What’s at stake for Patriots in Week 17 – NBC Boston

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New England Patriots followers discovered themselves within the curious place of rooting for the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on Thursday evening. And Kansas Metropolis almost pulled off a Christmas miracle.

As an alternative, Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos eked out a 20-13 win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium to enhance to 13-3 with one recreation remaining on their schedule.

Denver now has sole possession of the AFC’s No. 1 seed, and even when the Patriots (12-3) beat the New York Jets on Sunday to maintain tempo, the Broncos personal the tiebreaker over New England (extra on that later) and would preserve the highest seed.

The Patriots nonetheless have a really practical path to the No. 1 seed, nonetheless, and nonetheless management their very own future within the AFC East. Let’s break down what’s at stake with Week 17 already off and operating.

Present AFC standings

Here is a have a look at the AFC standings and the remaining schedules of the groups nonetheless within the playoff hunt. Each crew not on this checklist has been eradicated from postseason competition.

Denver Broncos (13-3, AFC West chief)
New England Patriots (12-3, AFC East chief)
Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4, AFC South chief)
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6, AFC North chief)
Los Angeles Chargers (11-4, First wild card)
Buffalo Payments (11-4, Second wild card)
Houston Texans (10-5, Third wild card)
Indianapolis Colts (8-7)
Baltimore Ravens (7-8)

Race for the No. 1 seed

As talked about above, the Broncos currently own the tiebreaker over the Patriots due to their higher report in opposition to frequent opponents. (New England misplaced to the Raiders in Week 1, whereas Denver beat Las Vegas twice.)

So, if Mike Vrabel’s membership needs the No. 1 seed, BOTH of the next outcomes must occur:

The Patriots beat the Jets in Week 17 AND the Miami Dolphins in Week 18.
The Broncos lose to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18.

If the Patriots in some way lose to the Jets this Sunday, they will be out of the operating for the No. 1 seed. However a win would put the strain on Denver to beat a surging Chargers crew that is gained seven of its final eight video games and handed the Broncos one in every of their three losses earlier this season.

If Denver loses its season finale and the Patriots can beat the Jets and Dolphins, New England would end because the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the primary time since 2017 and safe a first-round bye within the playoffs.

It is also price noting that the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4) at present personal the tiebreaker over New England (higher in-conference report), that means they’d vault to the No. 2 seed in the event that they win their Week 17 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts and the Patriots lose to the Jets.

Race for the AFC East

The Patriots personal a one-game lead over the Buffalo Payments (11-4) coming into Week 17. Which suggests in the event that they win their ultimate two video games, they will be AFC East champions for the primary time since 2019.

New England can also clinch the division this weekend with:

A win over the Jets AND
A Payments loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (10-5).

That recreation is at 4:25 p.m. ET in Buffalo, so if the Patriots beat the Jets of their 1 p.m. ET matchup, followers ought to flip over to Payments-Eagles and root onerous for Philly.

If the Patriots lose to the Jets and Buffalo beats Philly, the Payments would regain first place within the AFC East thanks to a tiebreaker involving report vs. AFC opponents.

The Patriots shall be heavy favorites this Sunday in opposition to the 3-12 Jets, who’re beginning third-stringer Brady Prepare dinner at quarterback. However there’s truly a good quantity using on this recreation, so that they’ll must care for enterprise within the Meadowlands.

Present playoff matchups

If the season ended right this moment, the No. 2 seed Patriots would meet the No. 7 Houston Texans within the Wild Card spherical. That will be a scary matchup for New England in opposition to arguably the very best protection within the NFL.