Joe Milton III doesn’t have time for your tankathon talk. The New England Patriots’ Week 18 quarterback showed off his game and skills against the Buffalo Bills, and in the process cost his team the top pick in this year’s draft.
The Tennessee Titans stepped in – so to speak – and took home the prize.
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. Still, it would have been nice for New England to have that recruiting capital.
This is neither Milton’s problem nor his responsibility. The Tennessee rookie scored twice early against the Bills, once on a 1-yard scramble and once on a beautiful 48-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte. Together, the touchdowns put New England up 14-7 over the AFC’s second seed. The Pats (4-13) would win 23-16.
New England entered the week tied with three other futile franchises – Cleveland, Tennessee and the New York Giants – at 3-13 on the season. This meant that Week 18 would be the ugliest horse race in the world, with Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, Cam Ward or another high-value draft prize awaiting the loser.
Cleveland took an early lead, losing to Baltimore 35-10 on Saturday. That left the other three teams playing to keep pace or save face, whichever you prefer. NFL schedulers wisely scheduled the final three remaining players at the same time, meaning the race for the No. 1 pick was one of the defining storylines of the first window of NFL games.
The Titans and Giants pulled away early, losing several 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 the strength of their schedule and will have the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in April. Cleveland will pick second, New York third. New England finishes the season 4-13 and will pick based on the results of several other four-win teams in Week 18.
Yahoo Sports projected Cam Ward to go to the Giants at No. 1 overall in our final mock draft before Week 18; these results are obviously subject to change.
It’s worth pointing out that “tanking” may be in the best interest of the fans or the franchise, but it’s certainly not something players and coaches want to see on their resumes. Contracts and future employment opportunities are at stake. So teams can’t be blamed for playing hard when “there’s nothing to play for”; they do exactly what they’re supposed to do. Maybe a little too late in the season to matter, but still.
