A man popped by our offices to pick up T-shirt last week after a winning week recently. We chatted for a few minutes and he admitted he started picking against the Patriots for the first time in the near-two decades he’d been playing our weekly football picks contest.
But there was a reason why beyond the bad losses earlier in the season: he wanted the Patriots to lose … to get a better draft pick in 2024.
He admitted he still watches the game and roots against his pick, but since early November he and many others seem to be all-in in hopes the Patriots get the third or fourth overall draft pick.
I get it. The draft is more important than a win or two at the end of a losing season, right? Or is it? Most teams that show marked improvement in a season usually ended the season before in strong fashion.
I expect 80 percent-plus of the entries next week to pick the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo next Sunday. Week 18 when the Patriots host the Jets will be interesting.
As for Week 17, the two tiebreakers — Patriots point total and amount of correct picks — were key. All of the winners were within five points of the Patriots point total (26). And all had at least 10 winners (I had eight winners out of 15).
Week 16 winners
Wayne Heckman of Peabody
John Liss of Beverly
Tony Amenta Beverly
Neil Reardon of Newburyport
William George of Beverly
Joanne Joyce of Topsfield
Carole Gilardi of Gloucester
John Curley Jr. of Gloucester
Earl Richards of Amesbury
James Michael O’Neill of Beverly