Ah, a Sunday to relax. Sure, deal with those leaves that won’t go away. Too late for apple picking, so you’ve got a choice: Either plop on the couch and watch games you really don’t care about (unless there’s a wager or fantasy league involved) or fight the lines at the grocery store for those Thanksgiving ingredients.

But your mind is free. There is no anger, no covering your eyes. The New England Patriots aren’t playing today.

And, considering how the season has gone, that’s a good thing.

Enjoy it while it lasts. That’s because starting tomorrow the Patriots are back at work, the rumor mill looking at next season continuing as it certainly looks like the coach and the quarterback will be different.

Of course, all the Bill Belichick rumors certainly put the rest of the season into a really tough mindset. What do the players think when they hear the rumors spouted by all these silly would-be experts like Dan Orlovsky saying they’ve heard Belichick has next year’s destination picked out? How to they know who or whom to impress when thinking about their situations for 2024?

Or the feeling that it’s so much better to lose so the team gets a better draft pick?

This is what happens when you lose badly in the NFL. Two years ago the Patriots were looking like their old selves, in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, with a rookie QB named Mac Jones showing he could deliver the goods with a little help.

But then the Patriots went to Buffalo for a Wild Card playoff game and got blown away, unable to stop the Bills on every possession.

And they’ve been a mess ever since. For how much longer? That’s going to be hard to ponder.

Not much pondering with this weekend’s picks:

BILLS 24, JETS 10

Buffalo comes back in a big way. Really, no matter who is calling the plays, there is absolutely no reason a quarterback like Josh Allen shouldn’t be two TDs better than an offense QB’d by Zach Wilson. Unless he does what Allen has done all season – throw it to the other team. If he doesn’t, Bills win big.

DOLPHINS 30, RAIDERS 13

The baloon pops for the new-look, Antonio Pierce-coached Raiders, because they’re finally playing a team that has an offense. Miami may be coming off a bye but is certainly a different team at home, and the Dolphins will show it today.

STEELERS 17, BROWNS 10

Ahhh, the Browns season evaporated with one bad MRI, right? With their defense, they’ll be competitive, and games in this division are intense all the time. But the Steeles somehow, some way are on their way to a better 2023.

SEAHAWKS 27, RAMS 17

L.A.is in free fall, having lost three straight and coming out of a bye. The Seahawks are always a gamble, but they escaped the Commanders last week and Geno Smith is simply an enigma. Who knew?

NINERS 40, BUCS 13

Can we stop all the panic in San Francisco? They have a good football team there. Now, it may not be quite as good as Philadelphia or even Detroit, but Brock Purdy & Co. won’t have any trouble at all putting away the Bucs, who are what we thought they were – slightly below mediocre.

EAGLES 24, CHIEFS 20

Philly is the best team in the NFL. The Chiefs have struggled on offense simply because they’ve become too one-dimensional: Mahomes to Kelce. The Eagles will look more and more like a returning Super Bowl team after this one, a big road win.

VIKINGS 24, BRONCOS 23

The Josh Dobbs magic continues a Mile High.Denver has managed to recover from its abysmal start (70 points allowed vs. Dolphins, remember?) and even Russell Wilson is playing slightly better than average. But in Dobbs we trust.

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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