Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots will try to get back into the win column this week versus the Baltimore Ravens. Naturally, all of our attention is on that particular Sunday night matchup. That said, some of the other 15 games around the NFL this week are also worth keeping a close eye on.
With that said, welcome to this week’s Patriots rooting guide.
As a disclaimer, we are looking at games through two primary lenses: New England’s chances of winning the division — which they cannot do this week — as well as earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Naturally and given the tiebreaker situation, not every game will be equally important even if it involves common opponents or other teams in the conference or division.
The Patriots were entering the weekend with a 73% chance of winning the division, according to The Athletic, and are 99+% favorite to make the playoffs (they actually can punch their ticket on Sunday). Their odds for the No. 1 seed are not nearly as good and a mere 10% at the moment.
Los Angeles Rams (11-3) at Seattle Seahawks (11-3): Go good game! Given the stakes, this is one of the top Thursday night games in recent memories. And while it has no impact on the Patriots, it should be a fun watch nonetheless. | Amazon
Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) at Washington Commanders (4-10): Go good game! A no-impact game from a Patriots perspective. | FOX
Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) at Chicago Bears (10-4): Go Packers! While the game won’t change New England’s playoff outlook, it could end up impacting the draft. The Patriots, after all, own the Bears’ fourth-round pick sent to them by the Chiefs as part of an in-draft trade last year. | FOX
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) at Carolina Panthers (7-7): Go good game! Division supremacy on the line, but the Patriots do not care who will win this one. | FOX
Buffalo Bills (10-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-11): Go Browns! The Patriots won’t lock up the division this week either way, but Buffalo dropping this one would give them more wiggle room: if the Bills lose and they beat the Ravens, the Patriots would be up two games with two weeks to go. | CBS
Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) at Dallas Cowboys (6-7-1): Go Cowboys! The Chargers entering the competition for the No. 1 seed in the AFC is unlikely but not entirely impossible. This is merely based on keeping another competitor away from the race for the first-round bye in the conference. | FOX
Cincinnati Bengals (4-10) at Miami Dolphins (6-8): Go Dolphins! Miami is out of the playoffs, so all wins do over the last three weeks is further weaken the team’s draft position. | CBS
New York Jets (3-11) at New Orleans Saints (4-10): Go Jets! This is the same we talked about...
