By the end of week six half of the AFC East inter-division games will have been played. The four AFCE teams will then embark on a rough slate of games outside the division until they finish off the final divisional games the last five weeks of the season.
From a Patriots perspective what’s the best and worst case scenarios?
The best case scenario would be if the Pats win and Jets lose, which would put the Pats at the top of the division.
- Patriots 3-1 (2-1 AFCE)
- Jets 2-2 (2-1 AFCE)
- Dolphins 2-2 (1-2 AFCE)
- Bills 1-3 (1-2 AFCE)
The worst case scenario would be a Patriots loss and a Jets win, leaving the standing to look like this:
- Jets 3-1 (3-0 AFCE)
- Dolphins 3-1 (2-1 AFCE)
- Patriots 2-2 (1-2 AFCE)
- Bills 0-4 (0-3 AFCE)
Then you have your middle of the road scenario: Pats win/Jets win…
- Jets 3-1 (3-0 AFCE)
- Patriots 3-1 (2-1 AFCE)
- Dolphins 2-2 (1-2 AFCE)
- Bills 0-4 (0-3 AFCE)
That last scenario might be what is most likely in my book (yes, I’m still one of the few people in the NFL world that think New England buttons it up this week).
No matter what the outcomes this weekend this is not a must win for anyone. All the AFC East teams have extremely difficult schedules this year. The only games left for the Patriots that they “should” win are the Browns, Bills and Lions. The other 10 games are toss ups and that goes the same for the Jets and Dolphins.
So yes the road to the playoffs goes through the division, but great starts can be easily blown by a stretch of a few bad games. The NFC and AFC North divisions will take more than a few games from the AFC East, so there’s no reason to panic even if the worst case scenario unfolds for the Pats this weekend.
Though that would certainly make for a horrible two weeks of Patriots bashing and Jets praising.
