The Fan Who Predicted 0-17 for the Pats in '25 Says Their 2026 Record Will Be...?

Last year, Dustin in Arkansas called the Rich Eisen Show to play the win loss game, predicted his beloved Patriots would go 0-17, and then watched them march to the Super Bowl. That is the kind of track record that earns you a return invitation.

So Dustin came back, and he opened with a disclaimer. "I'm not here to discuss the past," he said. "I'm here to be positive." Rich immediately put him to the test on behalf of his son Cooper, a die-hard Patriots fan who had been waiting a year to hear from this guy. Was Dustin really a Pats fan? He swore he was, and offered proof in the form of pain. The biggest gut punch of his life was the 2007 helmet catch, highlights of which he has refused to watch to this day.

Then came the new forecast, and Dustin stayed gloomy. The opener in Seattle? Loss. The Steelers in New England, with Dustin tossing in that Aaron Rodgers is going to be good this year? Loss. An 0-2 start before a trip to Jacksonville finally produced a win, prompting Dustin to quote Michael Cole: the streak is over. By the show's accounting, he had the Patriots losing 19 straight.

The bit kept landing because Dustin committed to the logic. He marked the home game against the Jets as a very close loss, on the grounds that he genuinely thinks the Jets are going to be really good this year. He sprinkled in wins over the Raiders, Dolphins, Packers, Chargers, and Broncos, and a closing win over Miami to land the Patriots at 7-10. By his count, that is the Pats plus seven from where he had them.

When Rich pressed on whether he was trolling two years running, Dustin doubled down with a theory. Teams that lose the Super Bowl, he reasoned, usually do not get back the next year. So he does not think the Patriots make the playoffs at all. Rich could not wait to show Cooper the video.

The math underneath the comedy was not kind. Dustin's ballot even had the Jets sweeping New England, which Chris noted last happened in 2000, the year Tom Brady was drafted. Bold strategy.

For what it is worth, the show does not buy the doom. With the Patriots win total set at nine and a half, Rich said he would take the over, and Chris agreed. Their reasoning was real football: Drake Maye is going to be better, and the receiver room is a clear upgrade with the additions arriving around him. Cut down the turnovers and the fumbles a little, one of them said, and Maye might even draw an MVP vote.

That last part, Rich pointed out, was a shot at both him and his son. Cooper, the family decided, can handle it. He lives with a dad who roots for the Rams, after all.