PatsFans.com Menu
PatsFans.com - The Hub For New England Patriots Fans

New England Patriots > Patriots Blog

Thanks to Some Help From The Broncos, Patriots Take Over #2 Seed With 5 Games to Go

Ian Logue
Ian Logue on Twitter
November 26, 2018 at 9:26 am ET

Thanks to Some Help From The Broncos, Patriots Take Over #2 Seed With 5 Games to Go(PHOTO: Robert Deutsch - USA TODAY Sports)

🕑 Read Time: 2 minutes

While the Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t help the Patriots last week, the Denver Broncos provided New England a little assistance on Sunday as it pertains to their playoff hopes.

The Broncos took care of the Pittsburgh Steelers at home with a 24-17 win, which included a huge interception against Ben Roethlisberger in the end zone as the Steelers tried to tie the game in the closing minutes.

The loss dropped the Steelers to 7-3-1 on the season, giving the Patriots the #2 seed with five games to go after New England took care of business at MetLife Stadium against the Jets on Sunday with a 27-13 win.  That’s good news for the Patriots, who with that seed would have a first-round bye in the postseason.  That’s critical since in the event they’re able to maintain that spot over these final five weeks, it would provide them with another chance to potentially get healthy heading into the postseason and put them one step closer to reaching the Super Bowl.

New England will have an opportunity to knock the Steelers further down the ladder in three weeks when they travel to Pittsburgh on December 16th in what will be their final road game of the season.  It’s a huge opportunity, as it would also give the Patriots the edge in the event of a tie-breaker since they would have won the head-to-head match-up.

The Patriots would then play their final two games at home against the Bills and Jets respectively.

Meanwhile, if they’re able to win out, the top seed is still in play thanks to the Rams beating the Chiefs last Monday night.  The Chiefs were on a bye this week and still have three potentially difficult games left to go against the Ravens, Chargers and Seahawks.  They come out of their bye with a trip to Oakland to face the Raiders next weekend.

If the Chiefs were to drop one more and the Patriots are able to win their final five games, the team would then earn the top seed thanks to the fact they hold the tie-breaker from their win over Kansas City back in Week 6.  If Houston runs off five more wins, the Patriots would still hold the top spot thanks to their head-to-head win over the 7-3 Texans back in Week 1.  Houston will play at home against Tennessee tonight on Monday Night Football.

For now, the Patriots are at least in control of their future with December looming.  They’ll return home after Sunday’s win and start preparing for the Vikings next Sunday at Gillette Stadium.  It should be a tough match-up as Minnesota is coming off of a big win after beating Green Bay 24-17 on Sunday Night Football.

READ NEXT:
Five Things We Learned From the Patriots Win Over the Jets

About Ian Logue

Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.


Posted Under: Uncategorized

  • Comments are closed.

  • More Patriots News Headlines:

    Wednesday Patriots Notebook 3/27: News and Notes

    Wednesday Patriots Notebook 3/27: News and Notes

    By: Ian Logue
    New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said on Tuesday that 'we're going to be open to whatever can come our way,' heading into next month's…
    17 hours ago
    Tuesday Patriots Notebook 3/26: News and Notes

    Tuesday Patriots Notebook 3/26: News and Notes

    By: Ian Logue
    It's been interesting to hear the reactions following Jerod Mayo's press conference on Monday, and at the rate things are going, it's likely that he'll…
    2 days ago
    TRANSCRIPT: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft at the Owner’s Meetings 3/26

    TRANSCRIPT: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft at the Owner’s Meetings 3/26

    By: Ian Logue
    Here's the full transcript of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's meeting with the media on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
    2 days ago
    Monday Patriots Notebook 3/25: News and Notes

    Monday Patriots Notebook 3/25: News and Notes

    By: Ian Logue
    Head coach Jerod Mayo took some time on Monday to talk to the New England media, addressing a variety of topics as he attempted to…
    3 days ago
    TRANSCRIPT: Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo Coach’s Breakfast 3/25

    TRANSCRIPT: Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo Coach’s Breakfast 3/25

    By: Ian Logue
    Here's the full transcript from Jerod Mayo's AFC Coaching Breakfast for Monday, March 25, 2024.
    3 days ago

    Share via
    Copy link
    Powered by Social Snap
    Search For Links: - CLOSE
    For searches with multiple players
    add commas (Ex: "Bill Belichick, Devin McCourty")