New England Patriots playoff scenarios: Week 15
By Josh Hill
The New England Patriots can clinch the No. 1 seed in the AC playoffs this weekend, but just how can they accomplish that?
We have just a handful of weeks left in the NFL regular season, and the New England Patriots are looking to shore up a first-round bye and make sure the road to Super Bowl 50 goes through the upper northeast. New England clinching home field advantage in the playoffs is still something that can get screwed up, but clinching a first-round bye is something that is very attainable this week.
New England clinches a first-round bye with:
1) NE win + DEN loss OR
2) NE win + CIN loss + DEN tie
The Patriots have already punched their playoff ticket, so there’s no need to worry about that if you’re in New England. They’re the AFC East champions for yet another year running and are in a perfect position to lock up that first-round bye either this week or next week.
Of course, that’s not a foregone conclusion for the Patriots. The team still needs to win out to control their own destiny and need help from other AFC teams if they end up failing between now and the end of the season to win out. That being said, the Patriots have once again seemingly lucked into a first-round bye and will almost surely lock up home field advantage in the coming weeks.