Patriots' Rooting Guide for 2024 NFL Draft Implications of Week 15

A great reset for the New England Patriots appears to be in the offing in 2024.

Dan Graziano of ESPN recently reported that Jerod Mayo taking over for Bill Belichick as head coach is the "most likely outcome". The dynasty has been over for a while, but a 3-10 record this late in the season has removed all doubt.

At this point, the Patriots have gotten to the point where each loss helps them move forward into the new era. For instance, their surprise win against the Steelers drastically altered their shot at the No. 1 pick, dropping to just a three percent chance that they'll get the No. 1 pick, per ESPN's projections.

Belichick is certainly not going to embrace tanking, especially when he might be on the way out. So the Patriots might be depending on other teams picking up some surprise wins too to make sure they stay in position to draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL draft.

Here are three results fans should be pulling for in Week 14 to help guarantee that.

Panthers over Falcons

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Bryce Young

Let's start with the most obvious. The Patriots aren't getting the first pick unless the Panthers win two out of their last four games while New England loses out.

It's a tall order with the Panthers winning just one game so far this season.

This week, the Panthers draw a division opponent that they haven't seen since Week 1. Even then the Falcons beat them 24-10 in a game that should have been a warning that the Panthers were in for a long season.

The good news is that it wasn't a harbinger of dominance for the Falcons. Atlanta is still in the playoff hunt by virtue of how bad the NFC South has been, but they haven't had a double-digit victory since the beginning of the season.

If there's hope that the Panthers can pull the upset and make the race for the top pick interesting it's that the Falcons are fairly beat up on the offensive and defensive line.

Grady Jarrett is already on injured reserve. Kentavius Street, Calais Campbell and David Onyemata have all been held out of practices this week. The Panthers have struggled to protect Bryce Young all year, but the Falcons hampered defensive line might not be able to replicate the pressure other teams are getting.

Perhaps that gives the rookie the opportunity to put in a good game in a winning effort.

Cardinals over 49ers

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Head coach Jonathan Gannon talking to Kyler Murray

Alright, hoping for this result might bring a new meaning to fantasy football, but Pats fans can still hope. The win over the Steelers puts the No. 2 pick in jeopardy because New England now has the same amount of wins as the Arizona Cardinals.

The good news is that the Cardinals have a lot to play for. Kyler Murray might be playing to convince the Cards to stick with him as the franchise quarterback and Jonathan Gannon has to prove he can lead the team as a first-year head coach.

The bad news is that this is the only game of the week with a double-digit spread. The Cards are playing the hottest team in the league in the Niners. Kyle Shanahan's team has ripped off five consecutive wins with each coming by multiple scores.

The Cardinals are coming off their bye week so they've had an extra week of rest and preparation to pull off a massive upset. It's also worth noting that two of their three wins this season have come in their last four games.

It's a longshot, but this Cardinals team is still fighting and could wind up messing around and winning another game.

Commanders over Rams

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Sam Howell

The Commanders are just one game better than the Pats going into the weekend. At 4-9, another win for Washington and a loss for the Patriots would put two games between them. The Giants are the other team in this category.

However, Washington is the more concerning team for the Commanders because of their quarterback situation.

Sam Howell is top five in passing yards this season. But that's the result of a negative game scripts and a pass-heavy offense. He's 22nd in total QBR and 21st in EPA per play. Both are better cumulative indicators of his play.

It's not bad enough to say the Commanders should definitely be looking at a quarterback in the draft. It also isn't good enough to say that they won't if the opportunity to draft one of the top two were to come up.

If the Giants are in that position, they have a lot of money committed to Daniel Jones and an emergent Tommy DeVito. It would be harder for them to get out of Jones' contract and ignore what DeVito has done.

So a Commanders win on Sunday would be good for the Patriots because it removes another potential quarterback-seeking team and could create a two-game gap.

Unforunately, this will be another tough one. The Commanders have allowed Sam Howell to get sacked 58 times this season and Aaron Donald is Aaron Donald. On offense, the Rams have been playing really well and gave the Ravens all they could handle in a 37-31 loss.