Patriots fan confidence dips below 90% for the first time since the draft

The New England Patriots are one of only three teams in the NFL that remain unbeaten after one quarter of the season. Their defense is tremendous and has still given up only 13 total points over the first four games of the year. The offense has the greatest quarterback of all time under center. And the coaching staff is led by the most successful man the league has ever seen. And yet, not everything is going swimmingly in Foxborough these days.

It all starts with injuries. After already losing starting center David Andrews and special teams ace Brandon King before the season’s first down was even played, the team has added some core contributors to its injured reserve list: starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn was placed on IR because of turf toe, while fullback James Develin, first-round rookie receiver N’Keal Harry and kicker Stephen Gostkowski will also miss time because of injury.

On top of it, the team is also coming off a hard-fought win against the Buffalo Bills. While the defense played lights-out again despite surrendering its first touchdown of the season, the offense was unable to get into a rhythm for most of the game. Even when it did, it was unable to put significant points on the board: Tom Brady, who had his worst game of the season, threw and end zone interception that gave Buffalo new life.

At the end of the day, however, the Patriots are still 4-0 and it is therefore no surprise that the team’s fanbase still ranks among the most confident in the league

88% of participants in our latest FanPulse survey — please click here if you also want to take part in the future — answered that they would feel good about the direction the team is currently headed to. This confidence score is the fourth highest in the NFL behind only the San Francisco 49ers’ 99%, the Kansas City Chiefs’ 94% — the only two other unbeaten teams at the moment — and the Detroit Lions’ 91%.

However, the recent developments have still had an impact on Patriots fans: compared to last week, the confidence decreased by five percentage points and is now at its lowest since before the draft. Back then — with free agency losses, coaching changes and Rob Gronkowski’s retirement still fresh on everybody’s collective mind — “only” 82% of FanPulse participants had a positive perspective on New England’s development.

If you are interested in participating in our FanPulse survey, please click here!