<\/p>\n
The New England Patriots are heading into their season finale against the Buffalo Bills with nothing to gain in the standings, but possibly with plenty to lose in terms of offseason capital.<\/p>\n
At 3-13, the team of head coach Jerod Mayo currently holds the No. 1 pick in April\u2019s NFL Draft. For a team looking for upgrades across the board, that selection would be a valuable asset to either add much-needed blue-chip talent or accumulate further picks through a trade down the board.<\/p>\n
However, at least publicly, the Patriots will not have an eye on their draft pick come Sunday\u2019s game against Buffalo. Instead, as Mayo put it, he wants to see his team finish an underwhelming season on a high note.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy message to the guys was we want to finish off the season strong and try to build some momentum going into the offseason,\u201d he said during a press conference on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I\u2019m sure the question will come up, \u2018Do you want to see certain players?\u2019 Absolutely. I would say if players are healthy, they\u2019ll be ready to go. As far as how much they play, how much they don\u2019t, I\u2019ve never been a part of a team \u2014 as a player or as a coach \u2014 going into a game not wanting to win. It\u2019s not going to change today, so that\u2019s my message to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Patriots are entering Week 18 as one of four three-win teams. In addition, five other clubs currently have four victories under their belts. New England would not drop past all of them in case of a win over the Bills, but possibly slide all the way to No. 5.<\/p>\n
The difference between those selections is significant, even in a draft without top-tier quarterback talent or a sure-fire prospect to go No. 1 (like Caleb Williams last year). Per the Rich Hill draft value chart, the top selection is worth 1,000 points compared to just 468 for the fifth.<\/p>\n
Those calculations will not be on the team\u2019s mind once kickoff rolls around, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about finishing strong,\u201d said defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. \u201cBuffalo, no matter who they play, our job is to win. You can\u2019t ask professional athletes to go out there and not play hard, because that\u2019s how you end up getting hurt. Our job is to go out there and win the football game no matter who plays. That\u2019s the mindset we\u2019re going to approach on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tight end and team captain Hunter Henry shared a similar message from the podium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to attack this week just like any other week, and I think a lot of guys are excited for the opportunity ahead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Among those players is quarterback Drake Maye. The rookie, who is entering the final week of the regular season with 11 starts on his r\u00e9sum\u00e9, is likely to start game No. 12 on Sunday even though he popped up on the injury report with a hand ailment.<\/p>\n
Maye is preparing as if he would start the game, and also trying to end the year with a positive performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to get another chance to play an opponent we know,\u201d he said. \u201cWe played them here just recently. One last time with this team. This team, we\u2019ll never be together. Same team, same guys, same squad going out there one more time at home, so looking forward to getting another chance at these guys, looking forward to getting a chance to fight a good opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Patriots\u2019 personnel usage remains somewhat of a mystery as of Thursday morning, the Bills have been more transparent: they will only use quarterback Josh Allen sparingly to keep his consecutive starts streak alive, and mix starters and backups throughout the contest.<\/p>\n
Given the circumstances, New England doing the same would make sense. Whether or not that results in a victory will be seen, and something the rest of the NFL will keep a close eye on as well given what\u2019s on the line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Patriots are entering their season finale as owners of the No. 1 pick in the draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n