The New England Patriots are 3-0 in the AFC East now. After beating the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets earlier in the year, they have now also taken care of business against the Miami Dolphins. The reigning division champions celebrated a 24-19 victoryin the afternoon window on Sunday and have now won five straight against their rivals going back to last season.
What does this mean for the division and playoff standings, however? Let’s find out.
AFC East standings
- Buffalo Bills (6-1)
- New England Patriots (5-2)
- New York Jets (2-6)
- Miami Dolphins (1-6)
Playing in the early window of games on Sunday, the Bills
secured a 36-10 win over a Ravens team down to its third-string quarterback. Still, they all count the same in the standings, and at 6-1 Buffalo is looking very good in the race for the AFC East crown. The Patriots do hold the head-to-head advantage due to their Week 4 win, but are still trailing by 1.5 games.
What can be said with confidence, however, is that the division title will again be decided by those two teams. The Jets losing 38-33 to the Raiders to drop to 2-6 on the year is another sign that they might be headed for yet another rebuild, while the Dolphins couldn’t secure a victory over New England and are therefore still at the bottom of the standings.
AFC playoff standings
- Buffalo Bills (6-1)
- Denver Broncos (6-2)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
- New England Patriots (5-3)
On the bubble: 8. Cleveland Browns (5-3), 9. Las Vegas Raiders (4-4), 10. Baltimore Ravens (4-4), 11. Houston Texans (2-5)
Not yet eliminated, but let’s be real here: 12. New York Jets (2-6), 13. Indianapolis Colts (2-6), 14. Miami Dolphins (1-6), 15. Tennessee Titans (1-7), 16. Los Angeles Chargers (0-7)
The playoff picture in the AFC received a major shakeup this weekend, including the Patriots’ position within it. After dropping out of the. top seven seeds last week versus the Chicago Bears, they are now back in courtesy of their 5-1 conference record — a tiebreaker that gives them an advantage over the Browns.
The changes go beyond New England moving up a spot. The Bills are the new No. 1 seed due to their win over the Ravens and the Chiefs losing a thriller in Denver. Meanwhile, the Steelers are now atop the AFC North, with Cleveland falling from No. 3 to No. 8.
As the battle for playoff positions starts heating up, multiple teams are being left behind. The Jets, Colts, Dolphins, Titans and Chargers all look like they are done already. The Texans are also in danger of their season slipping through their grasps, but they are too talented overall to be counted out just yet.
