After Week 17, New England Patriots fans found themselves with an unusual amount of excitement and hope for a team that's currently sitting with a record of 3-13.
That hope and excitement came by way of the New York Giants' victory over the Indianapolis Colts, thus giving the Patriots sole possession of the no. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. All the Patriots have to do is lose to the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, and that pick is all theirs.
Just for the sake of context, let's look at the updated 2025 NFL Draft order real quick before continuing.
1. New England Patriots (3-13)
2. Tennessee Titans (3-13)
3. Cleveland Browns (3-13)
4. New York Giants (3-13)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12)
6. New York Jets (4-12)
7. Carolina Panthers (4-12)
8. Las Vegas Raiders (4-12)
9. Chicago Bears (4-12)
10. New Orleans Saints (5-11)
Now, losing to a division rival is never fun. But, for the sake of landing the first overall pick? That's well-worth the sacrifice while knowing there is nothing left to play for this season.
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If the Patriots did land that pick, they'd have to end up trading it to the highest bidder. There's a good chance that no. 1 pick ends up being a quarterback, which the Patriots do not have a need for now that Drake Maye is their guy.
Again, all that has to happen is a Week 18 loss to Buffalo. It sounds so simple, right?
Sean McDermott won't allow Josh Allen to play much in Week 18, which could impact the Patriots' draft hopes
As the two teams prepare for the final regular season game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged the fact that Buffalo does not have much motivation to play their starters in this one. With the Bills having locked up the no. 2 seed in the AFC, risking injury seems silly at this point.
McDermott specifically addressed his quarterback, Josh Allen.
"Josh Allen will be out there for a very, very short-lived amount of time on Sunday," the head coach said.
Do not forget, this Patriots team came awfully close to beating the Bills, with a full game of Josh Allen, just a couple of weeks ago when they lost by a score of 24-21.
Now, the Patriots will face a good amount of Mitchell Trubisky instead of Allen. If the Patriots play like they did agains the Chargers last week, then they have nothing to worry about. However, if they come out motivated in the last game of the season and play like they did two weeks ago against this Buffalo team, you never know what could happen.
With Jerod Mayo's job security somewhat up in the air, too, you have to believe there will be a motivation to win this football game. It's shaping up to be a very interesting Week 18 matchup within this division with much at stake.