Patriots playoff picture: What Week 16 vs. Ravens means for AFC standings

The New England Patriots stood on the edge of dropping a second straight game, but they managed to erase an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Baltimore Ravens with a final score of 28-24. The win does not just allow them to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2021, but also has a wider impact on their standing in the AFC East and the AFC as a whole.

With that said, let’s find out what the victory means for Mike Vrabel’s team.

AFC East standings

1. New England Patriots (12-3)
2. Buffalo Bills (11-4)
3. Miami Dolphins (6-9)
4. New York Jets (3-12)

The Patriots entered Week 16 with a one-game lead over the Bills, who beat them 35-31 last Sunday. Buffalo actually struck first on Sunday, beating the Cleveland Browns 23-20 in the early window of games to celebrate their 11th win of the season.

For New England to keep an advantage over its rivals, the goal was clear: beat the Ravens. With that box checked, the Patriots are now up to 12 wins and another challenge closer to winning the division for the first time since 2019. In order to do so, they will need to finish no worse than the Bills over the last two weeks of the season considering that Buffalo would own the conference record tiebreaker in case of the two ending up with identical records.

AFC playoff standings

1. Denver Broncos (12-3)
2. New England Patriots (12-3)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-4)
6. Buffalo Bills (11-4)
7. Houston Texans (10-5)

On the bubble: 8. Indianapolis Colts (8-6)*, 9. Baltimore Ravens (7-8)

Eliminated: 10. Kansas City Chiefs (6-9), 10. Miami Dolphins (6-9), 12. Cincinnati Bengals (5-10), 13. New York Jets (3-12). 14. Tennessee Titans (3-12), 15. Cleveland Browns (3-12), 16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-13)

The No. 1 seed in the AFC is back on the menu, at least for now. With the Broncos losing their Week 16 game to the Jacksonville Jaguars — the latter being one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now — they and the Patriots are now tied at 12-3. Denver still has the advantage over New England because of common games, but they still have the Chiefs and, more importantly, Chargers on their schedule.

For the Patriots, meanwhile, everything but the No. 4 seed or missing out on the postseason entirely is left on the table. At the very least, they will have some winnable games on their schedule going up against the Jets on the road and the Dolphins at home.