NFL Week 11 Sunday games: Patriots rooting guide, picks, open thread, and more

With the New England Patriots off on their bye week, it’s time to sit back and enjoy a weekend of football around the league. However, there will still be plenty to root for from a Patriots perspective.

So, let’s get into this week’s Patriots Rooting Guide!

1:00 p.m. ET

Dallas Cowboys (6-3) at Carolina Panthers (1-8): Go Panthers! With the Patriots looking towards the draft, they need two things to happen: 1. Teams with similar records to win, and 2. Teams that they've played against to lose. This game provides a chance for a double-dip, as Carolina’s pick slots in at No. 1 while Dallas defeated New England this season. | FOX

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) at Cleveland Browns (6-3): Go Browns! With the Steelers on New England’s schedule, the Patriots will root for them to lose which will help lower their strength of schedule (which is the tiebreaker for draft spots). | CBS

Chicago Bears (3-7) at Detroit Lions (7-2): Go Bears! As the Bears sit just one game behind New England in the draft, rooting for Chicago to stack wins will help draft position. Plus, Justin Fields looking good in his return could eventually take another team out of the QB market. | FOX

Los Angeles Chargers (4-5) at Green Bay Packers (3-6): Go Packers! Another double-dip opportunity for the Patriots, as the Packers hold just three wins while the Chargers are on New England’s schedule. | FOX

Arizona Cardinals (2-8) at Houston Texans (5-4): Go Cardinals! Arizona is another team near the top of the draft order, so New England will hope Kyler Murray can continuing stacking wins together. | CBS

Tennessee Titans (3-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3): Go Titans! Tennessee also holds just three wins and could potentially threaten New England for a top draft selection. | CBS

Las Vegas Raiders (5-5) at Miami Dolphins (6-3): Go Raiders! While Vegas did fall on New England’s schedule, so did the Dolphins (twice). Plus, it’s always easy to root against the AFC East. | CBS

New York Giants (2-8) at Washington Commanders (4-6): Go Giants! The New York Giants project as one of New England’s biggest threats in terms of draft position. They’ll need New York to win as many games as possible, perhaps even including next week’s Week 12 showdown against the Patriots. | FOX

4:05 p.m. ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at San Francisco 49ers (6-3): Go Bucs! This all NFC matchup doesn't hold a major impact on the Patriots, but they’ll side with the four-win Tampa Bay Bucs with potential draft position on the mind. | FOX

4:25 p.m. ET

New York Jets (4-5) at Buffalo Bills (5-5): Go nobody! With both of these teams obviously falling on New England’s schedule, the Patriots will take this outcome for what it is (although it would be funny to see Buffalo keep losing). | CBS

Seattle Seahawks (6-3) at Los Angeles Rams (3-6): Go Rams! Los Angeles is another team with just three wins, so New England will side with them on this one. | CBS

8:20 p.m. ET

Minnesota Vikings (6-4) at Denver Broncos (4-5): Go Vikings! Sunday night concludes with (surprisingly) two of the hottest teams in football. The Patriots will side with Minnesota as Denver falls on their schedule. | NBC

Make sure to check down below for the Pats Pulpit staff’s best picks today, while also heading to the comment section to discuss anything from Week 10 of the NFL season.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.