After having his appeal denied by the court of appeals, Tom Brady has decided to forgo taking the case to the Supreme Court. Now, Brady will sit and the first four games of the season will be played by the New England Patriots third-year pro, Jimmy Garoppolo

While much of New England might be worried about the outcome of the games, the Patriots have a very favorable schedule that includes three home games in the first four weeks of the season. When looking at all of the weapons on New England’s offense, including Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, there’s every reason to believe this team will be just fine with Garoppolo under center.  

Here’s a game-by-game look at what could happen with the Patriots  during the first four games of the 2016 NFL season.

Week 1: New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals

First off, opening the season in a hostile environment, in primetime against the Arizona Cardinals is no easy task. The Cardinals finished last season 13-3 and had a deep run in the playoffs before ultimately falling to the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game. With that being said this would be a tremendously tough game even with Tom Brady.

Jones during his introductory press conference with the Cardinals. (Dave Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic)

Despite all of New England’s weapons on offense, Garoppolo will certainly have his hands full with an Arizona defense that is loaded with stars like ex-Patriot Chandler JonesPatrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. This game will really exploit Garoppolo’s weaknesses and inexperience in a tough road matchup. It’s tough to see the Patriots opening up the season with a win on the road against Arizona, but with a solid team of their own, it wouldn't be a shocker if the Patriots were able to pull out the upset. No matter which way this game goes I expect a closely contested battle throughout.

Prediction: Cardinals over Patriots (Record 0-1)

Week 2: New England Patriots - Miami Dolphins

In week two the Patriots will play a very familiar face, AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins. This will be the first home game of the season and the Patriots will be returning to a wild and pumped up Gillette Stadium. The last time the Patriots dropped a home contest ot the Dolphins was in 2008 when, you guessed it, Tom Brady was not under center due to his torn ACL. 

With that being said the Patriots rarely have issues with the Dolphins when playing on home turf. This is the perfect opportunity for a bounce-back game against a far inferior Miami squad. Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill has struggled in his career against the Pats and this game will be no different. 

Miami will still probably harass Garoppolo with  a strong front seven that features Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake, and the newly added Mario Williams but the Patriots will be able to prevail in the end. 

Prediction Patriots over Dolphins (Record 1-1)

Week 3: New England Patriots - Houston Texans

Usually when a team plays the Houston Texans, the focus shifts to defensive superstar, J.J Watt. In this game, the Patriots have two advantages. The first is that Watt underwent offseason surgery and there is chance he won't be ready for the Texans' Thursday night matchup with the Pats. The second is when Watt plays the Patriots he usually disappears. In four career meetings with the Patriots Watt has just 0.5 sacks in those games. And to put that into respective Watt has already racked up 74.5 sacks in his brief five year career in the NFL. 

Obviously Tom Brady was a big part of that because he is really a mastermind with how he adjusts his protections and routes, but knowing Bill Belichick he will devise a scheme to take Watt out of it, and let Garoppolo fling the ball down field against a weak Houston secondary. 

Hopkins is Houston's best offesnive threat. (Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire)

The only concern for the Patriots is the revamped Texans O that includes newcomers Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller in addition to pro bowl receiver, DeAndre Hopkins. The Patriots may have trouble out of the gate, but as the game goes on the Pats should have no problem shutting down this Houston team.

Prediction: Patriots over Texans (Record 2-1)

Week 4: New England Patriots - Buffalo Bills

There is no question that with no Brady, Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan is chomping at the bit to play a Patriots team with a young, inexperienced QB. 

Even with Garoppolo under center the Patriots will win this game. The Bills best phase for years has been their defense and the Patriots should be able to beat up on a defense that last season ranked 19th in total defense, 15th in scoring, 19th against the pass, 16th against the run, and finished second to last in sacks. 

With a mobile threat at QB in Tyrod Taylor the Bills should do a good job of keeping things close but the Patriots will eventually be victorious when the final whistle sounds.

Prediction: Patriots over Bills (Record 3-1)

Final thoughts

In the end, the Patriots could finish no worse than 2-2. While this writer picked them to go 3-1 in Brady's absence, this writer could easily see them dropping a close game at the hands of the Bills or the Texans. No matter what the Patriots should be in a good spot when Brady comes back to lead the Pats.

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About the author
Norman Tall
Norman Is a writer who mostly covers NFL.( A lot of New York Giants) Also enjoys watching Hockey.