Obviously, the biggest thing that can help the Patriots improve their draft position in Week 12 is to lose to the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. At 2-8, losing to the Giants, who are 3-8, might be the single biggest thing New England could do to improve its status for the rest of the year.
But it’s not the only game that will impact where the Patriots stand.
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Here’s how Patriots fans should be rooting in some key games this weekend:
Tampa Bay (4-6) at Indianapolis (5-5) — This isn’t as cut and dried as it looks. Normally it’s simple: root for the team with the worst record. But strength of schedule (SOS) is an important tie-breaker when teams finish with the same record. The Patriots lost to Indy. Tampa, which has more winnable games on its schedule, is already two wins ahead of New England. It would be better for the Colts to keep dragging the Patriots’ SOS down. Root for: Buccaneers.
New Orleans (5-5) at Atlanta (4-6) — A Falcons win does two things. 1. It would keep Atlanta further away from the top of the draft board. 2. It weakens Patriots’ SOS by giving the Saints another loss. Root for: Falcons
Carolina (1-9) at Tennessee (3-7) — This game is interesting. What the Patriots will want to have happened down the road isn’t clear yet. If the Patriots beat the Giants, then they definitely would want Tennessee to win to make it less likely Tennessee lands a higher pick than them. If they lose to the Giants, they’d want Carolina to win to give New England a real shot at the No. 1 overall pick. Root for: Depends… Maybe a tie?
Los Angeles Rams (4-6) at Arizona (2-9) — This is kind of like the Carolina-Tennessee game, but not as hazy. An Arizona win is good even if the Patriots win and is tremendous if they lose. New England would like to see the Rams grab another couple of wins to keep them from moving into the top echelon of the draft, but not here. Root for: Cardinals.
Cleveland (7-3) at Denver (5-5) — Simply a game that impacts the Patriots’ strength of schedule as they play Denver. Root for: Browns
Buffalo (6-5) at Philadelphia (9-1) — Another SOS game. The Patriots play the Bills twice and the Eagles just once. Root for: Eagles
Monday: Chicago (3-8) at Minnesota (6-5) — The Patriots should be rooting for the Bears to win and monitoring them either way. If Chicago drafts a quarterback early, New England would be likely to kick the tires on Justin Fields. Root for: Bears
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