The New England Patriots don’t play until tonight, so enjoy watching the early games. Here are the teams the Patriots want to win today.
1:00 PM EST
Rams at Jets (-1): This is possibly the worst game of the week and even oddsmakers don’t know what to do with this one. The Patriots want the Rams to pull off the road win to send New York down the standings.
Broncos at Saints (-3): The Saints offense should be an excellent challenge for the Broncos defense. Both are great units. The Saints defense and Broncos offense are both bad. The Patriots will want the Saints to win to push Denver down in the conference rankings.
Chiefs at Panthers (-3): I’m kind of surprised that the Panthers are the favorites since the Chiefs are 17-3 over their past 20 games. The Patriots want the Panthers to win since Kansas City is arguably the second best team in the AFC.
Texans at Jaguars (-2): The division-leading Texans are underdogs against the Jaguars, the last place team in their division. That’s how terrible the AFC South is. The Patriots want the Texans to win to stay ahead of the division and possibly steal a bye week from a better team in the AFC West.
Packers (-3) at Titans: Is it too early to think about draft picks? I don’t think the Titans have a chance of making the playoffs so perhaps the Patriots would rather they lose to affect the draft position of the AFC East rivals.
Falcons (-1) at Eagles: This game doesn’t affect the Patriots, but could be an outstanding early game. The Eagles have a top three defense and the Falcons have a top three offense. This is a better version of the Broncos-Falcons game. Look for fireworks.
Bears (-2) at Buccaneers: This game doesn’t affect the Patriots either.
Vikings at Washington (-2): This game doesn’t affect the Patriots. The Vikings have lost three straight.
Use this as the open thread for discussion.