After spending the offseason following their Super Bowl XLIX victory defending the reputation of quarterback Tom Brady, the New England Patriots have relished being able to prove that they are the best team on the football field, regardless of ball pressure.

New England is off to a 5-0 start, and they look just about as dominant as they were in 2007, when they became the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 16-0.

It’s highly unlikely that this Patriots team will run the table, but we are going to calculate which teams on their schedule that have the best opportunity to beat New England.

Best chance to lose:  November 15th at New York Giants

We see the Patriots rolling into Met Life Stadium with a 9-0 record and Tom Coughlin’s New York Giants will do their best to prevent 10-0.  Obviously the Giants know how to beat New England, as they’ve done it in two Super Bowls and Eli Manning tends to play his best against the Pats.  New York doesn’t have the pass rush of Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora in their prime, but they might have Jason Pierre-Paul back for the game.  That, along with the explosive passing attack of the Giants should make this a shootout.

Next best chance to lose:  November 23rd vs. Buffalo Bills

The Patriots already beat the Bills in Buffalo and it wasn’t as close as the 40-32 final score would indicate.

So what’s going to be different this time around?

Bills starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor will have much more experience and he’ll be able to look back at the film on how Bill Belichick and company confused him into three interceptions.

Rex Ryan will also have a second chance to devise a game plan to stop the Pats underneath passing attack, and Ryan has historically done a nice job against Tom Brady and company.

Finally, this game is sandwiched between trips to New York to play the Giants and Denver to take on Peyton Manning and the Broncos.  I’m not sure you can call it a “trap game,” but it will be tough for any team to get through that three-game stretch unblemished.

December 6th vs. Philadelphia Eagles

When Chip Kelly’s offense is “clicking,” there’s nothing quite like it.  With that said, it’s only “clicked” this year during preseason.

It’s going to be difficult for New England to prepare for the pace that Philadelphia plays with, especially just one week after playing a “grind-it-out” type of game against the Denver Broncos.  The Patriots get everyone’s best shot, and this could be Chip Kelly’s swan song if things continue to progress in the wrong direction for Philly.  Kelly will pull out all the stops in this one.

December 27th at New York Jets

Jets head coach Todd Bowles will get his second shot against Brady and company, and he will have a full-complement of defensive players at his disposal.   The Jets secondary can get physical with the Patriots receivers underneath, and Darrelle Revis can take away half of the football field.

Offensively, the Jets have to run the ball (because Ryan Fitzpatrick can’t throw it effectively), and they’re built for a low-scoring slugfest.  This is a good matchup for the Jets and if the Patriots enter this game with a 14-0 record, the pressure will be mounting.

Other games that didn’t quite make the cut:

January 3rd at Miami Dolphins– If New England gets through at 15-0, they’re not losing to Ryan Tannehill. 

November 29th at Denver Broncos– Short week for the Pats against a great defense, but Brady won’t lose to this version of Peyton Manning. 

December 13th at Houston Texans- Bill O’Brien is familiar with everything his former employers do and they have a potentially great pass rush.  Still, it’s tough to imagine Belichick losing to Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett.