Coming off an impressive 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots will take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The hope is that the Patriots will make it three wins in a row to improve to 4-2 on the year and further solidify their position in the AFC playoff picture.
While there is still a long way to go, the playoffs are also on our minds in this week’s rooting guide.
Thursday
8:15 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants: Go Giants! A simple reason why the Giants are our pick here:
they will play the Patriots in December, meaning that a win for them on Thursday night would improve New England’s strength of schedule tiebreaker. | Amazon
Sunday
9:30 a.m. ET
Denver Broncos at New York Jets: Go… Jets? If the Patriots want to make the playoffs, they might have to do so as a wild card team. In order to best position themselves in that race, they need their most realistic competitors to lose as many games as possible, even if it means the Jets winning their first game of the year. Then again, this is pretty specific meaning that another outcome would also not be a disaster. | NFL Network
1 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens: Go Rams! Looking at this game purely through a strength of schedule perspective, Baltimore would be the pick. However, in this scenario it’s all about rooting for the NFC team the AFC side. | FOX
Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers: Go Panthers! Two NFC teams, but only one of them is on the Patriots’ schedule. A Carolina win would improve New England’s strength of schedule and strength of victory tiebreakers. | FOX
Arizona Cardinals at Indianapolis Colts: Go Cardinals! A classic case of NFC over AFC. | FOX
Seattle Seahawks at Jacksonville Jaguars: Go Seahawks! Another classic case of NFC over AFC. | FOX
Los Angeles Chargers at Miami Dolphins: Go… Chargers? There are arguments to be made for, or rather against, both teams. However, at the end of the day it does not make much of a difference. | CBS
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers: Go… Browns? Similar to Broncos-Jets and Chargers-Dolphins, this game features two AFC clubs. With both on the Patriots’ schedule, we are going with the 1-4 squad over the 3-2 team to help spice things up a bit in the division race. As for a New England perspective, it really only makes a marginal difference. | CBS
4:05 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans at Las Vegas Raiders: Go Titans! The Patriots have both teams on their schedule, but only one of those games is still coming up. We’re going with what looks like the worse of the two teams here, with an eye on a potential strength of victory tiebreaker. | FOX
4:25 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Bengals at Green Bay Packers: Go Packers! NFC over AFC. Rinse. Repeat. | CBS
San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Go Bucs! One team is on the Patriots’ schedule and therefore positively impacting the associated tiebreaker. Sorry, Mac Jones. | CBS
8:20 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs: Go Lions! Besides the playoff perspective, the Patriots also own two of the Chiefs’ 2026 draft picks. And while them missing the playoffs would still be considered a major surprise, every new loss makes it more likely of an outcome, which, from the perspective of New England’s draft picks would be the best case. | NBC
Monday
7:15 p.m. ET
Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons: Go Falcons! If the Patriots beat the Saints on Sunday and the Falcons beat the Bills a day later, New England would move into first place in the AFC East. | ESPN
8:15 p.m. ET
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders: Go good game! This one really does not matter. Enjoy the rest of your Monday night. | 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.
