The New England Patriots are still recovering from the nightmare that befell them on February 8, 2026. Entering Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium, they hoped to clinch their 7th Super Bowl title. However, the Seattle Seahawks dismantled their offense layer by layer. They sacked quarterback Drake Maye 6 times and suffocated the ground game, restricting the Patriots to just 51 yards in the first half. A stat that overshadowed the Patriots’ stellar 14-3 regular-season record.
With the 2026 NFL season approaching, the Patriots would want to put the 29-13 defeat behind them and focus on building a season that could finally bring the title they’ve long desired since their Super Bowl 53 (2019) win. However, a former NFL champion disagrees, believing the team is headed for a total collapse.
Ryan Clark Believes Patriots Will Miss NFL Playoffs
During the latest episode of ESPN’s “Get Up,” Ryan Clark analyzed the Patriots’ challenging schedule for the upcoming season, which kicks off Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
Although the Patriots finished as AFC leaders with a 14-3 record last season, Clark believes Mike Vrabel’s squad faces significant obstacles ahead.
“It is always difficult to play in that game,” Clark said about the Patriots playing in the season opener. “I got to play in two of those games on Thursday night with the Steelers, and the energy in the building, it feels like another Super Bowl. When you look at the Patriots, you are coming off a fourth-place schedule last year; this year, you play the first-place schedule.”
“This is a totally different schedule with different expectations. … I believe they not only take a step back, but in my opinion, the New England Patriots miss the playoffs.”
—@Realrclark25 on the Patriots’ schedule for the 2026-27 season 😳 pic.twitter.com/ywalYrVndf
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 15, 2026
“This is a totally different schedule with different expectations,” he added. “I believe they not only take a step back, but in my opinion, the New England Patriots miss the playoffs this year based on this schedule. I know everybody’s gonna say they got four wins because they got Miami and got the New York Jets, but I believe the rest of this schedule makes it extremely difficult.”
The regular season opener will see the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks take on the Patriots, a replay of their recent Super Bowl 60 clash. Despite dominating the conference last season, expectations for the Patriots now hinge on how they respond after their devastating Super Bowl loss.
To prove Clark wrong, they must protect Maye, who struggled significantly against the Seahawks. The Patriots quarterback had a great season, throwing for 4,394 yards (4th) and 31 touchdowns (3rd) in 17 games, and finished as the runner-up for the MVP award.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
According to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, Maye posted an impact score of 90.9 last season, ranking second at his position.
Moreover, it will be interesting to see how the Patriots will handle the noise surrounding their head coach. In the recent schedule release video, the Los Angeles Chargers took a dig at Vrabel over his alleged relationship with NFL reporter Dianna Russini, and incidents like these are expected to persist around the Patriots organization throughout the season.
