NFL Playoff Picture: Patriots No Longer Positioned For First-Round Bye

The NFL landscape can change in a hurry.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots entered their Week 12 game against the Denver Broncos in search of an undefeated regular season. Now, after a stunning 35-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots aren’t even in position for a first-round bye.

If the playoffs started today, the Patriots would host the New York Jets in the AFC wild-card round. The Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals would receive byes in the AFC.

The Patriots, like the Broncos and Bengals, have a 10-2 record. However, Cincinnati owns the No. 1 seed because of its superior record (8-1) in conference games. New England has a better record (7-1) against AFC opponents than Denver (6-2), but the Broncos have the inside track on the conference’s No. 2 seed by virtue of their head-to-head win over the Patriots.

Here’s how the rest of the NFL playoff picture looks, as of Sunday night.

AFC
First-round byes
1. Cincinnati Bengals (10-2)
2. Denver Broncos (10-2)

Wild-card round matchups (Jan.9-10)
No. 6 New York Jets (7-5) at No. 3 New England Patriots (10-2)
No. 5 Kansas City Chiefs (7-5) at No. 4 Indianapolis Colts (6-5)

Notes: The Broncos and Bengals square off in Week 16 in Denver, so that matchup could have serious implications as far as securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. … The Steelers entered Sunday night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts with a 6-5 record, but the Jets, who beat the Giants in overtime Sunday, hold the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh because of their better conference record. … The Houston Texans’ loss to the Buffalo Bills ensured there’d be no shakeup this week atop the AFC South.

NFC
First-round byes
1. Carolina Panthers (12-0)
2. Arizona Cardinals (10-2)

Wild-card round matchups (Jan. 9-10)
No. 6 Seattle Seahawks (7-5) at No. 3 Green Bay Packers (8-4)
No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (8-4) at No. 4 Washington Redskins (5-6)

Notes: The Redskins play Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys. If the Redskins lose, they’ll have the same record (5-7) as the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, with Washington holding the tiebreaker based on its conference record (it would be 5-4). The Eagles are 3-6 against NFC opponents, and the Giants are 4-5 in such games.

Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images