With their first Thursday-night game and subsequent mini-bye in the rear-view mirror, the New England Patriots will return to Sunday action this week. They will take on the Dolphins in Miami at 4:25 p.m. ET on Nov. 1.
Their game is one of 14 to be played this week. Here is who to root for in the other 13.
Thursday
8:15 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers (3-3) at Green Bay Packers (4-3): Go Packers! The Thursday night matchup has no direct impact on the Patriots, but a Packer win would improve their strength of schedule tiebreaker.
| Prime Video
Sunday
1 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens (4-3) at Buffalo Bills (5-1): Go Ravens! This is a “Can’t they both lose?” game, but we are ultimately going with the Ravens as our pick. If the Patriots want to retain their division title and secure one of the top four playoff seeds in the AFC, they will need the Bills to start losing some games. | CBS
Tennessee Titans (1-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-2): Go Titans! Team with worse record over team with better record. Sometimes it’s as simple as that. | CBS
Arizona Cardinals (2-5) at Dallas Cowboys (3-4): Go good game! This game has no impact on the Patriots, so we won’t bother you with a rooting suggestion. | FOX
Minnesota Vikings (6-0) at Detroit Lions (4-2): Go Lions! Both teams are on the Patriots’ schedule, but only one has a draft pick in 2027 tied to the team. Of course, the Vikings not making the playoffs after their 6-0 start would be a major upset. However, until that door is closed, our rooting interests keep the seventh-round pick retained in the Walter Rouse trade in mind. | FOX
Indianapolis Colts (2-5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2): Go Colts! Indianapolis is in full fire sale mode, which makes a win on Sunday over the Jaguars an unlikely outcome. Still, from a Patriots perspective, it’s the preferred one. | CBS
Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) at New York Jets (2-5): Go Jets! Both teams have already lost to the Patriots, but we are rooting for the one with the worse overall record here. | FOX
Cleveland Browns (5-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2): Go Steelers! Similar to Bills-Ravens, somebody has to win, so we are picking the lesser of two evils: the team that has already lost a game to the Patriots and therefore is at a head-to-head disadvantage should playoff positioning come down to that particular tiebreaker. | CBS
Atlanta Falcons (3-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5): Go good game! The all-NFC South matchup has no real impact on New England’s playoff or draft outlook. | FOX
4:05 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Chargers (0-6) at Los Angeles Rams (3-4): Go Rams! Two of the most disappointing teams in the NFL going against each other. This gets close to “Go good game!” territory, but we are choosing the NFC team over the AFC team. Better to be safe than sorry. | FOX
4:25 p.m. ET
Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) at Denver Broncos (5-2): Go Broncos! Another rough matchup from a rooting perspective, but we are picking the team that currently has more losses in this one. | CBS
8:20 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Eagles (2-5) at Washington Commanders (1-4-1): Go good game! Two bad teams on national television, so make sure to root for an entertaining four quarters. | NBC
Monday
8:15 p.m. ET
Chicago Bears (5-2) at Seattle Seahawks (4-3): Go good game! Both teams have already played, and beaten, the Patriots. The winner does not matter. | ESPN
