The New England Patriots could be postseason-bound by the end of Week 16.
Bill Belichick’s club can clinch either the AFC East title or a playoff spot with a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Gillette Stadium and some outside help.
The former is the more straightforward path. To lock down the top spot in the division and secure at least one home playoff game, the Patriots need to beat the Bills and have the Miami Dolphins either lose to or tie the New Orleans Saints.
If New England and Miami both win, the Patriots would be able to clinch the division by winning either of their final two games (vs. Jacksonville, at Miami) or having the Dolphins lose either of their final two.
Losing to Buffalo wouldn’t crush the Patriots’ AFC East title hopes, but they’d then need to win out and have the Bills lose at least one of their two easily winnable games against the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets.
The Dolphins, who have won six in a row after starting 1-7 also still could sneak in and finish atop the division. For that to happen, they’d need to win out — including a victory over New England in Week 18 — and have the Patriots and Bills both lose at least twice.
The Patriots also could secure a playoff spot by coupling a win over the Bills with losses by multiple other AFC postseason hopefuls. Here are New England’s possible playoff clinching scenarios, via NFL Communications:
1. Patriots win + Raiders loss or tie + Chargers loss OR
2. Patriots win + Colts loss or tie + Bengals loss OR
3. Patriots win + Colts loss or tie + Ravens loss + Steelers loss or tie OR
4. Patriots win + Colts loss or tie + Chargers loss OR
5. Patriots win + Ravens loss + Browns loss or tie + Steelers loss or tie
New England no longer controls its own destiny in the battle for first place in the AFC, but it would hop back into the driver’s seat with a win over Buffalo and a Kansas City Chiefs loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Chiefs, who currently lead the Patriots by one game in the conference standings, have been hammered by positive COVID cases this week, with tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill among the many Kansas City players to land on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The Patriots took the first game of their annual home-and-home with the Bills, winning 14-10 amid a Buffalo windstorm three weeks ago. They’re coming off a 27-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night that snapped a seven-game win streak.
