The bye comes after the ninth game, the latest bye week on the schedule. That would have to be considered a coup for the Patriots, who had an early bye last year, after their fifth game.
Four of the final six games are at home, and from a travel perspective, the Patriots have three short flights (Buffalo, Baltimore, New York) from mid-November on.
Only one game will be played on natural grass -- at Miami (Oct. 21).
In today's NFL, when a team faces an opponent can be as important as who the team is facing. Playing a team after a bye week, for example, is considered an advantage for the team that has had the week off.
Along those lines, the Patriots do not face a team that is coming off a bye week.
After the Oct. 1 Monday night game in Cincinnati, the Patriots return home Oct. 7 to face the Browns, who are coached by former New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. And following the team's Dec. 3 Monday night game in Baltimore, the Patriots will entertain the Steelers (Dec. 9). Having two home games on those short weeks should lessen the strain.
Meanwhile, the Patriots face one team on its own short week -- the Cowboys. When the Patriots make their first trip to Dallas since 1996 for an Oct. 14 game, the Cowboys will be coming off a Monday night game in Buffalo. The Patriots have never won at Texas Stadium in four tries.
I think that streak will end this year.