Patriots rooting guide and discussion for NFL Week 15

The New England Patriots were unable to close the deal on Sunday, losing to the Buffalo Bills at home and failing to lock up the AFC East. They will now have to wait at least until Week 17 and more realistically Week 18 before doing so.

On Monday night, they will get a chance to scout one of their upcoming opponents.

Monday

8:15 p.m. ET

Miami Dolphins (6-7) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6): Go Dolphins! Miami qualifying for the playoffs still seems unlikely, so this outcome would not move the needle too much. It would, however, hurt the Steelers’ chances of taking the AFC North and ending up in the tournament. New England stands to gain from that happening, given that they own one of Pittsburgh’s 2026 draft picks as a result of the Kyle Dugger trade. | ESPN

The following games have taken place earlier in the week:

Thursday

8:15 p.m. ET

Atlanta Falcons (4-9) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6): Go good game! The Patriots have had both teams on their schedule, yet this game has no significant impact on their playoff outlook. | ATL 29, TB 28

Sunday

1 p.m. ET

Cleveland Browns (3-10) at Chicago Bears (9-4): Go Browns! This has little to do with the Patriots’ outlook, but rather the NFL Draft. The Bears missing the playoffs, after all, would have a positive impact on the 2026 fourth-round draft pick that went from Chicago to Kansas City to New England. | CLV 3, CHI 31

Baltimore Ravens (6-7) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-9): Go Ravens! We are playing some 4D chess here, because the game itself has no impact on the Patriots’ playoff outlook. However, it could indirectly help the position of the sixth-round draft pick they received from Pittsburgh in the Kyle Dugger trade: Baltimore winning the AFC North over the Steelers would help in that regard. | BLT 24, CIN 0

Arizona Cardinals (3-10) at Houston Texans (8-5): Go Texans! There are two reasons to root for a Houston win here. It would help possibly keep Kansas City out of the postseason (more on that in a second), while also potentially having a negative impact on the Jets’ draft outlook. | ARZ 20, HST 40

New York Jets (3-10) at Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4): Go Jets! Frankly, the farther New York is away from the top picks in next year’s draft, the better. A win over the Jaguars would be a positive outcome in that regard, while also creating some extra wiggle room for New England near the top of the AFC. | NYJ 20, JAX 48

Los Angeles Chargers (9-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-7): Go Chargers! The Chiefs do not look like a particularly potent team this season, but better to be save than sorry: them not making the playoffs is the best-case outcome. That is particularly true given that the Patriots own one of their draft picks next year, a sixth-round selection stemming from the Joshua Uche trade. | LAC 16, KC 13

Washington Commanders (3-10) at New York Giants (2-11): Go Giants! If the aforementioned Jets fail to pull off the upset against Jaguars, which seems likely, a Giants win would ensure they stay behind both of those teams in the draft order. | WAS 29, NYG 21

Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) at Philadelphia Eagles (8-5): Go Eagles! Again, this is more about the top of the draft and a Patriots division rival not getting a clear path toward the top picks. | LV 0, PHI 31

4:25 p.m. ET

Green Bay Packers (9-3-1) at Denver Broncos (11-2): Go Packers! Now this is a game that could have a major impact on the AFC playoff picture. The Patriots need the Broncos to finish with a worse record if they want to earn the top seed in the conference, and this game present a potential opportunity for that to happen. | GB 26, DEN 34

Tennessee Titans (2-11) at San Francisco 49ers (9-4): Go Titans! Ideally for the Patriots, the 49ers end up outside of the playoff so that the sixth-rounder they acquired from the Keion White trade is better positioned. San Francisco is the current No. 6 seed in the NFC. | TEN 24, SF 37

Carolina Panthers (7-6) at New Orleans Saints (3-10): Go Panthers! If the Patriots want the 49ers and Bears to miss out on the playoffs in hopes of boosting their draft stock, a Carolina win would be helpful. | CAR 17, NO 20

Detroit Lions (8-5) at Los Angeles Rams (10-3): Go Lions! The same reasoning as above, with the current No. 8 seed needing to leap-frog Chicago and San Francisco in the standings to maximize the Patriots’ draft outlook. | DET 34, LA 41

Indianapolis Colts (8-5) at Seattle Seahawks (10-3): Go Seahawks! The Colts are no longer a realistic threat for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but best not to risk anything. | IND 16, SEA 18

8:20 p.m. ET

Minnesota Vikings (5-8) at Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1): Go Cowboys! Let’s throw Dallas into the “49ers and Bears missing the playoffs to help the Patriots’ draft stock” mix as well. | MIN 34, DAL 26

This article also serves as an open thread for this week’s games. Please head down to the comment section to discuss and share your thoughts on the games as they unfold.