Joe Milton doesn’t have time for your tank marathon talk. The New England Patriots’ Week 18 quarterback showed off his game and skills against Buffalo and cost his team the top pick in this year’s draft as a result. Tennessee stepped in, so to speak, and claimed the prize for itself.
Fortunately for New England, losing the top pick in the 2025 draft isn’t as devastating as it could be for other teams; The Patriots are set at quarterback for the foreseeable future with Drake Maye. But still, it would have been nice for New England to have that draft capital to go around.
However, that is neither Milton’s problem nor his responsibility. The rookie from Tennessee scored twice early against the Bills, once on a one-yard scramble and once on a magnificent 48-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte. Combined, the touchdowns put New England up 14-7 for second place in the AFC. The Pats would win 23-16.
New England came into the week tied with three other worthless franchises (Cleveland, Tennessee and the New York Giants) at 3-13 on the season. That meant Week 18 would be the ugliest horse race in the world, with Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, Cam Ward or some other high-value pick prize awaiting the loser.
Cleveland took an early “lead” by losing to Baltimore 35-10 on Saturday. That left the other three teams playing to keep pace or keep face, whichever they prefer. NFL schedule makers wisely scheduled the last three remaining feeders at the same time, meaning the race for the No. 1 pick was one of the defining stories of the early window of NFL games.
The Titans and Giants folded early, losing multiple possessions to the Texans and Eagles, respectively. New York managed to get within a touchdown at 20-13, and Tennessee couldn’t stay that close. The Titans “won” the battle 3-14 thanks to their schedule and will have the top pick in the 2025 NFL draft in April. Cleveland will pick second and New York third. New England finishes the season at 4-13 and will choose based on how other teams fare with four wins in Week 18.
Yahoo Sports projected Cam Ward to go to the Giants at first overall in our most recent mock draft leading up to Week 18; Those results are obviously subject to change.
It’s worth noting that “tanking” may be best for fans or the franchise, but it sure isn’t something players and coaches want on their resumes. There are contracts and future job opportunities at stake. So you can’t blame teams for playing hard when “there’s nothing to play for”; They are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. Maybe it’s too late in the season for it to matter, but still.