The Washington Commanders are kicking off their preseason schedule with a road matchup against the New England Patriots. Here are a few things to know about their opponent.

**Overview

**2024: 4-13 (4th in AFC East Division)

• For the first time in nearly 60 years, the Patriots have gone consecutive seasons winning fewer than five games.
• The only other time the Patriots finished with four or fewer wins in consecutive seasons was a four-year stretch from 1967-1970.
• The Patriots have had a losing record in four of the last five seasons (all since Tom Brady left).
• The last time the Patriots had a losing record four or more times in a five-season span was from 1989-95, when they had a losing record in six of seven seasons.
• This is also the first time New England has had double-digit losses in consecutive seasons since a five-season stretch from 1989-1993.
• New England has also missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. It's the Patriots' longest playoff drought since 1987-1993, when they missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons.
• With Mike Vrabel as the new head coach, this is the third consecutive season the Patriots will have a different head coach. Vrabel follows Jerod Mayo, who lasted just one season, after he replaced legendary Bill Belichick, who was the Patriots head coach for 24 seasons (2000-2023), leading New England to six Super Bowl titles.
• This is the second time in the history of this franchise – which dates back to the AFL days of 1960 – that the Patriots will open a season with a new head coach three years in a row. The only other time this occurred was 1989-1991, when the Patriots went through Raymond Berry, Rod Rust and Dick MacPherson.
• The last time the Patriots had a winning record with a first-year head coach was 1997, when Pete Carroll led the Patriots to a 10-6 record.

2025 Schedule Notes

• Friday is the only preseason home game for the Patriots. The next time they will play at home will be the regular-season opener vs. the Raiders, led by former Patriots head coach Pete Carroll.
• Three of the Patriots' first four games will be at home.
• Despite back-to-back four-win seasons, New England is scheduled to play three times in prime-time: Week 5 (at Buffalo), Week 11 (home vs. the Jets) and Week 13 (home vs. the Giants).

Offense

Season Averages: Rushing (115.8 YPG); Passing (176.1 YPG), Total (291.9 YPG), Scoring (17.0 PPG) *Season Rankings: Rushing (13th); Passing (32nd); Total (31st); Scoring (30th)*

• Last season, the Patriots finished with their lowest ranking in total yards since 1992, when they were 27th in a 28-team league.
• In terms of scoring offense, New England improved from 31st in the NFL in 2023 to… 30th last season.
• For the second straight season, the Patriots did not score 30 points in any game. They are on a streak of 45 consecutive games without reaching the 30-point mark.
• Not only is this the longest active streak in the NFL – next closest are the Raiders at 20 – it is tied for the 9th-longest such streak since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
• The last time New England scored 30+ points in a game was Week 6 of the 2022 season (Oct. 16), when it scored 38 points vs. the Browns.
• The Patriots were one of just two teams that ranked in the bottom 3 in both total offense and scoring offense last season. The other team was the Giants.
• The Patriots did improve their rushing offense from less than 100 yards a game in 2023 (95.7) to over 115 YPG last season (115.8). They went from 26th in the league in rushing to 13th last season.
• New England did have the league's worth passing offense. The positive: despite having a rookie QB starting 12 of their 17 games, the Patriots threw 10 fewer interceptions last season (11) as they threw in 2023 (21).

Defense

Season Averages: Rushing (131.4 YPG); Passing (211.5 YPG), Total (343.4 YPG), Scoring (24.5 PPG) *Season Rankings: Rushing (23rd); Passing (10th); Total (22nd); Scoring (22nd)*

• Last season was the first time in almost 30 years that the Patriots finished 20th or worse in the league in both scoring defense and total defense (1995 was the last time this happened).
• New England finished with just 12 takeaways in 17 games last season, which was tied (w/Cleveland) for second-fewest in the league (Jaguars had the fewest with 9).
• Over the last two seasons, the Patriots are -22 combined in turnover differential (-11 each season)
• The Patriots had the fewest sacks in the league last season (28). Over the last two seasons, they have had 64 sacks in 34 games. For perspective, that's one more sack than the Broncos had just last season (63).
• Despite ranking in the bottom 10 in rushing defense, the Patriots allowed only 16 rushing TDs in 17 games (17th in NFL).
• Last season when the Patriots allowed 22 or fewer points, they had a 4-2 record. When they allowed more than 22 points, they were 0-11.
• They were also 0-11 when allowing more than 350 yards (4-2 when allowing fewer than 350 yards)

2025 NFL Draft Recap

• Note: The Patriots had 11 draft picks in this past draft, their most selections in a single draft since 2023 (12).

First Round

No. 4 – Will Campbell (Offensive tackle – LSU)
Note: The Patriots allowed 52 sacks last season, tied for 27th in NFL

Second Round

No. 38 – TreVeyon Henderson (Running back – Ohio State)
Note: The Patriots have one 1,000-yard rusher over the last eight seasons

(2023 – Rhamondre Stevenson, 1,040 yards)

Third Round

No. 69 – Kyle Williams (Wide receiver – Washington State)
Note: The last Patriots wide receiver to have 70 or more receptions in a season was Jakobi Meyers in 2021 (83)

No. 95 – Jared Wilson (Offensive lineman – Georgia)

Fourth Round

No. 106 – Craig Woodson (Safety – California)

No. 137 – Joshua Farmer (Defensive tackle – Florida State)

Fifth Round

No. 146 – Bradyn Swinson (Defensive end – LSU)

Sixth Round

No. 182 – Andres Borregales (Kicker – Miami, FL)
Note: The Patriots ranked 25th in the NFL last season in field goal conversion percentage (78.8%)

Seventh Round

No. 220 – Marcus Bryant (Offensive lineman – Missouri)

No. 251 – Julian Ashby (Long snapper – Vanderbilt)

No. 257 – Kobee Minor (Defensive back – Memphis)