And just like that, it’s Week 4. For the New England Patriots it will be another chance to get off the schneid in front of the Gillette Stadium crowd: after starting the year 0-2 at home, they will host the Carolina Panthers in the latest attempt to get Mike Vrabel’s first home win as head coach.
Naturally, that game is our main focus this week. Of course, there is plenty of other football on the menu as well, so here is who to root for and how to watch the 15 other games scheduled between Thursday
and Monday.
Thursday
8:15 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals: Go good game! There might be a microscopically small link between this game and the Patriots’ playoff or draft outlooks, however you want to dissect it, but there is no use in going that deep into the matter. Just enjoy a good one, will you? | Amazon
Sunday
9:30 a.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers: Go Vikings! The NFL’s first ever game in Ireland will feature one representative from each conference. Naturally, we will be rooting for the NFC side in this one. | NFL Network
1 p.m. ET
Washington Commanders at Atlanta Falcons: Go good game! Like Thursday’s all-NFC battle, this one also has no true impact on the Patriots. | CBS
New Orleans Saints at Buffalo Bills: Go Saints! While a Saints win might negatively impact the seventh-round draft pick the Patriots acquired from them through the Davon Godchaux trade, it is still preferable over New England’s division rivals taking the W. | CBS
Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions: Go Lions! Same story, different teams. Until further notice, we are going with the NFC side in games such as these. | FOX
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans: Go Titans! It likely makes little difference when it comes to New England’s playoff outlook, but a Tennessee win would improve the team’s strength of schedule. | CBS
Los Angeles Chargers at New York Giants: Go Giants! There are two reasons to root for New York in Jaxson Dart’s starting debut: they are an NFC team going against an AFC opponent, and a win would increase the Patriots’ strength of schedule. | CBS
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Go good game! Another all-NFC game with no meaningful ties the Patriots. | FOX
4:05 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Rams: Go Rams! AFC. NFC. You know the drill. | FOX
Jacksonville Jaguars at San Francisco 49ers: Go 49ers! Rinse, repeat. | FOX
4:25 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs: Go Ravens! The Patriots own two of the Chiefs’ draft picks next year, which means that Kansas City missing the playoffs would be the best case outcome. That still seems unlikely, even if they start the year at 1-3. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t root for exactly that happening. | CBS
Chicago Bears at Las Vegas Raiders: Go Bears! NFC. AFC. You know the drill. | CBS
8:20 p.m. ET
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys: Go good game! Speaking purely from a Patriots perspective, there is no true rooting interest in this game. However, seeing Micah Parsons lead his new team to a primetime victory over the one that traded him away would be fun. | NBC
Monday
7:15 p.m. ET
New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins: Go… Dolphins? The Monday night double-header will start with a battle between two of the Patriots’ division rivals. Both are 0-3 at the moment, and somebody has to win, so let’s go with the team that already lost one game to New England and therefore still loses out on the head-to-head tiebreaker. | ESPN
8:15 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos: Go Bengals! Both teams might be involved in the wild card battle with the Patriots further down the line, but there are too many variables at play to make a definitive call right now. We are going Bengals for the sake of the strength of schedule tiebreaker. | 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.
