{"id":40767,"date":"2025-12-29T01:19:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T01:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40767"},"modified":"2025-12-29T01:19:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T01:19:30","slug":"breaking-patriots-win-afc-east-what-they-need-to-earn-the-no-1-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40767","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: Patriots win AFC East \u2014 What they need to earn the No. 1 seed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<nav aria-label=\"articleLabel\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\">\n<article id=\"arc-77P6KGSOGNH57CUYZ7ZHUHFNOE\" data-type=\"article\">\n<div>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/6R6ZRR6BVJFHBJDTWQMC7PRMKQ.jpg?auth=4e77bfa83ad35d8a2dc949711b554bcefe2743a2d6ce1213b1a93fae5e687c5e&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, (max-width: 800px) 80vw, 60vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/6R6ZRR6BVJFHBJDTWQMC7PRMKQ.jpg?auth=4e77bfa83ad35d8a2dc949711b554bcefe2743a2d6ce1213b1a93fae5e687c5e&amp;width=500&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 500w, https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/6R6ZRR6BVJFHBJDTWQMC7PRMKQ.jpg?auth=4e77bfa83ad35d8a2dc949711b554bcefe2743a2d6ce1213b1a93fae5e687c5e&amp;width=800&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 800w, https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/resizer\/v2\/6R6ZRR6BVJFHBJDTWQMC7PRMKQ.jpg?auth=4e77bfa83ad35d8a2dc949711b554bcefe2743a2d6ce1213b1a93fae5e687c5e&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 1280w\" alt=\"Patriots win AFC East \u2014 What they need to earn the No. 1 seed\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) runs against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo\/Adam Hunger)AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"6TOKCMBH6NF4LHNLOPXRIIIKJU\">It didn\u2019t happen on the field, but the Patriots finally got to crack into those boxes with the caps and T-shirts that read \u201cNew England Patriots &#8211; AFC East Champions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"OJF2HC4GJREI3FFOJZKGN5OQPE\">New England\u2019s 42-10 thumping of the Jets on Sunday, combined with the Bills\u2019 last-second loss to the Eagles, clinched their first division title since 2019 and ended Buffalo\u2019s five-year run in the process.<\/p>\n<p id=\"OJF2HC4GJREI3FFOJZKGN5OQPE\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bdc2020.o0bc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/6HDTQZCG7QU5RNAAPQHALGVF5E-69518fcddd6ef-768x432.jpg\" alt=\"How Patriots can win AFC East, improve odds to get No. 1 seed in Week 17\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"6OXP764BMRHBBAPVKLWDW6CHR4\">The Patriots are guaranteed no lower than the No. 3 overall seed in the playoffs. They\u2019ll play one of the four Wild Card teams.<\/p>\n<p id=\"SF3JRBG2RFEEHPBJPEYAJLFIDI\">New England is still in contention for the AFC\u2019s No. 1 overall seed and the first-round bye that goes with it, but they need some help.<\/p>\n<p id=\"SF3JRBG2RFEEHPBJPEYAJLFIDI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/advancelocal\/DP7FC7JKK5HLDENXEHOQXBETSM.jpg\" alt=\"Patriots win AFC East \u2014 What they need to earn the No. 1 seed - masslive.com\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"ZRBEQGOBRBGA5IMVEXVPKMYCLU\">If the current playoff seeds hold (see below), the Patriots would host the Bills in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n<h3>Here are the seeds where the Patriots can finish in and how:<\/h3>\n<h3>The Patriots (13-3) would get the No. 1 seed if:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li id=\"YQTFTGBOLFB75HOQQCUYHFADEU\">They beat the Dolphins and the Broncos (13-3) lose to the Chargers in Denver.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The Patriots would get the No. 2 seed if:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li id=\"USLKKZTTXRES5JGFXTSDGLFNNI\">They beat the Dolphins, AND the Broncos beat the Chargers.<\/li>\n<li id=\"OHKLOM2MCVGJ3AVUTD4USTSLZU\">They lose to the Dolphins, AND the Jaguars lose to the Titans.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The Patriots would get the No. 3 seed if:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li id=\"KGTIMIBPUFEJJBCTNX2P3FHMYY\">The Patriots lose to the Dolphins, AND the Jaguars beat the Titans<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p id=\"IJDP7GAR2NH7LI7TMQIRGZZMKE\">When the Patriots lost to the Raiders in Week 1, there couldn\u2019t have been many people who thought it was going to cost New England the No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"KGKSI2Y655CKLEWJUPJB6EEJDU\">But if the Broncos win next week, that loss to the Raiders is the reason the Patriots can\u2019t earn the No. 1 seed because Vegas is a common opponent between New England and Denver.<\/p>\n<h2>The current playoff picture:<\/h2>\n<h2>AFC<\/h2>\n<p id=\"I7IHWJ7GUJBB7DKBOPJUYF6HE4\"><b>Top Seed with bye:<\/b> Denver Broncos* (13-3)<\/p>\n<h4>First round matchups:<\/h4>\n<p id=\"J555WJLIBZCKFBORJMGLA6DBQY\">No. 2 New England Patriots* (13-3) vs. No. 7 Buffalo Bills (11-5)*<\/p>\n<p id=\"LE4PSG2D2RBDRHKVYR7XJV2OCA\">No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)* vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)*<\/p>\n<p id=\"U2WMKAICQ5A5TOXRDINZKKUOCQ\">No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) vs. No. 5 Houston Texans (11-5)*<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Patriots&#8217; win, combined with the Bills&#8217; loss, gave New England its first division title since 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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