The New England Patriots' bye week has come at the perfect time.
The Patriots, who fell to 2-8 with a lackluster 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, won't be in action in Week 11, but there are still plenty of games for football fans throughout New England to follow closely.
That's because many of the teams playing Sunday are close to the Patriots in the updated order for the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Patriots currently own the No. 3 pick, but that position could change quite a bit over the next seven weeks.
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10. Washington Commanders, 4-6
9. Atlanta Falcons, 4-6
8. Tennessee Titans, 3-6
7. Los Angeles Rams, 3-6
6. Green Bay Packers, 3-6
5. Chicago Bears, 3-7
4. Arizona Cardinals, 2-8
3. New England Patriots, 2-8
2. New York Giants, 2-8
1. Chicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers, 1-8)
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The Patriots have a 4.8 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick, per ESPN Analytics, which represents the fourth-best odds of any team. New England's projected draft position, according to ESPN's model, is No. 5 overall. The last time the Patriots had a top-five pick was 1994 when they took USC linebacker Willie McGinest at No. 4.
Here's a breakdown of the Week 11 games with draft order implications that Patriots fans should follow. If some or any of these teams win, it would be a huge help to New England.
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS
Current draft positions: Bears No. 5, Lions No. 30
The Bears helped out the Patriots by beating the Carolina Panthers in Week 10, putting Chicago one win above New England with a 3-7 record. Chicago hasn't won back-to-back games all season, and that trend is unlikely to end this weekend. The Lions are one of the NFC's top teams and lead the NFC North division with a 7-2 record.
However, the Bears have won seven of their last 10 matchups versus the Lions and are 4-1 in their last five games at Detroit, so Chicago shouldn't be lacking confidence entering Sunday's contest. Another X-factor is Bears quarterback Justin Fields, who is expected to return from injury this weekend, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
New York Giants at Washington Commanders
When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX
Current draft positions: Giants No. 2, Commanders No. 10
The Giants are one of three two-win teams, along with the Patriots and Arizona Cardinals. New York is coming off a horrendous 49-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week. The Giants offense, which is being led by third-string quarterback Tommy Devito, has scored more than 14 points only once in the last six games. In fact, the Giants are the lowest-scoring team in the league at 11.8 points per game. A Giants victory would be massive for the Patriots' chances of securing a top three pick.
Even though the Commanders are, at best, an average team, it's still unlikely the Giants will be able to outscore a resurgent Washington offense that is playing very well with Sam Howell at quarterback. The Commanders defense is pretty bad, though, especially after they dealt their two-best pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat before the trade deadline. So it's possible the Giants could pull this one out, but Patriots fans shouldn't get their hopes up.
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Arizona Cardinals at Houston Texans
When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX
Current draft positions: Cardinals No. 4, Texans No. 20
The Cardinals' victory in Week 10 over the Falcons was massive for the Patriots. It allowed New England to jump above Arizona in the draft order. The Cardinals were boosted offensively by the return of quarterback Kyler Murray, who missed nearly 12 months with a torn ACL. Murray performed well and helped the Cardinals outscore the Falcons 13-9 in the second half en route to a 25-23 victory.
The Cardinals have a difficult remaining schedule, and even though the Texans are playing quite well at the moment, Arizona could make this a pretty competitive matchup. The Texans are not a good home team. They are 4-15-1 in their last 20 games at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS
Current draft positions: Titans No. 8, Jaguars No. 28
The Titans have just one more win than the Patriots at 3-7.
The Jaguars lead the AFC South with a 6-3 record, but they had their five-game win streak snapped in Week 10 with a horrible 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at home. Jacksonville is a playoff-caliber team, but it's also very capable of giving lackluster performances. Last week was one example, and another was the Jaguars' 37-17 loss to the Texans at home in Week 3. In fact, all three of their losses in 2023 have come at TIAA Bank Field.
Division games are normally competitive, and even though the Titans are a clear underdog in this matchup, they should be plenty confident Sunday given their 9-3 record versus the Jaguars over the last 12 meetings.
Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers
When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX
Current draft positions: Cowboys No. 22, Bears (via Panthers) No. 1
This game is pretty lopsided on paper. The Panthers are the league's only one-win team, and the Cowboys are 6-3 with the second-highest scoring offense at 29.9 points per game. Dallas is a double-digit favorite at several sportsbooks.
However, the Cowboys are fully capable of playing down to their competition. They were massive favorites on the road in Week 3 versus the Cardinals and got outplayed in a 28-16 loss. The Cowboys also barely escaped with a 20-17 win against a lackluster Chargers squad in Week 6, so while a loss to Carolina is pretty unlikely, stranger things have happened.
Chicago owns the rights to Carolina's first-round pick, so it will be rooting for a Panthers loss.
Los Angeles Chargers at Green Bay Packers
When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX
Current draft positions: Chargers No. 14, Packers No. 6
Remember when the Packers were 2-1 and Jordan Love looked like the next really good quarterback in Green Bay? Well, the Packers have lost five of their last six games and could be in the running for a top-five pick. The Chargers have played well below expectations, too, with a defense that got shredded by the Lions in a 41-38 loss last week.
The Chargers are scoring 6.7 points more per game than the Packers this season, so if L.A.'s defense can just manage to hold its own, that should be enough for Justin Herbert to lead his team to a much-needed win.
If the Packers win, that would be one less three-win team slotted behind the Patriots in the top 10 of the first-round draft order. And given how poorly the Chargers defense has played this season, it wouldn't be shocking if Love and the Packers offense scored more than 20 points for the first time since Week 2.