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NFL Week 5 Monday Night Football: Patriots rooting guide, how to watch, open thread

The final game of Week 5 is here.

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Pittsburgh Steelers v San Francisco 49ers Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

For the New England Patriots, Week 5 of the regular season is already in the books — the team defeated the Washington Redskins on the road with a final score of 33-7 to improve to 5-0 on the year. Tonight’s primetime game is therefore a relaxing affair, and a chance to scout a team that is on New England’s schedule later this year. So what does this mean for the club? And who should Patriots fans root for? Let’s find out:

Cleveland Browns (2-2) at San Francisco 49ers (3-0)

When: 8:15 p.m. ET

Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara CA

Television: ESPN

Live streaming: fuboTV (sign up here)

SB Nation coverage: Dawgs By Nature (Browns); Niners Nation (49ers)

Patriots rooting guide: Go Browns! While ex-Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo will line up under center for the home team, New England fans should root for his opponent tonight — for one simple reason: the Patriots have Cleveland on their schedule this year, and a Browns win would improve the club’s strength of schedule and potentially strength of victory. Both tiebreakers could become important when the AFC playoff picture is being determined.