The New England Patriots are 2-2 and have to go on the road to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a short week. The Patriots are at risk of falling below .500 after five games for the first time since 2002.
The Patriots have lost season openers under Bill Belichick (2000, 2001, 2003, 2014, 2017) and they’ve twice lost the first two games of the year (2000, 2001). The 2012 Patriots actually started out the season 1-2, too.
But the Patriots have not had a losing record after five games in a really long time.