Before the 2025 season began, most predictions for the Patriots suggested they would double their wins from last year and, in the best-case scenario, be a wild-card playoff candidate, but to most, that was a stretch. Although there was a lot of optimism that Mike Vrabel and Co. would make an immediate impact, the belief was that this team was a few years away from actually competing.
So now that we’re 16 weeks into it and the Patriots sit with a 12-3 record, a tie for the best record in the NFL, the goalposts have moved, and predictions for how their season will end are far better than anyone could have imagined.
That includes the latest prediction by ESPN, which recently used its football power index to simulate the final three weeks of the 2025 season 10,000 times and chose one of the predictions to write about, which just so happened to be one that would be an incredible result for New England.
Not only would they remain the No. 2 seed in the NFL, but they would also make the Super Bowl.
ESPN’s projection would be a dream come true for Patriots fans
The idea of the Patriots making the Super Bowl in Drake Maye’s second season, and Mike Vrabel’s first as the head coach, is almost unfathomable, and not because they don’t have the talent or the grit to get there, but more so because this is a team that was 4-13 over the last two years.
It’s hard to imagine the new regime accomplishing such a feat in one offseason, but ESPN’s 5,002nd projection has them doing just that.
In this scenario, they predicted the Patriots would lose to the Ravens, which we know didn’t happen, and then beat their divisional foes over the final two weeks to end the season with a 13-4 record. Because they got a win in Baltimore, that record could actually end up becoming 14-3 if they win out.
But in their projection, they have New England tied with Buffalo, but because they fared better against the division, they hold onto the No. 2 seed and face the No. 7 Chargers in the first round.
They beat them 20-7, then face the Steelers, who eliminated the Bills in the first round, and win in a shootout 39-30 to go to the AFC Championship game against the No. 1-seeded Broncos.
Since the Patriots went undefeated on the road this season, facing the Broncos in Denver wasn’t as intimidating as many would have thought. But it ends up being a defensive-heavy bout, with the Patriots winning a close game 10-7 to head to Super Bowl LX against the LA Rams.
It’s another rematch between these teams, who have met twice in the biggest game of the season over the last 25 years, and although the Patriots went 2-0 in those games, they finally fall to the Rams in the final seconds of the game due to a fourth-down sack by Jared Verse, and lose the game 20-24.
It might not be the ending any fan would want, but it’s hard to be upset about watching this team go all the way to the Super Bowl after back-to-back seasons with a 4-13 record, and during a year nobody thought would even result in a record above .500.
