2021 New England Patriots season

2021 New England Patriots season
2021 New England Patriots season
Owner	Robert Kraft
Head coach	Bill Belichick
Home field	Gillette Stadium
Results
Record	10–7
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bills) 17–47
Pro Bowlers	CB J. C. Jackson; LB Matthew Judon; ST Matthew Slater
AP All-Pros	CB J. C. Jackson (2nd team); ST Matthew Slater (2nd team)
Uniform
	← 2020; Patriots seasons; 2022 →;

The 2021 season was the New England Patriots' 52nd season in the National Football League and their 22nd under head coach Bill Belichick.

Draft

2021 New England Patriots Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	15	Mac Jones	QB	Alabama
2	38	Christian Barmore	DT	Alabama	from Cincinnati
3	—	Selection forfeited
3	96	Ronnie Perkins	DE	Oklahoma	Compensatory pick
4	120	Rhamondre Stevenson	RB	Oklahoma
5	177	Cameron McGrone	LB	Michigan	Compensatory pick
6	188	Joshuah Bledsoe	FS	Missouri	from Houston
6	197	William Sherman	OT	Colorado
7	242	Tre Nixon	WR	UCF

Regular season

Schedule

The Patriots' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 12	Miami Dolphins	L 16–17	0–1	Gillette Stadium	Recap
2	September 19	at New York Jets	W 25–6	1–1	MetLife Stadium	Recap
3	September 26	New Orleans Saints	L 13–28	1–2	Gillette Stadium	Recap
4	October 3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 17–19	1–3	Gillette Stadium	Recap
5	October 10	at Houston Texans	W 25–22	2–3	NRG Stadium	Recap
6	October 17	Dallas Cowboys	L 29–35 (OT)	2–4	Gillette Stadium	Recap
7	October 24	New York Jets	W 54–13	3–4	Gillette Stadium	Recap
8	October 31	at Los Angeles Chargers	W 27–24	4–4	SoFi Stadium	Recap
9	November 7	at Carolina Panthers	W 24–6	5–4	Bank of America Stadium	Recap
10	November 14	Cleveland Browns	W 45–7	6–4	Gillette Stadium	Recap
11	November 18	at Atlanta Falcons	W 25–0	7–4	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Recap
12	November 28	Tennessee Titans	W 36–13	8–4	Gillette Stadium	Recap
13	December 6	at Buffalo Bills	W 14–10	9–4	Highmark Stadium	Recap
14	Bye
15	December 18	at Indianapolis Colts	L 17–27	9–5	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
16	December 26	Buffalo Bills	L 21–33	9–6	Gillette Stadium	Recap
17	January 2	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 50–10	10–6	Gillette Stadium	Recap
18	January 9	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–33	10–7	Hard Rock Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Division

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Buffalo Bills	11	6	0	.647	5–1	7–5	483	289	W4
⁽⁶⁾ New England Patriots	10	7	0	.588	3–3	8–4	462	303	L1
Miami Dolphins	9	8	0	.529	4–2	6–6	341	373	W1
New York Jets	4	13	0	.235	0–6	4–8	310	504	L2

Conference

AFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division winners
1^[a]	Tennessee Titans	South	12	5	0	.706	5–1	8–4	.472	.480	W3
2^[a]	Kansas City Chiefs	West	12	5	0	.706	5–1	7–5	.538	.517	W1
3	Buffalo Bills	East	11	6	0	.647	5–1	7–5	.472	.428	W4
4	Cincinnati Bengals	North	10	7	0	.588	4–2	8–4	.472	.462	L1
Wild cards
5^[b]	Las Vegas Raiders	West	10	7	0	.588	3–3	8–4	.510	.515	W4
6^[b]	New England Patriots	East	10	7	0	.588	3–3	8–4	.481	.394	L1
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	North	9	7	1	.559	4–2	7–5	.521	.490	W2
Did not qualify for the postseason
8^[c]	Indianapolis Colts	South	9	8	0	.529	3–3	7–5	.495	.431	L2
9^[c]^[d]	Miami Dolphins	East	9	8	0	.529	4–2	6–6	.464	.379	W1
10^[c]^[d]	Los Angeles Chargers	West	9	8	0	.529	3–3	6–6	.510	.500	L1
11^[e]	Cleveland Browns	North	8	9	0	.471	3–3	5–7	.514	.415	W1
12^[e]	Baltimore Ravens	North	8	9	0	.471	1–5	5–7	.531	.460	L6
13	Denver Broncos	West	7	10	0	.412	1–5	3–9	.484	.357	L4
14^[f]	New York Jets	East	4	13	0	.235	0–6	4–8	.512	.426	L2
15^[f]	Houston Texans	South	4	13	0	.235	3–3	4–8	.498	.397	L2
16	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	3	14	0	.176	1–5	3–9	.512	.569	W1
Tiebreakers^[g]
↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Tennessee finished ahead of Kansas City based on head-to-head victory. ↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Las Vegas finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games. ↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami and Los Angeles based on conference record. ↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Miami finished ahead of LA Chargers based on win percentage in common games. ↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Cleveland finished ahead of Baltimore based on division record. ↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 NY Jets finished ahead of Houston based on head-to-head victory. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

Schedule

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	January 15	at Buffalo Bills (3)	L 17–47	0–1	Highmark Stadium	Recap

[12-5-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Tennessee finished ahead of Kansas City based on head-to-head victory.

[10-7-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Las Vegas finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games.

[9-8a-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami and Los Angeles based on conference record.

[9-8b-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Miami finished ahead of LA Chargers based on win percentage in common games.

[8-9-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Cleveland finished ahead of Baltimore based on division record.

[4-13-6] 6.0 ^6.1 NY Jets finished ahead of Houston based on head-to-head victory.

[7] When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[g]