The New England Patriots will open their 2025 regular season on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, and you can probably guess where the allegiances lie in this particular corner of the world wide web. However, that game is only one of the 16 to be played between Thursday and Monday.
So, who should you root for in those 15 non-Patriots contests? For that, let’s turn to our trusted rooting guide.
Thursday
8:20 p.m. ET
Dallas Cowboys (0-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-0): Go good game! The season opener has no direct impact
on the Patriots, so we’ll encourage you to just sit back and enjoy this one. | NBC
Friday
8 p.m. ET
Kansas City Chiefs (0-0) at Los Angeles Chargers (0-0): Go Chargers! Besides a natural interest in rooting for the underdog, there also is a practical purpose here: the Patriots own two of Kansas City’s 2026 draft pick, and in the unlikely scenario the team misses the playoffs every loss would matter. | YouTube
Sunday
1 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-0): Go Bucs! Three simple words: strength of schedule. While it remains to be seen whether or not that tiebreaker will be of relevance to the Patriots this year, it’s better to be safe than sorry. | FOX
Cincinnati Bengals (0-0) at Cleveland Browns (0-0): Go Browns! Same as above, the Patriots will play one of the two teams this season which is why that is where our rooting interest lies. | FOX
Miami Dolphins (0-0) at Indianapolis Colts (0-0): Go Colts! Neither team is particularly popular in New England, but only one of them is a division rival. So, Indianapolis is the team to go for in this all-AFC battle. | CBS
Carolina Panthers (0-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-0): Go Panthers! The NFC team is usually preferable over the AFC team in a scenario like this, but even more so in this case. The Patriots, after all, are set to host the Panthers in Week 4. Once again, strength of schedule is the key. | FOX
Arizona Cardinals (0-0) at New Orleans Saints (0-0): Go Cardinals? You could go either way in this one, because there are arguments for both teams. The Patriots own the Saints’ seventh-round draft pick next year, which is why a New Orleans loss would be good. However, they also play the team in Week 6, so a loss would negatively impact the strength of schedule. Maybe we should just root for a good game after all. | CBS
Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0) at New York Jets (0-0): Go Steelers? This like the aforementioned Dolphins-Colts clash, but with more Aaron Rodgers. Pittsburgh wins the rooting interest battle by default, because it is not in the AFC East. | CBS
New York Giants (0-0) at Washington Commanders (0-0): Go good game! The Patriots played both in preseason, and that’s all there is to say about this one. | FOX
4:05 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans (0-0) at Denver Broncos (0-0): Go Titans! Mike Vrabel’s former squad has one distinct advantage over Denver. You guessed it, the strength of schedule impact. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. | FOX
San Francisco 49ers (0-0) at Seattle Seahawks (0-0): Go good game! Flip a coin, it doesn’t really matter. | FOX
4:25 p.m. ET
Detroit Lions (0-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-0): Go good game! Just go by personal preference, favorite color, or whatever in this one. | CBS
Houston Texans (0-0) at Los Angeles Rams (0-0): Go Rams! NFC over AFC, it’s as simple as that, especially considering that neither of the two teams finds itself on the Patriots schedule or in any other way tied to the team. | CBS
8:20 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens (0-0) at Buffalo Bills (0-0): Go Ravens! Another classic matchup between two teams that have historically not been very popular in New England. Still, a rooting interest we have to choose and so the AFC North side it is. If the Patriots want to compete for the division crown, the five-time reigning champions need to play their part and drop some games. | NBC
Monday
8:15 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings (0-0) at Chicago Bears (0-0): Go good game! We start the week rooting for a good game, and we will end it there as well. | ESPN
