The Patriots are building something. Two wins in three games under Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf doesn't scream dynasty, but it's progress—the kind that matters when you're trying to thread a needle in a brutal AFC East. This week brings Jacksonville to Foxborough for a 1 p.m. kickoff, and a win makes it 2-1. But here's what's actually important: whether the rest of the league cooperates with New England's long-term interests.
That's where the Packers come in. On Thursday night, Green Bay hosts Atlanta—a team that's still searching for an identity at 0-2. This isn't complicated: the Packers are on the Patriots' strength-of-schedule ladder. Every win Green Bay picks up makes New England's own future slate slightly easier to navigate. It's not flashy. It won't show up in the box score. But come playoff tiebreaker scenarios in January, that math matters. So yeah, root for the Packers. It's the smart play.
What's fascinating is that Vrabel's Patriots actually have the pieces to compete week-to-week. The defensive line rotation—with Dre'Mont Jones, Christian Barmore, and Milton Williams handling the interior—gives them versatility. The linebacker room is deep. The secondary has options with Marcus Jones and Christian Gonzalez holding down corners. These aren't Pro Bowl names necessarily, but they're functional, and functionality wins games when your offense doesn't need to be pretty.
The Jacksonville game itself is winnable, which is all you can ask for in September. But don't sleep on the bigger picture: every game this week isn't just about the Patriots. It's about building a schedule that works in their favor, and that starts with rooting smart, not just rooting hard. Green Bay needs to stay undefeated because Atlanta needs to stay winless. That's the math that matters right now.