💥 BREAKING NEWS: Patriots have a clear path to clinching a playoff berth in Week 16 if they hit a few critical marks ⚡. DH
The season is still far from over for the New England Patriots. Though their 21-0 lead quickly evaporated against the Buffalo Bills, snapping their 10-game winning stretch, the Patriots are still well-positioned to make a run to the postseason.
A second half barrage from Buffalo led to a meltdown on both sides of the football for the Patriots. The 35-31 final score was just the icing on the cake for what was a sloppy ending for New England still looking for its first AFC East division title since 2019.
“We weren’t able to get any stops,” head coach Mike Vrabel said postgame. “When we had an opportunity to make a play, we weren’t able to make it. Penalties. And that’s how this game goes.
A few small plays make the difference. We were very prepared for this team to — we were going to need 60 minutes to beat this team.
This is a good football team. We had a lot of good football in there. And we had a lot of plays that, a few plays we’d like to have back that we’ll have to learn from.”
Heading into Week 16, the Patriots still have different pathways to clinch a spot in the 2025 NFL Playoffs. Here’s a look at each one, and how their seeding odds can improve with each result.
Patriots Beat Ravens
The most straightforward result on this list. Should the Patriots head down to Baltimore and beat the Ravens — who are coming off of a 24-0 win over the Cincinnati Bengals — they’ll officially be in the postseason for the first time since 2021.
Opening the week, the 7-7 Ravens are currently favored to win that game by 2.5 points. The Patriots, albeit 11-3, are going to have to be ready to go against a Baltimore team that essentially needs to win out to clinch a playoff spot in their own right.
According to The Athletic’s Playoff Predictor, should the Patriots come out of Week 16 with a win, they’ll have a 60% chance to host a wild card game, and improve from 10% to 20% to earn the AFC’s top spot. They’ll need help, as the Denver Broncos currently hold a one-game lead (and the tiebreaker) for the No. 1 seed.
Raiders Beat Texans
Now we get to the outcomes where, even if the Patriots lose, they can still sneak in.
The 2-12 Raiders have had an awful season, but should they knock off the Houston Texans, the Patriots will be officially in the postseason.
The more AFC teams that are fighting for a wild card berth lose, the better odds the Patriots would had to clinch, should they lose the division race to the Bills.
49ers Beat Colts
Just like the Texans, another AFC South team is gunning for a spot in the playoffs. It’s looking like the Jaguars are going to win the division, so it comes down to potentially either Houston or Indianapolis for the final spot. Regardless of who loses, New England will be in the postseason.
