The Patriots are back, and so are the old, miscast feelings of ESPN bias against the team

New England Patriots

The notion that the network has a disdain for the Patriots was a recurring claim during the two-decade dynasty, and has now returned in force.

By Chad Finn

January 24, 2026 | 5:09 PM

4 minutes to read

No, ESPN does not hate the Patriots.

Wait, check that for a second. Rex Ryan definitely hates the Patriots. Give him some grace on that. The man coached the Jets for six years. You have no idea what that does to the soul.

Some might also add Cam Newton to the Patriot Haters Club, since he seems to have a terrible take on something going on in Foxborough every time he appears on “First Take” or its ilk.

Newton — who as you might recall actually played for the Patriots in 2020 — has over the course of the season called Most Valuable Player candidate Drake Maye “fool’s gold” and “a game manager,” among other ridiculous things.

I don’t believe Newton has an issue with the Patriots, though. He just has some all-around ridiculous and ill-informed opinions. This week he declared that Notre Dame football “hasn’t been relevant in years.” The Irish played in the national championship game last season.

Newton is as clueless as he is charismatic, which is very, and he is officially out-Perking Kendrick Perkins in the race to make the most absurd declarations.

Ryan and (sort of) Newton are the exceptions that prove the rule here. The notion that ESPN has a Bristol-wide disdain for the Patriots was a recurring claim among a significant segment of the fanbase during the two-decade dynasty, usually when there was one “–gate” or another going on.

It’s a media-based variation on the “they-hate-us-because-they-ain’t-us” rallying cry deployed against other fanbases. Now that claim was true then, and it might be more true than ever now that Maye — definitely not fool’s gold, Cam, and cool hat, by the way — has arrived way too soon after Tom Brady’s departure for 31 other fanbases’ liking.

After a three-season absence from the playoffs and back-to-back 4-13 seasons, Maye and coach Mike Vrabel spearheaded a breathtaking turnaround this season that has them one win from the franchise’s 12th Super Bowl appearance.

The franchise has been rejuvenated. So have some of those mostly dormant beefs from the good ol’ days.

The current gripe that ESPN leans anti-Patriots was sparked most recently by a segment on the excellent “NFL Live” daily studio program. Last Friday, its five hosts/panelists — Hannah Storm, Mina Kimes, Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears, and Dan Orlovsky — unanimously picked the Texans to upset the Patriots in their divisional round playoff game.

A clip of the segment went viral, partly because they all picked the Texans — on “NFL Live,” it’s a running joke that it’s a jinx on the chosen team when the hosts all make the same prediction — but mostly because of their amused yet semi-horrified reactions to doing so. “This is bad,’’ said Spears after several seconds of TV chaos, which included Kimes briefly ducking off screen and Clark intoning, “No! No!”

The segment didn’t have an anti-Patriots vibe. It was about five sharp NFL personalities trying to get their pick right, and it was plausible to think the Texans would prevail.

In the macro scheme of things regarding ESPN’s Patriots coverage, it’s pretty silly to think that a company that has hired ex-Patriots such as Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss, and Damien Woody, features former Patriots intern Field Yates all over its NFL coverage, and has the immensely trustworthy Mike Reiss covering the team locally, has something against the team.

The reality is pretty simple. Every fanbase hears things they like and things they don’t on ESPN. It just happens to be that the Patriots are a topic of conversation again all over the network in a way they haven’t been for a few years. Some of it is great, and some of it involves Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith, but none of it comes from a company-wide decree or agenda.

By the way, on this Friday’s show, four of the show’s five personalities picked the Patriots to beat the Broncos.

Nantz-Romo back on the call

With the AFC Championship game airing on CBS, the network’s No. 1 team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call the Patriots for just the second time this season. The duo previously had the Patriots’ Week 10 victory over the Buccaneers.

Nantz is as prepared and steady as ever, but Romo’s contributions have become unpredictable week-to-week, and he’s had a downright strange postseason in the booth.

He meandered often during their wild-card round broadcast of the Bills’ victory over the Jaguars, and later said he had been feeling under the weather. Last weekend, he had some strong moments in the Broncos’ win over the Bills, such as predicting a Lil’Jordan Humphrey touchdown reception, but seemed to resist putting any blame on Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who threw four interceptions.

Romo, and the broadcast as a whole, didn’t do a very good job clarifying what had happened and what the call should be on Bills receiver Brandin Cooks’s attempt at a catch that turned into an interception. I’m very curious which version of Romo we’ll get this week.

Chad Finn

Sports columnist

Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.