regular-season record, Jonathan Jones of SI thinks the Pats will be hangover-free this season.
After analyzing all 16 games on New England’s schedule and the 240 combined games on the schedules of the remaining 31 teams in the league, Jones has a prediction for each team’s final record.
He predicts the best of the best will be the Patriots and Vikings with identical 13-3 records. Trailing them at 12-4 are the Eagles, Packers, Rams, Saints, Falcons and the Steelers, with the Panthers, Chiefs, Chargers and Jaguars predicted to finish 11-5.
If those predictions hold up, nine teams that made the playoffs last season will be returning to the postseason this year, an all-time high for the NFL.
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