On July 15, at the dawn of training camp, I predicted the Patriots would go 7-10 in Mike Vrabel’s first year with them. I felt — at the time — it was a generous assessment.
Turns out, as we know now, it wasn’t generous enough.
I still don’t know how they did it, but when the Patriots walked off the field this past Sunday, they were 14-3 and second seed in the AFC as playoffs are set to begin. I thought it would be a great idea if we went back. And I looked for you, as I was pretty interested myself.
In Week 1, I had the Patriots defeating the Raiders. Well, the Raiders finished the whole season with only three wins — the Patriots game being one of them. Ugh. The Patriots turned the ball over more often than an amateur chef at a barbeque flipping burgers. Terrible. Yours truly set a record for stuff thrown around the room.
Week 2: Had the Dolphins over the Pats in Miami. Pretty reasonable as the Patriots never win down there. Except this year, they did. Pats, 1-1; Krause 0-2.
Week 3: Butterfingers Stevenson (Rhamondre) displayed a fumbling clinic and, as predicted, the Steelers won. One for me. P&K: 1-2.
Week 4: This one I got right, too. The Patriots pounded the Panthers. Of note, though, I must admit I said the Panthers had nowhere to go but up. Well, up they went — to an NFC South title (though with a sub-.500 record). P&K: 2-2
Week 5: This is the week the season went off the rails — for me. Certainly not for the Patriots. In what had to be one of the better in-season games on record, the Patriots hung on and beat the Bills — in Buffalo no less. P: 3-2; K 2-3.
Week 6: A victory all-around, though it should have been easier than it was, coming, as it did, over the Saints. P: 4-2; K 3-3.
Week 7: I’d love to know how I mangled this one. I had the Titans. The Patriots won 31-13. Sometimes, these things just go horribly wrong. P: 5-2; K: 3-4.
Week 8: The slump goes on. Quarterback carousel notwithstanding, I had the Browns. And despite the fact that Cleveland’s Myles Garrett was all over the field — something I took into consideration — the Patriots somehow won and Drake Maye escaped with his life. P: 6-2; K 3-5.
Week 9: Another bad one. I had Atlanta, but the Patriots won and improved to 7-2. I, on the other hand, was now 3-6.
Week 10: It didn’t seem to be a terrible mistake to pick the Buccaneers in this game, though it turned out to be. The Pats won and had room to breathe at the end. P: 8-2; K: 3-7. And Tampa Bay cratered from there until the end of the season.
Week 11: My losing streak ended, but their winning streak kept going on. Thank the Lord for the Jets. P: 9-2; K: 4-7.
Week 12: No Burrow, no Bungles. So, once again, I’m on the losing side of the ledger. Not the Patriots though. P: 10-2; K: 4-8.
Week 13: I love New York. I had the Patriots, and they killed the Giants on Monday night. P:11-2; K: 5-8.
Week 15: Fourteen was the bye. This is the only game I got right that I wish I’d gotten wrong. A win would have given them top seed. And the Patriots a) fell asleep in the second half and b) fell victim to Josh Allen and all his powers. P: 11-3; K: 6-8.
Week 16: Once again, the Patriots found a way to win. And I found a way to lose. I thought the Ravens were supposed to be good. How’d I know Lamar Jackson would hurt his back during the game? P: 12-3; K: 6-9.
Week 17: Can’t go wrong picking against the Jets. P: 13-3; K 7-9.
Week 18: The Dolphins stink. How else did the Patriots ever sweep them? We both got this one right, which leaves me with a much more respectable record than I deserve. They end up 14-3 while I finish 8-9.
I have no feelings about Sunday other than I would probably root for Vladimir Putin over either Jim or John Harbaugh.
Does it matter if the Chargers win? It’s been an absolute gift of a season. Nothing’s going to change that.
