New England looks like a team bound to miss the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons.
The Patriots playoff chances are just +2500 with half the season to go.
At 2-6, Patriots fans have been left to wonder if legendary Bill Belichick is coaching his final games. New England hasn’t missed the playoffs three times in a four-year span since 1999-2002, and that’s a period in which the Patriots bounced back to win three Super Bowls in four seasons (2001 to 2004).
So, what are the Massachusetts sports betting odds New England can bounce back now? BetMassachusetts.com took a look at 2-6 teams in 2022 to see what the Patriots’ chances of turning things could be in 2023. Based on 2022, there are examples of good things happening.
How 2022 2-6 Teams Performed
Massachusetts betting apps list the Patriots at +30000 to win the Super Bowl, among the six worst odds in the league.
Half Who Started 2-6 Bounced Back
Of the four teams to start 2-6 in 2022, two finished 7-2 the rest of the way to go 9-8 and one team made the playoffs.
Behind the growth of quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a good defense, Jacksonville won the final five games of the year and then beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 31-30, in the Wild Card round. Then, they pushed eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City before falling, 27-20, in the Divisional Round.
Pittsburgh also closed with a 7-2 record to extend coach Mike Tomlin’s impressive career without a losing season to 16. The Steelers won their final four games, but Baltimore took the final playoff spot by virtue of a 16-14 win over the Steelers in Week 14. The other two teams that started 2-6 in 2022 continued to stumble, as Carolina finished 7-10 and Las Vegas was 6-11.
Now, it’s possible New England could turn things around based on the upcoming schedule with four straight games against teams with losing records in Washington (3-5), Indianapolis (3-5), the N.Y. Giants (2-6) and the Chargers (3-4). However, the Patriots are four games behind Buffalo in the AFC East, and they currently rank 16th out of 16 AFC teams in playoff tiebreakers.
Despite the 2-6 record, New England is a 3.5-point favorite at BetMGM Massachusetts to begin this stretch with a victory over Washington. But this is a Patriots team that has losses of 38-3 (Cowboys), 34-0 (Saints) and 31-17 last week to the Dolphins. Few expect struggling quarterback Mac Jones or a defense that’s giving up 26 points per game to suddenly start playing like the 2022 Jaguars.
And if the Patriots can’t even their record at 6-6 following this four-game stretch, they close the season with the Steelers, Chiefs, Broncos, Bills and Jets. Denver is the only team currently with a losing record. It’s more likely New England finds itself looking more like last year’s Panthers or Raiders.
