Patriots fan rooting guide for NFL Week 12: Monday edition

It may not have been pretty, but the New England Patriots were able to keep their win streak alive against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Thanks to their 26-20 win, they are now 10-2 and the current No. 1 seed in the AFC.

The other 13 games played this weekend also are worth keeping an eye on, though. So, here is who you should be rooting for in the non-Patriots matchups between on Thursday, Sunday and Monday.

Monday

Carolina Panthers (6-5) at San Francisco 49ers (7-4): Go Panthers! Once again, strength of victory is the deciding factor in our rooting interest for this game. The Patriots beat Carolina in Week 4, while the other top AFC teams — the Broncos and Colts — do not have the team on their respective schedules. | ESPN

The following games have been played earlier in the week:

Thursday

Buffalo Bills (7-3) at Houston Texans (5-5): Go Texans! The Patriots have a 1.5-game advantage over the Bills in the AFC East, but a Buffalo loss on Thursday night would give them more wiggle room in the race for the division crown. | BUF 19, HST 23

Sunday

New York Jets (2-8) at Baltimore Ravens (5-5): Go Jets! Both teams are on the Patriots’ schedule, but a Jets win is still the preferred outcome. Not only would it allow New England to keep a distance to an AFC playoff challenger, it also would be a safe play in regards to the strength of victory tiebreaker — Who knows what will happen against Baltimore in Week 16? — and further remove New York from the competition for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. | NYJ 10, BLT 23

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) at Chicago Bears (7-3): Go Bears! The classic AFC vs. NFC matchup, with a Chicago win giving New England more breathing room in the competition for the top seeds in the conference. | PIT 28, CHI 31

New York Giants (2-9) at Detroit Lions (6-4): Go Giants! This is all about the potential strength of victory tiebreaker: the Patriots will play the Giants in Week 13. | NYJ 27, DET 34 (OT)

Minnesota Vikings (4-6) at Green Bay Packers (6-3-1): Go good game! The impact this game has on the Patriots’ playoff outlook is rather limited, unless you care deeply about the Chargers’ or Ravens’ strength of victory (in that case, the Packers would be the team to root for). | MIN 6, GB 23

Indianapolis Colts (8-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-5): Go Chiefs! As much fun as it would be to see Kansas City drop below .500 and further away from playoff contention — which in turn could have a positive effect on two Patriots draft picks in 2026 — this pick is with AFC playoff seeding in mind. A Colts loss would be good news for New England’s quest to finish as the top seed in the conference. | IND 20, KC 23 (OT)

Seattle Seahawks (7-3) at Tennessee Titans (1-9): Go Titans! Tennessee lost to all the current top teams in the AFC, but the Patriots would still benefit from them upsetting the Seahawks and thus improving New England’s strength of victory. If push comes to shove, after all, that would be the fifth tiebreaker between the Patriots and Bills for the division title. | SEA 30, TEN 24

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) at Arizona Cardinals (3-7): Go Cardinals! Better to be save than sorry, which is why the NFC team gets our vote here. | JAX 27, ARZ 24 (OT)

Cleveland Browns (2-8) at Las Vegas Raiders (2-8): Go Browns! Three words: strength of victory. With neither the Colts nor Broncos having the Browns on the schedule, a Cleveland win would help New England in that regard. | CLV 24, LV 10

Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) at Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1): Go good game! It really does not matter too much from a Patriots perspective who wins this particular all-NFC East battle. | PHI 21, DAL 24

Atlanta Falcons (3-7) at New Orleans Saints (2-8): Go Falcons! Both teams lost to the Patriots, but only one of them lost to the Bills. With that and the strength of victory tiebreaker in mind, let’s root for an Atlanta team that beat Buffalo 24-14 in Week 6. | ATL 24, NO 10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) at Los Angeles Rams (8-2): Go Bucs! With neither the Broncos nor Colts on the Buccaneers’ schedule, a win by the visitors on Sunday night would help the Patriots via the strength of victory and schedule tiebreakers. | TB 7, LA 34

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