The New England Patriots don’t play until Monday Night, but there’s still a lot of interesting games taking place this week as we head into the final quarter of the season. Here’s the Patriots 1:00 PM rooting guide.
1:00 PM ET
Colts at Bills (?): Tyrod Taylor’s injury prevented the oddsmakers from creating an early line. The Patriots want the Colts to pull off the win because an Indianapolis victory would clinch the AFC East crown for New England.
49ers at Texans (-3): The Patriots want the Texans to win to ensure that the San Francisco 49ers draft pick is as early in the second round as possible.
Bears at Bengals (-6.5): The Patriots want the Bears to win for the sake of hurting the AFC North’s strength of schedule and victory, and also to ensure that the San Francisco 49ers draft pick stays ahead of Chicago’s.
Packers (-3.5) at Browns: The Patriots want the Browns to pull off the upset to give the 49ers draft pick a chance at being the first of the second round.
Cowboys (-4) at Giants: The Patriots want the Giants to win for the sake of the 49ers draft pick.
Raiders at Chiefs (-4): The Patriots want the Raiders to pull off the upset for the sake of strength of schedule and victory, and also because it would further the Chiefs’ collapse.
Lions at Buccaneers (?): Matthew Stafford’s injury prevented the oddsmakers from creating an early line. The Patriots want the Buccaneers to win for the sake of strength of schedule and victory.
Vikings (-3) at Panthers: The Patriots want the Panthers to win for the sake of strength of schedule.
And just like that, every early game has a Patriots-centric implication.
Use this as the open thread for discussion.