It’s coming down to this for the Patriots with two weeks to play.
If the Patriots win out, or the Bills drop one of their final two games (vs. Eagles, 4:25 p.m.; vs. Jets, TBA), the Patriots wrap up the AFC East title. It could be over by about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, given the Patriots take on the hapless Jets and QB Brady Cook.
Being the No. 1 seed in the AFC and securing the lone playoff bye will go down to the final week, after the Broncos beat the Chiefs on Christmas. Denver’s final game is hosting the Chargers. All Week 18 games are TBA pending the Week 17 results.
The Chargers and Texans are playing right now, and that game will have a big say in what’s at stake, if anything, in the Chargers-Broncos matchup. A Chargers loss would mean the game doesn’t mean much for either side. A Chargers win makes Week 18 for the AFC West title, since LA is a game behind (beat Denver in Week 3).
UPDATE: The Chargers fell to the Texans, so Broncos-Chargers doesn’t mean much. I’d be willing to bet Justin Herbert sits out the finale, given how beat up he has been. Have to favor the Broncos heavily to hold onto the top seed at this point.
Regardless of the results as far as playoff seeding, the Patriots need to use these final two weeks to prioritize the team’s health over the possibility of getting the bye week.
And it seems like they already have with the injury situation this week, with seven heavy contributors ruled out (including Milton Williams not being activated).
The Patriots suffered their first significant injury — as far as the postseason is concerned — when Mack Hollins was placed on injured reserve on Saturday. That means he’ll miss, at least, the final two regular-season games and two postseason games. That’s a big blow. Hollins has played 68% of the offensive snaps this season, the most by a receiver on the roster. His length has been a big target of Drake Maye in recent weeks, and he’s a huge factor in the run game. He’s arguably the best blocking receiver or tight end on the roster. The Patriots don’t really have anyone like him on the roster, so Josh McDaniels is going to have to do some retrofitting of the offense in the final two weeks.
Hopefully, injured reserve isn’t needed for anyone else, but the Patriots need to follow the same cautious plan with other players — like Kayshon Boutte, Harold Landry, Robert Spillane, Khyiris Tonga, Jared Wilson, Will Campbell, TreVeyon Henderson and Williams — as the season wraps up.
The same thing we’ve been talking about since before the season started: because this is
