Felger: Why can’t the Patriots make the playoffs this season? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
For those with high preseason expectations for the New England Patriots in 2025, roster cutdown day was a bit of a sobering experience. The abundance of space on that initial 53-man roster combined with the general lack of interest in discarded Patriots players around the league provided a picture of the lack of depth in Foxboro.
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Clearly, this is the right time for resident Patriots optimist Michael Felger to swoop in and reinvigorate spirits in New England.
Felger thinks Patriots can make playoffs this year
“It’s absolutely possible,” Felger said on Boston Sports Tonight, “and I’ll tell you why: I think they can get to nine wins. Vegas has them for 8.5. They’re a favorite in 11 games.”
Felger pointed to the 2022 Dolphins (9-8) and 2021 Steelers (9-7-1) as recent examples of nine-win teams making the playoffs as a wild card.
“The top of the AFC, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the middle of the AFC,” Felger explained. “If it comes down just a rung, a 9-8 team is going to make the playoffs. They do in the NFC all the time. It does in the AFC every now and then. Last year, the Steelers were the seventh seed. Are you telling me the Patriots are that far away from the Pittsburgh Steelers? I don’t think they are.”
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Phil Perry can’t see the math
Patriots insider Phil Perry can’t see the pathway to a nine-win Patriots team making the playoffs this season.
“This is why I don’t have them in: To me, it’s the math,” Perry said. “It’s the math. I’ve got three in the AFC West, I’ve got two in the AFC North, and then you’ve got the Bills and the winner of the AFC South, and that’s it. So it’s gonna be difficult for them. They’ve gotta be better than the Chargers or the Broncos or these teams that we all would say they’re clearly better than [the Patriots].”
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Reacting to Mike Vrabel’s comments on the need to improve this team | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Perry added a bit more on 2025 realities on the latest Patriots Talk Podcast with Tom E. Curran, interpreting some recent comments from Mike Vrabel as a message that expectations need to be managed.
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“I think we’re in the manage expectations portion of the program for the new Mike Vrabel regime,” Perry said. “I think that’s what every new regime really wants to do. That’s New Head Coach 101. Talk about your team in a way that shows respect for the team and still tries to establish a tone and a path while also acknowledging both to your fans and your owner — more importantly — that this is going to take a while. ‘I’m gonna need some time. We all are gonna need some time. Look at what you left us with. So we’re gonna get these guys thinking the right way and playing and acting the right way on and off the field, but yeah, we’ve got a long way to go here.’ That’s how every new coach approaches things. And I don’t think Vrabel’s any different.”
Holley can’t see the sneakiness
Felger’s reference to teams sneaking into the playoffs did not seem like a possibility this year for the Patriots to Michael Holley.
“I think the problem with the AFC is there is no middle. These are elite teams that are making it,” Holley said, pointing out the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens as the best in class with the likes of the Bengals, Texans and Broncos also in that mix. “It’s going to be very difficult for the Patriots to sneak in. If they get into the playoffs, they’re gonna have to kick the damn door down.”
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Felger’s final word
Undeterred, Felger stood by his belief.
“I’m just saying, every year it happens,” Felger said. “There’s a team or two that everyone looked at in the preseason and said there’s no chance. Then, the next thing you know, they’re OK. And it absolutely happens, and then in hindsight, we go back and we say, ‘Oh, well they had this guy and that guy and this guy and that guy,’ and now it kind of makes sense. But thinking forward, when you’re sitting there in August, it happens every year.”