It’s the last game of the regular season for the New England Patriots, and they of course find themselves in familiar territory again — winning the AFC East division for the tenth year in a row.
Right now, the Pats are sitting in the number two spot for the AFC playoffs, and they need to win today to keep that spot or see the Texans and Ravens both lose. There is still a slight chance they could jump to the number one spot, but they will need some help from other teams today.
Related: Patriots focused on regular season finale
For New England to claim the top seed, the Pats have to first beat the Jets. today. Then they would need Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to lose to the Oakland Raiders at home. The Patriots would also need the Denver Broncos to beat Phillip Rivers and the LA Chargers at Mile High.
If that all happens, New England, LA and Kansas City would have 11-5 records. Due to NFL tiebreakers, the Chiefs would win the AFC West over the Chargers, forcing LA to play on wildcard weekend. Since the Pats beat the Chiefs earlier this season, New England would jump them for the number one spot.
The number one spot would guarantee the Pats a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Patriots are undefeated at home this year, but they have five losses on the road.
Of course, when you ask the Patriots about the playoffs, they are quick to focus on the task at hand – the New York Jets.
“That’s where my focus is,” said New England receiver Julian Edelman. “We got a tough team that’s coming in that plays tough, hard every year. They got a defense that gets after you on third down and try to rip your head off.”
Speaking of Edelman, he was hit with a hefty fine following three plays in last week’s win against the Bills.
Related: Julian Edelman reportedly fined more than $60,000 for three plays against Bills
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Edelman was fined a total of more than $63,000 for unnecessary roughness on three separate plays against Buffalo last Sunday.
Edelman started the season being suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. He lost out on four game checks there. So, in total this season, he’s lost more than a million dollars.