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Two Monday Nights, Double Dip In L.A., Treacherous QB Trio: Highlights, Challenges Of Patriots' 2020 Schedule

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots' 2020 schedule is out. Will it end up playing out in its entirety? Will it get shortened? Will the stadiums be empty?

Those questions simply cannot be answered right now, as there's just no way to properly forecast what shape the country will be in come summertime in the United States. So for now, we can evaluate the schedule for what it is. And for the Patriots ... it is not easy. Not at all.

READ: Patriots' Full 2020 Schedule

Here's what jumps out about the Patriots' 2020 slate of games.

--The Patriots are getting not one but two Monday night games. That is quite the rarity. The last time they had two Monday night games in a season was back in 2011 -- Week 1 at Miami, Week 11 vs. Tyler Palko and the Chiefs -- winning those two games by a combined palindromic score of 72-27. They also played two Monday nighters in 2010 -- at Miami in Week 4, and vs. the Jets in Week 13 -- winning those two games by a combined score of 86-17.

They also had two Monday night games in 2009, coming back in epic fashion against the Bills in Week 1 and getting blown out later in the season in the Superdome. And they of course had two Monday night games in 2007, when America couldn't get enough of that video game offense. They beat the Bengals in a game nobody remembers and eked out a win in Baltimore (thanks to Rex Ryan calling a timeout even though he wasn't allowed to do so.)

That was Monday-heavy stretch for the Patriots, obviously, but it's been one per year since 2011.

This year, the Patriots will travel to New Jersey to face the Jets on Monday Night Football in Week 9. Their second Monday game is a big one, as it comes in Week 16, at home against Buffalo. Considering how close the Bills were to the Patriots last year, that one could have a divisional championship feeling to it. And you know those crazies in Buffalo will be at their table-breaking peak for that one.

--As expected, the two road games in Los Angeles were stacked together. The Patriots will certainly be staying in Southern California between those games, and the NFL threw them a bone (maybe?) by making the second game a Thursday nighter, thus shortening the trip.

The Patriots will be playing at the Chargers in Week 13 on a Sunday afternoon, before playing in the same stadium four days later to play the Rams on Thursday Night Football.

You'll be getting a heavy dose of SoFi Stadium that week, and any Patriots fans in Southern California have the rare opportunity to double dip twice in a week.

Belichick has embraced the long road trip mentality before. In 2017, he kept the Patriots at the Air Force Academy in Colorado after a Broncos game and before a game in Mexico City, to help get acclimated to the altitude. In 2014, the Patriots spent the week in Southern California after their game in Green Bay, in preparation for a game against the Chargers.

--The question of whether or not fans will be in attendance for games is absolutely massive for the Patriots. They're visiting both Seattle and Kansas City, two of the loudest stadiums in the world, so if fans can't attend, the home teams will be losing out on quite a lot.

Both games are happening early in the season too, with a Week 2 trip to Seattle on Sept. 20 and a Week 4 trip to Arrowhead on Oct. 4. So even if stadiums eventually open up to fans later in the year, it's possible that the Patriots could benefit from empty stadiums in those first four weeks. (Obviously the entire thing is a matter of speculation, but at this point in time, the idea of 70,000 fans cramming into a stadium just four months from now seems ... unrealistic.)

--What a whopper of a quarterbacking trio that Bill Belichick and his defense have to deal with in a three-week stretch just past the midpoint of the season.

Week 10 vs. Lamar Jackson.

Week 11 vs. Deshaun Watson, in his house.

Week 12 vs. Kyler Murray.

Now, Murray may not yet be close to that elite category, but he is a No. 1 overall pick, and it would be reasonable to expect a Year 2 jump working with Kliff Kingsbury.

That stretch is made slightly more difficult by the Monday night game on the road that precedes it, thus setting the Patriots back a step in their preparation for Baltimore.

Patriots' defense better get a jump on their cardio now. They're going to need it.

--If you are even the world's most casual golf fan, you've got something to be excited about. For the first time in your life, you'll be able to take in a Masters Sunday alongside your normal slate of NFL action. That's of course because the Masters got postponed until Nov. 12-15.

If you're intent on watching the Patriots, then you're even luckier, because the Patriots don't play until 8:20 p.m., when they host the Ravens.

Jimmy G and the 49ers at the Saints will help fill that gap, too, as they're playing in the 4:25 p.m. ET national window.

That right there is a rock solid sports day in New England.

--You can still watch pretty much every Tom Brady game without missing Patriots games. Face it: That's important.

--The Week 6 bye is on the early side. There's no science to it, but the benefits of a week off tend to be more impact later in the year.

In that regard, the Patriots do get their Thursday night "mini-bye" after Week 14, which should give them a few extra days to rest up for the final stretch of: at Miami, vs. Buffalo (on a Monday), vs. the Jets.

--You won't be able to get a great sleep, as the Patriots remain in prime-time demand despite the departure of Tom Brady. The Patriots are tied for having the most prime-time games this season with five -- two Mondays, two Sundays, and a Thursday. They go from Monday night in Week 9 to Sunday night in Week 10, so coffee machines will just have to work a little overtime that week.

(Don't count on any games getting flexed out, either. The only eligible game for a flex would be Week 10 vs. Baltimore, and it would likely take a combination of an awful Patriots start and a Lamar Jackson injury for that game to lose its national appeal.)

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

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