New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots have done something they’ve never done before outside of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era by winning nine straight games.
Their Week 12 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals was costly though, as they suffered numerous injuries along the offensive line.
At 10-2 entering Week 13, the Patriots have all but locked up a playoff berth, but if the inexplainable occurred and they dropped their final five games of the regular season, could they still miss the postseason?
MassLive’s Matt Vautour explored that (unlikely) possibility on Monday morning.
“The Patriots may have already done enough to make the playoffs. That’s right, it’s possible that they could lose their remaining five games and would likely still make the postseason,” Vautour wrote. “After three straight losing seasons, the worst New England can finish is 10-7, and that’s been good enough for a playoff berth in all but one instance since the NFL went to 17 games in 2021.”
The only NFL team in the last four seasons to miss the playoffs after a 10-win campaign was last year’s Seattle Seahawks.
Vautour argued that New England “should feel optimistic, but not confident already.”
If the Patriots defeat the New York Giants next week on “Monday Night Football” though, “they’re all but locked,” according to the columnist.
New England gets its bye week after Monday’s home contest vs. Big Blue, which will be a good time to get healthy ahead of the stretch run.
