The New England Patriots are back in familiar territory, even though it has been a while since they actually found themselves there: after almost four years, they have returned to the top of their division.
Sitting at 4-2 after a 25-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel saw the Buffalo Bills suffer a 24-14 defeat in Atlanta on Monday night. With both clubs now owning identical records, the Patriots get the tiebreaker thanks to the head-to-head advantage they have over the Bills stemming from a win in Week 5.
This means that the AFC East is now running through New England for the first time since Week 15 of the 2021 season. Back then, the combination of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Mac Jones had the team at 9-5 and making a serious push for a playoff spot. The Patriots eventually fell short of winning the AFC East that year, but they did qualify for the tournament for the last time so far.
With all that said, let’s take a look at the playoff picture six weeks into the current NFL season.
AFC playoff picture after Week 6
- Indianapolis Colts (5-1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1)
- Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)
- New England Patriots (4-2)
- Buffalo Bills (4-2)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
- Denver Broncos (4-2)
On the bubble: 8. Kansas City Chiefs (3-3), 9. Houston Texans (2-3), 10. Cincinnati Bengals (2-4), 11. Las Vegas Raiders (2-4), 12. Baltimore Ravens (1-5),
Not technically eliminated but let’s be real here: 13. Miami Dolphins (1-5), 14. Cleveland Browns (1-5), 15. Tennessee Titans (1-5), 16. New York Jets (0-6)
Coming out of Week 6, there remains a clear divide between the haves and the have-nots in the AFC. On top you have seven teams with either one or two losses, followed by a 3-3 Chiefs that is already making a serious push for a playoff spot. Behind them, the Texans look like a potential competitor, too, while the rest of the conference is in a state between disappointment and desolation.
Just look at it from this perspective: whereas the NFC has just a single team with one win or less, the AFC has five of them including a 1-5 Titans squad that just fired its head coach and the 0-6 Jets perpetually stuck in quarterback purgatory.
The NFC playoff picture, meanwhile, looks as follows
NFC playoff picture after Week 6
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1)
- Green Bay Packers (3-1-1)
- San Francisco 49ers (4-2)
- Philadelphia Eagles (4-2)
- Seattle Seahawks (4-2)
- Detroit Lions (4-2)
- Los Angeles Rams (4-2)
On the bubble: 8. Atlanta Falcons (3-2), 9. Minnesota Vikings (3-2), 10. Chicago Bears (3-2), 11. Carolina Panthers (3-3), 12. Washington Commanders (3-3), 13. Dallas Cowboys (2-3-1), 14. Arizona Cardinals (2-4), 15. New York Giants (2-4), 16. New Orleans Saints (1-5)
As noted above, the NFC overall is a lot more competitive than its counterpart. Not only does it have only one one-win team, there are 12 clubs — compared to eight in the AFC — at .500 or better. Among them are two of the Patriots’ upcoming opponents, the 3-2 Falcons (Week 9) and the 5-1 Buccaneers (Week 10).
