Patriots Playoff Picture Continues to Sharpen as Week Eighteen Approaches
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Following a one-year hiatus the New England Patriots will make their return to the NFL playoffs.
The Pats officially qualified for the postseason by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 50-10 on Sunday, January 2 at Gillette Stadium. However, they needed a little help from an old friend. The Tennessee Titans, coached by former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, defeated the Miami Dolphins 34-3, thus securing New England’s spot among the AFC’s seven playoff teams.
While New England is once again postseason bound, exactly where they will land among the pool of playoff teams is still to be determined.
The aforementioned Dolphins were eliminated from postseason contention by virtue of the Los Angeles Chargers’ victory on Sunday over the Denver Broncos. As a result, the Pats will be the lone team playing for potential playoff positioning in Week Eighteen when the two teams meet in Miami Gardens.
The Patriots are still clinging to slim hopes of capturing the Division crown. Should the Pats be able to earn a victory over Miami on Sunday, the New York Jets would need to defeat the Buffalo Bills. In that scenario, New England would claim the AFC East title. The Bills, on the other hand, would win the division with a victory over the Jets, as they would finish the season with a better record in the AFC East than New England. As confirmed by NFL Communications, both Patriots-Dolphins and Bills-Jets have been flexed to a 4:25pm ET start time.
As a result, the 10-6 Patriots are likely to begin their playoff journey on Wild Card Weekend. With the Indianapolis Colts’ 23-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Patriots are currently seeded fifth in the AFC.
While finishing higher than fourth in the Conference is unlikely, a potential path to the top seed still exists for the Patriots. In addition to the Patriots defeating the Dolphins, and the Bills dropping their regular season finale to the Jets:
A: the Houston Texans would need to beat the Tennessee Titans, and
B: the Denver Broncos would need to beat the Kansas City Chiefs
Of course, it should be noted that both the Titans and Chiefs are currently heavy favorites in their respective matchups.
The Patriots will travel to Miami Gardens, Florida for their final regular-season game of 2021, as they prepare to take on the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, January 9, 2022, reportedly to now be held at 4:25pm ET.
