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And just like that it’s November. In football terms, this means the real season is about to start. For the New England Patriots, it starts with a game against the Green Bay Packers at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
There are 14 other contests on the menu this weekend, however, so let’s find out who to root for in the non-Patriots games.
Thursday
8:15 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2) at Baltimore Ravens (4-4): Go Ravens! Baltimore is down to its third-string quarterback, and even he is banged up. It would take a lot for them to win, but that’s precisely what we are rooting for on Thursday night. | Prime Video
Sunday
9:30 a.m. ET
Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) at Atlanta Falcons (3-5): Go Falcons! It’s your classic AFC-vs.-NFC matchups that naturally has us rooting for the NFC side. | NFL Network
1 p.m. ET
Denver Broncos (6-2) at Carolina Panthers (3-4): Go Panthers! Same reason as above. We are picking the NFC team over the AFC team. | CBS
Dallas Cowboys (3-5) at Indianapolis Colts (2-6): Go Cowboys! The Colts’ season is spiritually over already, and they are headed into a major rebuilding process. Still, as long as there is a theoretical chance they could go on a run, it’s better to be save than sorry. | FOX
New York Jets (2-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2): Go Jets! The Patriots have a major advantage over their division rivals already, both in total standings and head-to-head, so rooting for them over the Chiefs makes the most sense with the playoff picture in mind. | CBS
Detroit Lions (5-2) at Miami Dolphins (1-6): Go Lions! The Patriots’ Week 10 opponent visiting their Week 8 opponent has us rooting for the NFC team. We are not quite yet in “let’s mess up their draft position territory” yet, but we will be getting there soon one would imagine. | CBS
Cleveland Browns (5-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-5): Go Saints! Another clear-as-day pick that has us go with the NFC team over the AFC team. | CBS
New York Giants (4-2-1) at Philadelphia Eagles (2-6): Go good game! This matters not from a Patriots point of view. | FOX
Los Angeles Rams (4-4) at Washington Commanders (2-4-1): Go good game! This game also has no direct impact on New England. | FOX
4:05 p.m. ET
Houston Texans (2-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (0-7): Go Chargers! There are two reasons to be rooting for the Chargers’ first win of the season: to keep the Texans at two wins and to help New England’s sixth-round draft pick that was acquired in the Marte Mapu trade. A win-win. | CBS
4:25 p.m. ET
Arizona Cardinals (3-5) at Seattle Seahawks (4-4): Go Seahawks! This pick comes down to the Patriots’ strength of schedule tiebreaker. | FOX
Las Vegas Raiders (4-4) at San Francisco 49ers (6-1): Go 49ers! While this would hurt said tiebreaker, we are rooting for the NFC over the AFC team here. | FOX
8:20 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) at Chicago Bears (6-2): Go Bears! Once again we are back at strength of schedule. | NBC
Monday
8:15 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at Buffalo Bills (6-1): Go Vikings! In a week of many easy picks, this might be the easiest. If the Patriots want to defend their AFC East crown, they need the Bills to lose some non-head-to-head games. This looks like a potential candidate, despite the Vikings’ high probability of being a paper tiger at the end of the day. | ESPN/ABC
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/patriots-rooting-guide-nfl-week-010006830.html
