New England Patriots Schedulegami: Opponents Never Faced in Primetime

Every Patriots opponent by scheduling window, 1966–2025

Each number shows how many times New England has faced that opponent in the listed window. “Never” means the matchup has not happened there yet; “2026 first” means this season will be the first.

2026 Patriots schedulegamis

• Week 1 — Patriots at Seahawks

  First-ever Patriots–Seahawks Kickoff Game and Wednesday meeting. Final: Seahawks 13, Patriots 10.

• Week 7 — Patriots at Bears

  First-ever Patriots–Bears Thursday night meeting. Final: Bears 30, Patriots 24.

• Week 10 — Patriots at Lions

  First-ever Patriots–Lions International meeting.

• Week 14 — Patriots vs. Vikings

  First-ever Patriots–Vikings Thursday night meeting.

Patriots venue-first matchups, 1966–2025

Schedulegami vs. venue first: A schedulegami means the teams have never met in that scheduling window. A venue first means they have met in the window, but one team has never hosted it.

Some matchups have appeared in a primetime window several times, but always with the same team hosting. The table below shows where the other team has never hosted that matchup in the same window.

2027 Patriots matchups that could become schedulegamis

These are New England’s projected 2027 opponents and the scheduling windows where each matchup has never happened. Three opponents still depend on Week 18 standings. The full projection is on the Patriots team page.

Patriots schedulegami FAQ

What is a schedulegami?

MockSlate calls it a schedulegami when two teams meet in a scheduling window they've never shared before. The Patriots have faced the Chargers 30 times, but never on Monday night. If they were scheduled there, that would be a schedulegami, their first-ever Monday night meeting.

How many opponents have the Patriots never faced in primetime?

New England has never faced 2 of its 31 possible opponents in primetime. Those teams are the Commanders and Jaguars. Counted one window at a time, the Patriots have never faced 11 opponents on Monday night, 8 on Sunday night, and 21 on Thursday night; the 2 above are the ones missing from all three.

Which teams have the Patriots never played on Monday night?

The Patriots have never played the Chargers, Raiders, Seahawks, Falcons, 49ers, Rams, Eagles, Lions, Commanders, Buccaneers, and Jaguars on Monday night. That's 11 of their 31 possible opponents through the 2025 season.

Which Patriots matchups have only happened on Sunday afternoons?

None. Every opponent has met the Patriots somewhere other than a Sunday afternoon.

Which Patriots games are schedulegamis in 2026?

Four: Week 1 at Seattle in the Kickoff Game and on a Wednesday, Week 7 at Chicago on Thursday night, Week 10 at Detroit in an international game, and Week 14 vs. Minnesota on Thursday night. Each matchup will appear in that window for the first time.

What is the difference between a schedulegami and a venue first?

A schedulegami is the first time two teams meet in a scheduling window. A venue first means they have met in that window before, but one team has never hosted it.

About the data

MockSlate calls it a schedulegami when two teams meet in a scheduling window they have never shared before. The order of the two teams does not matter, and neither does the venue: two teams that have only ever met on Sunday night in one city have still met on Sunday night, so the same game in the other city is a venue first, not a schedulegami. Sunday afternoon windows never count. A game counts in every window it fits, so a Monday night game in Mexico City is both a Monday night game and an international game. Primetime here means Monday, Sunday, and Thursday night. Two levels are tracked: the first time two teams meet in one window, and the first time they meet anywhere but a Sunday afternoon.

Game history is the same record as Primetime & Holiday History, regular season only, with franchises carried forward under their current names; Monday night counts every Monday game the way that tool counts it. Coverage by window: Monday night: since 1970, every Monday game as Slot History counts it; Sunday night: since 1987; Thursday night: all Thursday games since 1966 as Slot History counts them; the first non-Thanksgiving Thursday game in the data is 1978; the weekly package began in 2006; Thanksgiving: since 1966; Christmas: since 1966; Saturday: since 1966; Kickoff Game: since 2002; International: since 2005; Friday: since 1966; Wednesday: all-time. A Sunday international game with a verified 8 PM ET or later kickoff counts as International and Sunday night; two games count, the 2005 49ers at Cardinals game in Mexico City and the 2026 Vikings at 49ers game in Mexico City. Schedulegami is a MockSlate term, first published September 2026.

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