Patriots Can Be Eliminated From Playoff Contention Thursday Night

In just a few days, the 2023 Patriots season could become truly meaningless.

New England can be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss in Thursday night's road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, even if the 2-10 Patriots win, they still would be eliminated from the playoffs if any of the following teams pick up a victory:

Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Indianapolis Colts)
Houston Texans (at New York Jets)
Las Vegas Raiders (vs. Minnesota Vikings)
Buffalo Bills (at Kansas City Chiefs)

As bad as Bill Belichick's team is, don't be surprised if it somehow wins this game.

All signs point toward Bailey Zappe getting another start despite posting zero points in Sunday's home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He'll be opposed by Steelers backup Mitch Trubisky, who'll start in place of injured Kenny Pickett.

In a matchup between two horrible offenses and two great defenses, either team could win.

If New England indeed gets eliminated in Week 14, it would mark the earliest it's happened since the 2000 season, when the Patriots were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 13. The next earliest is the 2020 campaign when Cam Newton and the Patriots were eliminated after a Week 15 loss.

Of course, those were both 16-game seasons. You could argue this would be a new low for the Patriots, as 17-game campaigns can enable teams to stay in contention for longer.

With all that said, New England's 2023 season became meaningless long ago. The only thing that matters at this point is whether the franchise lands a top-three pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.