Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots are heading into arguably their biggest game of the post-Tom Brady era, meaning our focus will be fully on their matchup with the Buffalo Bills. However, there is a lot more going on across the NFL this weekend.
With that said, let’s go through the other 15 games and find out who you should be rooting for in Week 15.
As a disclaimer, we are looking at the games through two primary lenses: New England’s chances of winning the division — which they could do by beating the Bills on Sunday — as well as earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
When looking at this week’s games and considering the point of the season we are in, we can see that only a handful of games actually have an impact in that regard. Why? Because lower-level tiebreakers such as strength of victory are schedule no longer become relevant at some point; there simply is too much football played already and we know who more important tiebreakers such as head-to-head, conference record or common games favor.
The Patriots are entering the weekend with a 48% chance of earning the No. 1 seed, an 89% chance of winning the division, and a 99+% chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic.
Atlanta Falcons (4-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6): Go good game! The Patriots have had both teams on their schedule, yet this game has no significant impact on their playoff outlook. | Amazon
Cleveland Browns (3-10) at Chicago Bears (9-4): Go Browns! This has little to do with the Patriots’ outlook, but rather the NFL Draft. The Bears missing the playoffs, after all, would have a positive impact on the 2026 fourth-round draft pick that went from Chicago to Kansas City to New England. | FOX
Baltimore Ravens (6-7) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-9): Go Ravens! We are playing some 4D chess here, because the game itself has no impact on the Patriots’ playoff outlook. However, it could indirectly help the position of the sixth-round draft pick they received from Pittsburgh in the Kyle Dugger trade: Baltimore winning the AFC North over the Steelers would help in that regard. | CBS
Arizona Cardinals (3-10) at Houston Texans (8-5): Go Texans! There are two reasons to root for a Houston win here. It would help possibly keep Kansas City out of the postseason (more on that in a second), while also potentially having a negative impact on the Jets’ draft outlook. | FOX
New York Jets (3-10) at Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4): Go Jets! Frankly, the farther New York is away from the top picks in next year’s draft, the better. A win over the Jaguars would be a positive outcome in that regard, while also creating some extra wiggle room for New England near the top of the AFC. | CBS
Los Angeles Chargers (9-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-7): Go Chargers! The Chiefs...
