The New England Patriots will take on the New York Jets at 1:00 PM EST. Below are the game details, but click here for more:
Date: Saturday, December 24th, 2016
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Kickoff: 1:00 PM EST
Betting line: Patriots are the 17-point favorites
SB Nation Affiliates: GangGreenNation.com
TV: CBS
Here is the Patriots week 16 early games rooting guide.
Dolphins at Bills (-4.5): The Patriots are rooting for whichever team would set up a favorable playoff race. Would the Patriots want to face the Dolphins in the divisional round? If so, then go Dolphins! Or would they rather a team like the Ravens or Broncos to make the playoffs? Then go Bills! The Patriots also have to worry about the Dolphins playing extremely hard in the season finale, but they would probably rather have the Dolphins in the playoffs than the Ravens or Broncos. Go Miami.
Titans (-5.5) at Jaguars: The Titans have a shot of knocking the Texans out of the playoffs, but the Texans are going through a quarterback change and the Titans are quietly a very good team. Go Jaguars.
Chargers (-4.5) at Browns: Will the Browns go winless? Or will a win hurt their draft chances? Either way, the Patriots want the Browns to win to hurt the Raiders strength of schedule.
Falcons (-3) at Panthers: A terrible game from Matt Ryan should solidify Tom Brady’s claim to MVP, so perhaps the Patriots will be rooting for the Panthers over the high-flying Falcons offense.
Vikings at Packers (-7): Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are heating up. The Patriots would love for a Minnesota win to knock Green Bay out of the playoff hunt.
Washington (-3) at Bears: This game doesn’t affect the Patriots, but the Patriots might root for their friends (Akiem Hicks!) in Chicago.
Use this as the open thread for discussion.