Hello and welcome to an abbreviated but still impassioned version of The Patriots Fan’s Rooting Guide.
It’s Week 16, which happens to fall smack dab on Christmas. Add in the excitement of playoff chases, the uncertainty that comes with the latest round of COVID-19 outbreaks (pigs in a blanket > pigskin in a pandemic), and we have one of the wildest and most unpredictable ends of season in recent memory.
Hey, all you can do is play the team on the schedule, no matter who you or they happen to have healthy.
Suffice to say most Patriots fans would find their Christmas wish list is filled with a present delivered a day late, a win against the Buffalo Bills. That would all but lock up the AFC East for the Pats, with a Jan. 2 date with the Jaguars at Gillette the formality. A loss at home to Buffalo would basically give the division to the Bills and make the Patriots' playoff scenarios a tad murkier. Let’s hope for the former, focusing all energies on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Foxborough. For those interested in the grand postseason scheme, let us peek at a few other rooting interests this week which could enable the Pats to still pursue the highly coveted No. 1 seed and first-round bye.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (8-6) at TENNESSEE TITANS (9-5) - Thurs, Dec. 23, 8:20 p.m.
Remember how much fun it was to root for Jimmy Garoppolo a few years back? Maybe some of you are like Coach Belichick and still do, or at least keep tabs on him. Well, Jimmy GQB and Co. are on a roll of late, their next stop Nashville to take on the Titans, who will have both stud receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones in the same lineup for the first time in just short of forever. A win for the Niners would all but knock the Titans from any consideration of the conference's top spot. So let’s pour some nog, have a Throwback Thursday, pretend it’s 2016 and temporarily tape GAROPPOLO over the JONES on the back of your Patriots No. 10 jerseys. GO NINERS!
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-6) at ARIZONA CARDINALS (10-4) - Dec. 25, 8:15 p.m.
This has less to do with the top spot in the conference than it does the Colts catching fire off their win over the Pats, going on a run, finishing with the same record as New England, potentially sending the Patriots back to Indy (head-to-head goes to Colts) for a Super Wild Card Weekend rematch. Hard pass, no thanks, check please. A well-timed Colts defeat at the hands of Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsberry would make for a perfect Christmas nightcap. GO CARDS!
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (7-6-1) at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (10-4) - Sun. Dec. 26, 4:25 p.m.
The AFC’s top seeded Kansas City Chiefs are currently dealing with a COVID outbreak that has top weapons Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill on the reserve/COVID 19 list. The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently dealing with being severely mediocre on offense. However, their defense has played well of late, same for the Chiefs. The Steelers did knock off the Ravens a few weeks back, then the Titans last Sunday. Perhaps third time’s the charm in KC? Strangers things have happened. And weird as this reds coming from a Pats Nation, GO STEELERS!
MIAMI DOLPHINS (7-7) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (7-7) - Mon. Dec. 27, 8:15 p.m.
The Dolphins have won six straight, bringing their record up to .500, turning heads around the conference and raising some brows locally as to what that final game of the season in Miami will look like. No cakewalk as some may have imagined but a few weeks back. The Saints have also notched a few wins in a row, including a shutout of Tom Brady in Tampa last Sunday night. However, Santa delivered news that New Orleans QB Taysom Hill is on the COVID list and rookie Ian Book from Notre Dame will start Monday night. Might be a Christmas feast for Dolphins coach Brian Flores and his defense. Still, no Pats fan wants to see the end of year game in Miami Gardens matter much more than for seeding, not a “win to get in scenario," thus we say GEAUX SAINTS!