Despite tying the best record in football at 11-2 and currently owning the second seed in the AFC, the New England Patriots are not yet qualified for the NFL playoffs. That could change this weekend.
Going
up against the Buffalo Bills, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel is in a position to win its division and as a byproduct lock up a spot in the postseason tournament. Beating the Bills is the straight-forward path into the playoffs, of course, but there are others as well.
Let’s therefore take a look at this week’s clinching scenarios.
Patriots clinch AFC East division title with:
- Patriots win
Patriots clinch playoff berth with:
- Patriots win OR
- Patriots tie + Chargers loss OR
- Patriots tie + Texans loss or tie OR
- Patriots tie + Colts loss or tie OR
- Patriots tie + Jaguars loss OR
- Texans loss or tie + Colts loss or tie as long as both games don’t end in a tie
Considering how rare ties are in the NFL — only one of 208 games so far this season has ended without a winner (0.5%) — playoff clinching scenarios 2 through 5 are relatively unlikely. This means the Patriots are probably best prescribed to a “win and you’re in” mindset.
If they indeed do so, it would mark the first time since 2021 that they have made it into the postseason. Meanwhile, even a loss against the Bills would not be the end of the world: the Patriots would still be virtually guaranteed to make the playoffs, while also remaining a 76% favorite to eventually end up as AFC East champions.
Kickoff between the two division rivals is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 14.
