have already done their job in Week 14, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) on the road on Thursday Night Football. Naturally, all of our attention in this compressed week was on that game, which ended 21-18 in New England’s favor.
For everything else that happened, here are our weekly Sunday Patriots Notes.
1. A ‘prideful’ Patriots team still has something to play for this season: Thanks to their win over the Steelers, the Patriots remain mathematically alive for a spot in the playoff tournament. Realistically, however, they will not make it in: at 3-10, their odds of qualifying are virtually non-existent, and they might already get eliminated as soon as Sunday’s slate of games.