Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots took care of business this week, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-23 on Sunday to improve to 8-2 on the year. Their game was one of 14 overall this week.
Here is who you should be rooting for in the 13 non-Patriots matchups.
Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) at Green Bay Packers (5-2-1): Go good game! This should be a fun one, but it ultimately is not a game that will have too big of a direct impact on the Patriots’ outlook unless we really want to dive into other teams’ strength of schedule projections. If you do want to look at this game from that perspective, the Packers would be the team to root for. | ESPN/ABC
The following games were played earlier in Week 10:
Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) at Denver Broncos (7-2): Go Raiders! The Patriots and Broncos are currently tied for the No. 2 seed in the AFC, meaning that a Raiders win might help New England gain an advantage in the standings in Week 10. | DEN 10, LV 7
Atlanta Falcons (3-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-2): Go Falcons! Atlanta winning in Berlin would have plenty of positives: it would improve the Patriots’ strength of victory tiebreaker but not the Bills’, and give the current No. 1 team in the AFC a third loss — thus creating a potential pathway for New England to jump to the top of the conference. | ATL 25, IND 31 (OT)
New Orleans Saints (1-8) at Carolina Panthers (5-4): Go good game! The Patriots beat both teams, so it makes no difference for them who wins and who loses in this all-NFC South showdown. You could root for the Panthers in hopes of them eventually overtaking the 49ers — for reasons to be explained further down — and pushing them out of the playoff picture. | NO 17, CAR 7
New York Giants (2-7) at Chicago Bears (5-3): Go Giants! One word: tiebreaker. With the Giants on the Patriots’ schedule this year, a New York win over the Bears would improve their strength of schedule and potentially strength of victory. The Patriots will take on the Giants in Week 13. | NYG 20, CHI 24
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3) at Houston Texans (3-5): Go Texans! Two AFC South teams not on the Patriots’ schedule? Let’s root for the one currently placed lower in the standings. | JAX 29, HST 36
Buffalo Bills (6-2) at Miami Dolphins (2-7): Go Dolphins! This one is easy. Any Bills loss will help the Patriots in their quest to reclaim the division crown after five years. | BUF 13, MIA 30
Baltimore Ravens (3-5) at Minnesota Vikings (4-4): Go Vikings! Your classic AFC versus NFC matchup. NFC all the way in this one, even if it hurts the Patriots’ strength-of tiebreakers. | BLT 27, MIN 19
**Cleveland Browns (2-6) at...
