How does the FSN NFL rooting guide work?

FSN measures how each other game in the current week changes a team’s simulated playoff, division, No. 1 seed and Super Bowl outcomes, then ranks the results that help most.

Why is my team’s own game not included?

Winning your own game is already the most direct way to improve your position. The rooting guide focuses on the other games fans should care about.

Do NFL rooting interests change every week?

Yes. Rooting interests rebuild with the FSN season forecast as standings, tiebreak paths and game probabilities change. Weekly snapshots preserve the pre-week picture.

2026 NFL · WEEK 2 · FSN-ROOT-1.0

NFL Week 2 Rooting Guide: Who Should Every Team Root For?

Pick your team for Week 2. FSN ranks every other unplayed game by how much each result helps your playoff path—using the same 5,000 full-season simulations behind the Playoff Predictor.

Playoff Control Center →Playoff Predictor →Game Simulator →

PICK YOUR TEAM

Who should you root for in Week 2?

Team

WEEK 2 ROOTING INTERESTS

Cincinnati Bengals fans: here’s who to root for

Your own game is excluded. Winning that one is still the best possible rooting strategy.

Current playoff odds50.7%12 meaningful outside-game impacts

High impact Sun 4:05 PM ET

JAXJacksonville Jaguars @ DENDenver Broncos

ROOT FOR Jacksonville Jaguars over Denver Broncos

+3.5 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Jacksonville Jaguars wins52.0%Playoff odds

If Denver Broncos wins48.5%Playoff odds

Playoffs52.0%vs48.5%

Division16.4%vs15.9%

#1 seed3.0%vs2.7%

Reach SB1.8%vs2.0%

Win SB0.6%vs0.7%

High impact Sun 1:00 PM ET

CARCarolina Panthers @ ATLAtlanta Falcons

ROOT FOR Carolina Panthers over Atlanta Falcons

+2.5 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Carolina Panthers wins51.8%Playoff odds

If Atlanta Falcons wins49.3%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.8%vs49.3%

Division16.5%vs15.9%

#1 seed2.9%vs2.8%

Reach SB2.0%vs1.7%

Win SB0.6%vs0.7%

High impact Sun 1:00 PM ET

NONew Orleans Saints @ BALBaltimore Ravens

ROOT FOR New Orleans Saints over Baltimore Ravens

+3.4 pts Division odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If New Orleans Saints wins18.7%Division odds

If Baltimore Ravens wins15.3%Division odds

Playoffs49.0%vs51.3%

Division18.7%vs15.3%

#1 seed2.8%vs2.9%

Reach SB2.0%vs1.8%

Win SB0.8%vs0.6%

Meaningful impact small model edge Sun 8:20 PM ET

INDIndianapolis Colts @ KCKansas City Chiefs

ROOT FOR Indianapolis Colts over Kansas City Chiefs

+1.8 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Indianapolis Colts wins51.9%Playoff odds

If Kansas City Chiefs wins50.0%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.9%vs50.0%

Division17.2%vs15.7%

#1 seed3.8%vs2.3%

Reach SB2.4%vs1.6%

Win SB0.9%vs0.5%

Meaningful impact small model edge Sun 1:00 PM ET

MINMinnesota Vikings @ CHIChicago Bears

ROOT FOR Chicago Bears over Minnesota Vikings

+1.8 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Chicago Bears wins51.3%Playoff odds

If Minnesota Vikings wins49.6%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.3%vs49.6%

Division16.7%vs15.3%

#1 seed2.9%vs2.7%

Reach SB2.0%vs1.6%

Win SB0.7%vs0.5%

Meaningful impact Sun 4:05 PM ET

LVLas Vegas Raiders @ LACLos Angeles Chargers

ROOT FOR Las Vegas Raiders over Los Angeles Chargers

+2.0 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Las Vegas Raiders wins52.0%Playoff odds

If Los Angeles Chargers wins49.9%Playoff odds

Playoffs52.0%vs49.9%

Division16.8%vs15.9%

#1 seed3.1%vs2.7%

Reach SB1.9%vs1.9%

Win SB0.9%vs0.5%

Meaningful impact small model edge Sun 1:00 PM ET

PHIPhiladelphia Eagles @ TENTennessee Titans

ROOT FOR Philadelphia Eagles over Tennessee Titans

+1.7 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Philadelphia Eagles wins51.3%Playoff odds

If Tennessee Titans wins49.5%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.3%vs49.5%

Division16.7%vs15.2%

#1 seed3.1%vs2.5%

Reach SB1.7%vs2.2%

Win SB0.6%vs0.9%

Meaningful impact small model edge Sun 4:25 PM ET

SEASeattle Seahawks @ ARIArizona Cardinals

ROOT FOR Arizona Cardinals over Seattle Seahawks

+1.2 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Arizona Cardinals wins51.5%Playoff odds

If Seattle Seahawks wins50.3%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.5%vs50.3%

Division16.3%vs16.2%

#1 seed2.8%vs2.9%

Reach SB2.0%vs1.8%

Win SB0.9%vs0.5%

Meaningful impact small model edge Sun 1:00 PM ET

CLECleveland Browns @ TBTampa Bay Buccaneers

ROOT FOR Cleveland Browns over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

+1.6 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Cleveland Browns wins51.7%Playoff odds

If Tampa Bay Buccaneers wins50.2%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.7%vs50.2%

Division15.8%vs16.4%

#1 seed3.2%vs2.7%

Reach SB2.0%vs1.8%

Win SB0.8%vs0.6%

Meaningful impact small model edge Thu 8:15 PM ET

DETDetroit Lions @ BUFBuffalo Bills

ROOT FOR Detroit Lions over Buffalo Bills

+1.4 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Detroit Lions wins51.6%Playoff odds

If Buffalo Bills wins50.2%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.6%vs50.2%

Division15.8%vs16.5%

#1 seed3.3%vs2.6%

Reach SB2.4%vs1.5%

Win SB0.9%vs0.6%

Meaningful impact small model edge Mon 8:15 PM ET

NYGNew York Giants @ LARLos Angeles Rams

ROOT FOR New York Giants over Los Angeles Rams

+1.1 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If New York Giants wins51.4%Playoff odds

If Los Angeles Rams wins50.3%Playoff odds

Playoffs51.4%vs50.3%

Division15.9%vs16.4%

#1 seed2.8%vs2.9%

Reach SB1.7%vs1.9%

Win SB0.6%vs0.7%

Meaningful impact small model edge Sun 1:00 PM ET

PITPittsburgh Steelers @ NENew England Patriots

ROOT FOR New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers

+1.1 pts Division odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If New England Patriots wins16.6%Division odds

If Pittsburgh Steelers wins15.5%Division odds

Playoffs50.7%vs50.8%

Division16.6%vs15.5%

#1 seed2.8%vs3.0%

Reach SB1.9%vs1.7%

Win SB0.7%vs0.7%

Small edge small model edge Sun 4:25 PM ET

MIAMiami Dolphins @ SFSan Francisco 49ers

ROOT FOR San Francisco 49ers over Miami Dolphins

+1.0 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If San Francisco 49ers wins50.9%Playoff odds

If Miami Dolphins wins49.9%Playoff odds

Playoffs50.9%vs49.9%

Division16.1%vs16.6%

#1 seed3.0%vs2.4%

Reach SB1.9%vs1.7%

Win SB0.7%vs0.6%

Small edge small model edge Sun 4:25 PM ET

WASWashington Commanders @ DALDallas Cowboys

ROOT FOR Dallas Cowboys over Washington Commanders

+0.9 pts Division odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If Dallas Cowboys wins16.6%Division odds

If Washington Commanders wins15.7%Division odds

Playoffs50.6%vs50.8%

Division16.6%vs15.7%

#1 seed3.0%vs2.7%

Reach SB1.7%vs2.1%

Win SB0.5%vs0.9%

Minimal impact small model edge Sun 1:00 PM ET

GBGreen Bay Packers @ NYJNew York Jets

ROOT FOR New York Jets over Green Bay Packers

+0.3 pts Playoff odds for Cincinnati Bengals in the preferred-result branch

See the simulation impact

If New York Jets wins50.9%Playoff odds

If Green Bay Packers wins50.6%Playoff odds

Playoffs50.9%vs50.6%

Division16.3%vs16.2%

#1 seed2.5%vs3.2%

Reach SB1.6%vs2.0%

Win SB0.7%vs0.6%

ALL 32 TEAMS

Top rooting interest at a glance

This server-rendered table gives every fan base’s strongest current outside-game rooting interest. Use the picker above for the full slate.

TeamRoot forAgainstImpact

WEEKLY ARCHIVE

Rooting guides change as the playoff picture changes

Saved weekly checkpoints let fans revisit what helped their team at that point in the season.

Week 1 →Week 2 →Week 3 →Week 4 →Week 5 →Week 6 →

WHY THIS IS DIFFERENT

It measures the impact instead of guessing at rooting interests

For each unplayed Week 2 game, FSN looks at the season simulations where the away team won and the simulations where the home team won. Then it compares what happened to every other team’s playoff path.

The ranking gives playoff qualification the most weight for bubble teams. For strong contenders, division and No. 1 seed leverage becomes more important. Super Bowl paths remain a smaller secondary signal so the guide does not tell a 5–8 team to root for an exotic championship path instead of the result that actually helps it reach January.

Because these are Monte Carlo estimates, very small differences can move from refresh to refresh. FSN explicitly labels those as small or minimal rather than pretending a tenth of a percentage point is destiny.

FAQ

NFL rooting interests, explained

Why isn’t my team’s own game listed?

Because winning your own game is already the strongest direct way to improve your position. This tool answers the harder question: what should you want to happen everywhere else?

Does “+4.7 points” mean the result guarantees my playoff odds rise by exactly 4.7 points?

No. It is the difference between two conditional Monte Carlo branches in the current forecast. It is a useful estimate of leverage, not a guaranteed future update.

Will the rooting guide update after games are played?

Yes. The live guide follows the current unplayed slate. Weekly archive pages preserve the checkpoint from that week so later results do not rewrite what fans were supposed to root for beforehand.