Fresh off a huge win down in Miami for the first time since 2019, the Patriots are throwing it back for a weekend to honor Julien Edelman and (regrettably) Bill Parcells by inducting them into the Patriots Hall of Fame, and then hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers 24 hours later. Their AFC North foe is coming off a brutal fourth-quarter collapse against the Seattle Seahawks, and worse than that, is going to be down multiple starters on the defensive side of the ball tomorrow.

Over the last seven or eight years, Week 1 has been a mixed bag for the Patriots, but no matter who has headed the sidelines, been the top dog under center, or played on defense, home openers have been a major struggle for this team during the same timeframe. Going into Mike Vrabel's first-ever regular season game coaching the team he played eight seasons for, New England has dropped their last four home openers, as well as five of their previous eight.