Patriots rooting guide: Who New England fans should root for on Week 16 Thursday Night Football

The New England Patriots will not enter Week 16 until Sunday — they will host the Buffalo Bills in a highly-anticipated AFC East matchup that will have a big impact on the conference’s playoff picture as well. While focused on that game, naturally, they will likely also keep a close eye on tonight’s contest between San Francisco and Tennessee.

Who should Patriots fans root for in this one? Let’s find out.

8:20 p.m. ET

San Francisco 49ers (8-6) at Tennessee Titans (9-5): Go 49ers! The classic battle between an NFC team and an AFC team, meaning that the rooting interest should not come as a surprise. A San Francisco win over Tennessee, after all, would give the Patriots some breathing room as far as the race for one of the top playoff seeds in the AFC is concerned. Obviously, though, New England will need to win its own game against Buffalo for all of that to matter. But, one game at a time — even if that one game tonight does not directly involve the Patriots. | NFL Network