Patriots playoff rooting guide: Who New England fans should root for in the Championship Games

There are only three games left in the NFL’s 2021 season, which means one thing: Welcome to Championship Sunday.

The New England Patriots are obviously not participating — they were already eliminated in the wild card playoff round — but the team and its fans will likely still pay close attention to the AFC and NFC title games. So, who should Patriots fans root for even with their team already eliminated? Time to find out.

Welcome to our second-to-last Patriots Rooting Guide of the season.

3:00 p.m. ET: AFC Championship Game

(4) Cincinnati Bengals at (2) Kansas City Chiefs: Go Bengals! The game itself has no direct impact on the Patriots, but the two teams make this one a pretty easy call: the perennial underdog going up against a team already talking dynasty even after winning one Super Bowl. | CBS/Paramount+

6:30 p.m. ET: NFC Championship Game

(6) San Francisco 49ers at (4) Los Angeles Rams: Go 49ers! As opposed to the AFC title game, this one has an impact on the Patriots. It becomes pretty clear pretty quickly why San Francisco is the team to root for. Not only would a 49ers win drop down the Miami Dolphins’ first-round selection this spring another spot — they own San Francisco’s first in 2022 — a Rams loss would also improve New England’s sixth-rounder earned through the Sony Michel trade. | Fox/Fox Deportes