New England Patriots: What to root for in Week 17

1. The Jags/Texans game should be playing on secondary television sets all over New England this weekend.

The NFL wisely scheduled this game at the same time as New England/New York, so neither the Patriots nor the Texans could phone in their last game of the regular season, knowing the result of the other game already.

Clinching the No. 2 seed by default is nowhere near as impressive as winning it outright, but should the sky come crashing down at Gillette on Sunday and the Jets somehow find a way to upset the Patriots, New England would be doomed to play on Wild Card Weekend…

…unless, of course, the Texans lose as well.

Houston hosts division rival Jacksonville on Sunday, and on paper it’s quite the mismatch. Coach Bill O’Brien has his Texans playing as well as the Jaguars were this time last year, but JAX is never an easy out. That voracious defense is still there for the Jags – at least for one more week – and while the change at QB certainly isn’t a permanent solution, it’s easily justified given Blake Bortles’ overall incompetence.

The Patriots need to beat the Jets – not just to fend off Houston for a bye, but also because they’re the superior team. Keep in mind- New England has never made it to the Super Bowl after playing on Wild Card Weekend under Belichick. And quite frankly, a loss to New York would be more troubling than any of the Patriots’ other losses this season.

If it happens, though, New Englanders better have their fingers crossed that their foe from last year’s conference title game can find a way to triumph over the Texans… or else.