Patriots’ win helps Cardinals and Commanders move into top three

In his 24 seasons with the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick doesn’t have a losing record against any team in the NFL. The New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks both have .500 records against The Hoodie, but no team can say that they’ve got the upper hand.

Well, the Denver Broncos, who were 10-10 heading into their Sunday night game against Belichick’s Patriots, attempted to give him his lone blemish in that regard. Denver needed to win to keep its playoff hopes in good standing. And New England, who needs a new quarterback next season, went into the game owning the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Belichick said No. 2 pick be damned; if this is his final season leading the Patriots, it’ll be on his terms. And while those terms yielded arguably New England’s best performance of the season and a win, it also might prove critical to the Patriots’ chances of drafting one of this draft’s two top quarterback prospects.

New England dropped to No. 4 in the draft order, and helped the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders each move up a spot to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. And both those teams face a top NFC in Week 17, with the Cardinals visiting the Philadelphia Eagles and the Commanders hosting San Francisco 49ers.

Bill Belichick’s Patriots beat the Broncos in Week 16, and might have played grinch to New England’s chances at drafting Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

With the 49ers’ loss on Sunday, it’s open the door for the Eagles to overtake them as the top seed in the conference. All that means is that these bottom-dwelling teams will likely get the very best version of both teams late in the year.

Lone top-10 matchup features Falcons visiting Bears

Unlike Week 16, when spectators were treated to a handful of games between teams in the top 10 of the draft order, this week only offers one such contest. The Atlanta Falcons, who still find themselves trailing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South title race, head to…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-26 16:48:38

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