The New England Patriots are stumbling into their bye week, and — courtesy of their 35-10 loss to the Detroit Lions — have also stumbled out of the AFC playoff picture. At least for now, with most of Week 10 left to be played, the reigning conference champions have fallen to the eighth place in the conference standings.
Let’s take a closer look at where they stand after their early-Sunday contest.
AFC East standings
- Buffalo Bills (7-1)
- New England Patriots (5-5)
- New York Jets (2-7)
- Miami Dolphins (1-7)
The Patriots retain their second position in the AFC East, but their chances of keeping the division crown
are getting progressively slimmer. Sunday’s loss puts them at 5-5, and looking up to a 7-1 Bills squad that has been firing on all cylinders this season. Frankly, it would take a breakdown of monumental proportions for Buffalo to not win the division.
Even at .500, the Patriots enjoy a sizable cushion over the next two teams in the division. Obviously, the team’s ambitions go beyond comparing itself to the lowly Jets and Dolphins.
AFC playoff standings
- Buffalo Bills (7-1)
- Denver Broncos (7-2)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
- Cleveland Browns (5-4)
On the bubble: 8. New England Patriots (5-5), 9. Las Vegas Raiders (4-5), 10. Baltimore Ravens (4-5), 11. Houston Texans (3-5)
Not yet eliminated, but let’s be real here: 12. New York Jets (2-7), 13. Indianapolis Colts (2-7), 14. Miami Dolphins (1-7), 15. Tennessee Titans (1-7), 16. Los Angeles Chargers (0-8)
At least temporarily, the Patriots have fallen out of the AFC playoff picture with their loss to the Lions. The Browns, who would lose out on the conference and other tiebreakers in case they tied their record with the Patriots, moved past them due to their 5-4 record. Cleveland is playing Houston on Sunday.
