Time flies. It is already Week 3 in the NFL, and the New England Patriots are trying to get their first home win of the season. Standing in their way are the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, like the Patriots, are entering Sunday with a 1-1 record.
That game is our main focus this week. For the other 15 matchups, meanwhile, here is who to root for and how to watch.
Thursday
8:15 p.m. ET
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills: Go Dolphins! The Patriots just beat Miami, so they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker and would simultaneously
see their strength of victory increase. Also, if New England wants to make noise in the AFC East and possibly challenge for the division crown, Buffalo needs to lose some games. | Amazon
Sunday
1 p.m. ET
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers: Go good game! The Patriots have both teams on their schedule, so it really makes no difference who wins this game. | FOX
Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns: Go Packers! We could keep an eye on strength of schedule here, but in the end the NFC team beating the AFC team is the way to go. | FOX
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars: Go Texans! Both teams are in the AFC, but neither is on New England’s schedule. So, let’s root for the one with the worse record at the moment. | CBS
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings: Go Vikings! Again, a classic case of AFC versus NFC. | CBS
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles: Go good game! This should be a fun game, but not one that has any direct impact on the Patriots. | FOX
New York Jets at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Go Bucs! Both teams are on the Patriots’ schedule, but only one of them is in he AFC. It’s the one we’re not rooting for here. | FOX
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans: Go… Titans? The second all-AFC South battle involves the 2-0 Colts and the 0-2 Titans, the latter of which are on the Patriots schedule. From an SOS perspective, rooting for Tennessee would be one way to go here. | CBS
Las Vegas Raiders at Washington Commanders: Go Commanders! AFC versus NFC, you know the drill. | FOX
4:05 p.m. ET
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers: Go… Chargers? In the grand scheme of things, this makes sense if L.A. were to win the division and the Broncos would compete with the Patriots for a wild card spot. It’s only Week 3, though, so just go with whatever you feel like. | CBS
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks: Go Seahawks! The Patriots are the proud owners of a Saints 2026 seventh-round draft pick. The more losses for New Orleans, the better for New England and that particular selection. | CBS
4:25 p.m. ET
Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears: Go good game! It’s two NFC teams not on the Patriots’ schedule, so it really doesn’t matter. | FOX
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers: Go good game! Same as above. | FOX
8:20 p.m. ET
Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants: Go Giants! Not only does the AFC versus NFC perspective come into play, the Patriots also have the Giants on their schedule — a win for them is a win for New England’s tiebreakers. Also, New England owns to of the Chiefs’ picks next year. In the unlikely caseeve Kansas City sits at home come playoff time, a worse record would benefit the Patriots. | NBC
Monday
8:15 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens: Go Lions! You’ve heard it before, so one more time this week: NFC over AFC. | ESPN/ABC
Now it’s your turn. Who are you rooting for this week? And what do you think about the games as they unfold? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts and discuss.
