How Dolphins, Ravens Losses Impact Patriots’ Playoff Picture

The Buffalo Bills inched closer to clinching an AFC East crown Saturday night, but in the process, they also improved the New England Patriots playoff picture.

The Bills earned a 32-29 win in the final seconds over the Dolphins at a snowy Highmark Stadium, which puts Miami in New England’s sights.

The Dolphins, who fell to 8-6 and are in sixth place in the AFC playoff race, have suffered three straight defeats and are now even in the loss column with the currently seventh-seeded Patriots. If the Patriots can get a win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday — a big if considering the way New England has played — and somehow get by the Cincinnati Bengals next week, it would set up a monumental showdown with the Dolphins on New Year’s Day at Gillette Stadium.

Miami, who currently holds the head-to-head tie-breaker over New England by beating it in the season opener, doesn’t have the easiest stretch to close out the season by facing the Patriots, Green Bay Packers and New York Jets, but two of those games will come at their friendly home confines.

Another way the Bills’ win helped out the Patriots is if Buffalo can wrap up the division and the No. 1 seed in the AFC by Week 17, it might elect to rest some starters in the regular-season finale against New England.

The Dolphins weren’t the only AFC team to lend a helping hand to the Patriots on Saturday. The Ravens fell to the Cleveland Browns,13-3, to drop to 9-5 on the season.

Lamar Jackson is still out with an injury as it now seems the AFC North belongs to the Bengals. Baltimore’s offense has struggled mightily in its last three games, averaging just 9.7 points per game and if the Ravens keep slipping without Jackson in the lineup, it’s possible the Patriots could even catch them. Of course, it doesn’t help the Patriots that they don’t own the head-to-head tiebreaker in this situation, either.

But all of these scenarios will be moot if the Patriots don’t first take care of business against the Raiders.