What teams do the New England Patriots play every year Outside of their own division?

Answer 1

There is no team outside of the AFC East that the New England Patriots play every year. This is the case with all NFL teams. Each NFL team's 16-game schedule includes six games within the team's own division (one home, one away for each division rival); four games against teams from a single other division within the same conference (on a rotating basis); and four games against teams from a division from the other conference (on a rotating basis). The other two games are played against teams from the remaining two divisions within the same conference, selected by the teams' final positions within their division standings the previous season. Thus, for example, in 2013, the Patriots play the other three AFC East teams (Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins) twice each; all four teams from the AFC North (Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers); and all four teams from the NFC South (Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers). And since the Patriots finished 2012 in first place in the AFC East, they also play the Denver Broncos, who finished first in the AFC West, and the Houston Texans, who finished first in the AFC South. In 2014, the Patriots will play the Bills, Jets and Dolphins; all four teams in the AFC West; all four teams in the NFC North; and whichever teams finish in the same place in the AFC North and South as the Patriots finish in the AFC East. While the Patriots, thus, will play the Broncos in each of those years, this is only because the teams finished first in their divisions in 2012 and because the AFC East is matched up with the AFC West in 2014. There is no guarantee within the NFL scheduling formula that the Patriots will play any team from any division outside the AFC East in consecutive years.