Patriots schedule post-bye week is the second easiest in the NFL

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A lot of fans and players would like to forget about last week’s disappointing blowout loss to the Tennessee Titans, but what the New England Patriots need to do is use that game as a wakeup call – especially headed into the last six games of the season.

The Patriots still have a strong record of 7-3 and a two-game lead in the AFC East, but with nothing going right in this past Sunday’s game, a lot of questions came about.

But what’s good for New England is that their remaining schedule ranks as second easiest in the NFL, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.

The Patriots upcoming schedule is as follows:

Nov. 25 – at Jets (3-7)

Dec. 2 – vs. Vikings (5-3)

Dec. 9 – at Dolphins (5-5)

Dec. 16 – at Steelers (6-2)

Dec. 23 – vs. Bills (3-7)

Dec. 30 – vs. Jets (3-7)

Here’s what the Patriots need to do these upcoming weeks:

-Get Gronk healthy: the tight end has missed three of the past four games.

-Get Rex Burkhead back into the swing of things: the running back is eligible to play against the Vikings after being taken off the injured-reserve list last week.

-Address the team’s kickoff coverage issues: the team currently ranks last in the NFL while the coverage unit ranks 29th and the punt coverage ranks 31st.

Yes, things get a little shaky here and there in every NFL season, but that’s what makes strong teams – overcoming adversity and supporting one another to be able to play high level football.

“The whole season is ahead of us,” said quarterback Tom Brady. “We’ll see what we do with it.”

Follow Megan on Twitter: @carnahanmegan