Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots entered their bye week as the top seed in the AFC. They return to work on Monday in second position.
What happened? The Denver Broncos, who had already enjoyed their own bye, celebrated a 24-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. As a result, they have now drawn even with the 11-2 Patriots while holding the edge in the tiebreak department: Denver has a better record in common games and, at the moment, a superior conference record.
With the first of those tiebreakers no longer subject to change, the Patriots have only one way to finish ahead of the Broncos in the standings. They need to win at least one more game over the final four weeks of the season, meaning that they need some help to secure the top seed and associated playoff bye in the AFC.
All in all, the playoff picture in the AFC looks as follows:
On the bubble: 8. Indianapolis Colts (8-5), 9. Baltimore Ravens (6-7), 10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-7), 11. Miami Dolphins (6-7)
Not technically eliminated but let’s be real here: 12. Cincinnati Bengals (4-9)
*Eliminated: *13. New York Jets (3-10), 14. Cleveland Browns (3-10)**, 15. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11), 16. Tennessee Titans (2-11)
The Patriots dropping to No. 2 in the standings is not the only change compared to last week. The Steelers moved back into the AFC North lead by beating the Ravens and overtaking them again. Meanwhile, the former AFC frontrunner Colts dropped out of the playoff picture entirely and will be without starting quarterback Daniel Jones the rest of the way.
In their place, another AFC South team is now in the frame. The Texans beat the Chiefs 20-10 on Sunday night to celebrate a fifth straight victory and further plunging the three-time reigning AFC winners into the depths of the postseason race. While not eliminated yet, Kansas City will need to win out and get some help in order to qualify for the tournament.
The AFC playoff picture might see some more change on Monday night, with the Chargers taking on the Philadelphia Eagles in prime time.
