Poll: Safer Bet – Pats Make Playoffs or Finish Under .500 in ’22?

We're creeping closer and closer to football with each passing day. As the calendar flipped to August today, pads went on down at Patriots training camp in Foxborough. Things are beginning to get real.

With that, it's fair to start putting expectations on your favorite teams. When it comes to the Patriots, their ceiling for the 2022 season is all over the place if you listen to the talking heads. New England ranges anywhere from the "worst team on paper" in the AFC East according to Bart Scott, to a solid playoff team in the AFC according to USA Today Sports.

The Pats are coming off a 10-7 campaign last season which earned them the 3rd wild card in the AFC and a thorough thumping in the W.C. Round at Buffalo. But a quick peak at the landscape of the AFC for this season might suggest 10-7 won't be good enough to get it done, with what's expected to be a loaded field of contenders for seven playoff spots.

According to NFL.com's analytical projections, New England is projected to win 8.7 games this season. That barely rounds up to over .500 in the new 17-game NFL.

So today's poll is simple, do you think the Patriots have a better shot of making the playoffs or finishing under .500 in 2022?