Rooting for Baltimore or Buffalo next week?

[PatsFanSince74]

Buffalo.
The Pats control their own destiny in the Division. They don't when it comes to HFA. They have to rely on other teams and Buffalo is one of them.

As for HFA itself and the rest of the season in general, I think two things:

1) Sure. Yeah. I'd like to have HFA, but SFO showed that Baltimore is vulnerable at home and the Pats proved last year that they can win a tough game in January in a hostile environment when they beat the Mighty Mahomes. This year, it's Lamar Jackson..

2) Let's be honest with ourselves, with the schedule ahead of them, the Pats will have to focus first and foremost on winning the Division. Anyone who says it's a lock doesn't know what they are talking about.

 

[Sicilian]

Buffalo.
The Pats control their own destiny in the Division. They don't when it comes to HFA. They have to rely on other teams and Buffalo is one of them.

As for HFA itself and the rest of the season in general, I think two things:

1) Sure. Yeah. I'd like to have HFA, but SFO showed that Baltimore is vulnerable at home and the Pats proved last year that they can win a tough game in January in a hostile environment when they beat the Mighty Mahomes. This year, it's Lamar Jackson..

2) Let's be honest with ourselves, with the schedule ahead of them, the Pats will have to focus first and foremost on winning the Division. Anyone who says it's a lock doesn't know what they are talking about.

Did you mean to say Baltimore then? Because both of your points about HFA seem to indicate it's better for Buffalo to lose.

 

[dannydyn]

Rooting for Buffalo, that'a no brainer. Ravens lose, and we control our own destiny (assuming we beat the Chiefs), at which the division is a moot point.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Rooting for Buffalo, that'a no brainer. Ravens lose, and we control our own destiny (assuming we beat the Chiefs), at which the division is a moot point.

what if NE loses? then baltimore beating Buffalo doesn’t help. the order of priority is as follows:

1. Win division
2. Secure bye
3. HFA if possible

 

[upstater1]

I'd like to reiterate my earlier post: if the Patriots beat KC and Baltimore wins out, then it's very likely that KC is the team that Baltimore plays in the 2nd round.

The first seed this year gives an advantage to the home team, obviously, but the quality of the opponent will likely be tougher than the opponent for the 2nd seed.

So, HFA this year is a mixed bag.

 

[1960Pats]

Baltimore, anybody who thinks Buffalo cant win the division is kidding themselves.

If the Pats lose to KC then Baltimore would be just about out of our reach anyway with a win in Buffalo. I'd rather the Pats secure the lead over KC, Houston and the Bills for the #2 seed than see them fall all the way down to #5.

 

[1960Pats]

Yeah, silly question here. Why would you want to have to play Baltimore again in Baltimore? The only other road game the Ravens have is @CLE and they will sleep walk to a victory there. The Bills are a legit playoff team and have a stout defense. They are pretty much our last hope for HFA.

Even if the Bills win the Pats would have to win out to get the #1 seed. That won't be easy.

 

[Soliel]

I am hoping for a tie

 

[condon84]

 

[everlong]

100% rooting for the Bills. I cannot root for the Ravens or Steelers. If the Pats can't beat the Bills on their own coming up then it is what it is.

 

[dannydyn]

what if NE loses? then baltimore beating Buffalo doesn’t help. the order of priority is as follows:

1. Win division
2. Secure bye
3. HFA if possible

The way this offense has played this year, I would worry more about securing HFA.

 

[brdmaverick]

What are the 2 options I left out? A tie and a forfeit?

a tie and “Ray Lewis killed a guy”

 

[PP2]

Wrong stadium. That one is already in self-destruct mode.

 

[sambam94]

what if NE loses? then baltimore beating Buffalo doesn’t help. the order of priority is as follows:

1. Win division
2. Secure bye
3. HFA if possible

then pats need to beat Buff at home..If they can't do that then they don't deserve the division. The big picture is getting to the SB. Home field over Balt will go a long way to achieving that goal.

 

[sambam94]

I'd like to reiterate my earlier post: if the Patriots beat KC and Baltimore wins out, then it's very likely that KC is the team that Baltimore plays in the 2nd round.

The first seed this year gives an advantage to the home team, obviously, but the quality of the opponent will likely be tougher than the opponent for the 2nd seed.

So, HFA this year is a mixed bag.

are you assuming Hou beats out KC for #3 seed? Not sure who wins tie breaker if both Hou/KC finish at 11-5.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

then pats need to beat Buff at home..If they can't do that then they don't deserve the division. The big picture is getting to the SB. Home field over Balt will go a long way to achieving that goal.

HFA is important, but getting at least the 2 seed is more important. By winning the division, we are basically guaranteed a 2 seed. If we lose the division, we are a 5 seed and probably have to play Tennessee/Indy/Houston in their building.

 

[Hyped]

Baltimore.

We gotta take the division FIRST. I am expecting a loss to the Chiefs...snapping our 21 game home winning streak (has to happen sometime).

So, that puts the Bills at 9-4 and us at 10-3 going into Bills @ Foxboro in week 16 for the AFC East. I am confident we can win in Cincinnati...and close out Miami at home in week 17 to still grab the #2 seed and a BYE.

If Buffalo wins and we lose...we could be the #5 seed in the AFC! And likely have to:

Play @ Houston on wild card weekend.

Travel to Baltimore for divisional weekend (the #6 seed isn't beating the Chiefs in Arrowhead).

Travel back to Arrowhead for the conference title game or even @ New Era field!

The upside is that it would perfectly set up a revenge tour for all of our 3 losses this year!

 

[upstater1]

are you assuming Hou beats out KC for #3 seed? Not sure who wins tie breaker if both Hou/KC finish at 11-5.

Yes, Houston beat KC so they have the head-to-head. Looking at the schedule, a New England win over KC would give a very high probability to Houston getting the 3rd seed.

 

[Jimke]

We have to root for the Ravens. Securing the HFA is probably beyond reach.
The way our offense is playing, beating Buffalo at home is no easy feat. If the
Patriots are a wild card team, their chances to be in the Superbowl are close to
zero.

 

[Kdo5]

It’s insane that anyone is rooting for the Bills to win. This isn’t your typical Patriots season. The division is legitimately up for grabs if the Patriots stumble again against the Chiefs.

Focus on the division, worry about the playoffs when they come.