The New England Patriots don’t kick off until 4:25 P MET, but there is plenty of football to watch during the 1:00 PM ET slate. Here are the games and your Patriots rooting guide.
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1:00 PM ET
Buccaneers at Dolphins (even): There’s a real chance this is the worst game of the week, but the Patriots are absolutely rooting for the Buccaneers to upset the Dolphins to further strengthen the Patriots hold on the AFC East.
Chiefs (-11) at Giants: This won’t happen, but the Patriots would love for the Giants to upset Kansas City to give New England an extra game edge over the Chiefs.
Jaguars (-8) at Browns: Is this weird that the Patriots want the Jaguars to lose? I don’t think so. There’s a real case for Jacksonville being the second-best team in the AFC. Go Cleveland and force the Jaguars to play on the road in the playoffs.
Ravens (-2) at Packers: The Ravens are in the hunt for the sixth and final playoff seed and I want them far away from the postseason. Go Green Bay.
Cardinals at Texans (-1): The Patriots are rooting for the Texans for the sake of strength of schedule and strength of victory.
Washington at Saints (-8): The Patriots are also rooting for the Saints for the sake of strength of schedule and strength of victory.
Rams at Vikings (-2): This should be a fun game between two surprise powers in the NFC. The game doesn’t affect the Patriots, so just enjoy the outcome, or feel free to root for your fantasy teams.
Lions (-3) at Bears: This game also doesn’t matter, but projects to be considerably less fun to watch. Go fantasy players, go!
Use this as the open thread for discussion.