Sing a Song of Sixth Place: Patriots Playoff Picture Following Their Week Sixteen Loss to Bills
Heading into Week Sixteen of the 2021 NFL Season, the New England Patriots had the chance to put themselves into prime position to secure the AFC East division title and greatly improve their standing for AFC Playoff seeding.
Unfortunately for New England, on a day in which they needed to establish themselves as the alpha on both sides of the ball, it would be their opponents, the Buffalo Bills, who would emerge as the division leader.
As a result of their 33-21 loss to the Bills in Week Sixteen, the Patriots fell behind Buffalo in the race for the AFC East title, and now sit as the sixth seed in the AFC postseason positioning. Per FiveThirtyEight, the Patriots have a 96 percent chance of making the postseason and an 11 percent chance of winning the Division.
With the team no longer controlling its own fate, New England still has pressing business to which they must attend. “It’s our own fault,” Pats team captain David Andrews said following Sunday’s game. “There is no one to blame except for us. That is what it is, can’t change it now, got to get back to work tomorrow.”
Here is a look at where the Pats stand in their pursuit of the postseason, as of Sunday, December 26.
Division Title Hopes: Not Good
With their win on Sunday, the Bills now control their own fate in their pursuit of the postseason. A victory over the Falcons would all but secure Buffalo its second straight AFC East title.
The Patriots, in turn, will host theJacksonville Jaguars next Sunday before closing the regular season with a trip to Miami to take on the Dolphins. In order to retain their slim hopes of capturing the division title, the Pats must win both games. However, Buffalo winning both of their final games (against the Falcons and the New York Jets in the regular season finale) would still be enough for the team to stay ahead of New England. Though both clubs would finish with an 11-6 record, Buffalo would hold the tiebreaker with a better division record.
Still, it should be noted that the Pats are not exactly a lock for the second spot in the Division, either. The Dolphins have won six straight, with games against the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans in back-to-back weeks before hosting New England. Therefore, the Week Eighteen season finale might decide the runner up in the AFC East, as well as each team’s playoff fate.
AFC Playoff Positioning: ‘Sing a Song Of Sixth Place’
As previously stated, New England’s loss to the Buffalo Bills dropped the Patriots to the sixth spot in AFC playoff seeding. Despite the Pats’ holding a 9-6 record, along with the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, both teams possess a higher seed as their respective division leaders. The Indianapolis Colts own the head-to-head tiebreaker for the first seed, by virtue of their victory over the Patriots in Week Fifteen.
Still, New England is clearly better positioned among the rest of the contenders. The Patriots’ 7-3 conference record is still tied for the best in the AFC. The Baltimore Ravens are 5-6 in AFC matchups; the Los Angeles Chargers are 5-5 and; the Las Vegas Raiders are 6-4.
As a result, New England appears headed for the wild card round, at the very least. To do so, however, they must return to their winning ways, starting with their Week Seventeen matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, January 2, 2022 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
