What happened in the AFC playoff picture during the Patriots bye week
The New England Patriots did not play this week as they were on their bye week, but there was plenty of action in the AFC that could have an impact on their playoff picture.
New England entered its bye week with a record of 11-2, sitting atop the AFC standings as the No. 1 seed. That changed while the Patriots enjoyed the week off.
Patriots battle for No. 1 seed
The Denver Broncos handled the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, 24-17, in a game that was bad news for the Patriots.
Because New England lost to the Raiders in Week 1, Denver now owns any tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed if the Patriots and Broncos end the season with the same record.
Denver has a difficult stretch to close out the season. The Broncos play the Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs and Chargers to end the year. In order to secure the top seed, the Patriots will now have to finish with a better record than Denver.
How can the Patriots clinch AFC East title?
Another game that did not go the Patriots' way involved the team's upcoming opponent.
During a snow-filled game, the Buffalo Bills fell behind the Cincinnati Bengals, but came back to earn a 39-34 win to keep pace in the AFC East.
As a result, the Bills head into Sunday's showdown with the Patriots at Gillette Stadium with a record of 9-4 on the season, sitting at second place in the division.
If New England defeats Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. The Bills have won the division every year since then.
If the Patriots lose, they still are in good position to earn the division title. New England would have to beat the Jets and Dolphins in their final two games of the season. If that were to happen, the Patriots would clinch the AFC East even if the Bills win out, because New England would hold the relevant tiebreaker of in-division record.
AFC playoff picture
Sunday night, the Houston Texans beat the Kansas City Chiefs to vault into the No. 7 spot in the standings and put the Chiefs on the outside looking in with a 6-7 record.
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens to take over first place in the AFC North for the time being. The loss sent the Ravens, who play the Patriots in Week 16, outside of the playoff picture with a record of 6-7.
The Indianapolis Colts lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a key AFC South game. In addition to dropping to eighth place and out of the playoffs currently, the Colts also lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles.
Despite a 1-6 start to the year, the Dolphins continue lurking on the playoff bubble. Miami has won four straight and five of six games, now sitting at 6-7. They would need to win out and get some help to make the playoffs.