Following losing four straight games, the Patriots have now won two in a row for the first time all season, including an upset win over the Ravens Sunday night.
The team is now 4-5 on the year and have inserted themselves back into the playoff conversation.
With that being said, the Patriots are still in 10th place and have a ways to go to reaching the postseason.
Here’s an updated AFC playoff picture with the remaining schedule for the contenders. Remember, seven teams now make the postseason and only the No. 1 seed gets a bye.
1. Pittsburgh (9-0)
Remaining games: at Jacksonville, vs. Baltimore, vs. Washington, at Buffalo, at Cincinnati, vs. Indianapolis, at Cleveland
2. Kansas City (8-1)
Remaining games: at Las Vegas, at Tampa Bay, vs. Denver, at Miami, at New Orleans, vs. Atlanta, vs. Los Angeles (Chargers)
3. Buffalo (7-3)
Remaining games: Bye, vs. Los Angeles (Chargers), at San Fransisco, vs. Pittsburgh, at Denver, at New England, vs. Miami
4. Indianapolis (6-3)
Remaining games: vs. Green Bay, vs. Tennessee, at Houston, at Las Vegas, vs. Houston, at Pittsburgh, vs. Jacksonville
5. Las Vegas (6-3)
Remaining games: vs. Kansas City, at Atlanta, at New York (Jets), vs. Indianapolis, vs. Los Angles (Chargers), vs. Miami, at Denver
6. Miami (6-3)
Remaining games: at Denver, at New York (Jets), vs. Cincinnati, vs. Kansas City, vs. New England, at Las Vegas, at Buffalo
7. Baltimore (6-3)
Remaining games: vs. Tennessee, at Pittsburgh, vs. Dallas, at Cleveland, vs. Jacksonville, vs. New York (Giants), at Cincinnati
8. Cleveland (6-3)
Remaining games: vs. Philadelphia, at Jacksonville, at Tennessee, vs. Baltimore, at New York (Giants), at New York (Jets), vs. Pittsburgh
9. Tennessee (6-3)
Remaining games: at Baltimore, at Indianapolis, vs. Cleveland, at Jacksonville, vs. Detroit, at Green Bay, at Houston
10. Patriots (4-5)
Remaining games: at Houston, vs. Arizona, at Los Angeles (Chargers), at Los Angeles (Rams), at Miami, vs. Buffalo, vs. New York (Jets)
11. Denver (3-6)
Remaining games: vs. Miami, vs. New Orleans, at Kansas City, at Carolina, vs. Buffalo, at Los Angeles (Chargers), vs. Las Vegas
ANALYSIS: The Patriots are two games back of spots 5-9 in the standings. This means not only do they need to take care of their own business the rest of the season, but also get some help. Half the Patriots’ games the rest of the season come against teams with winning records, so they will need to take care of business in the games they are supposed to win and then try and do what they can in the other games. It seems almost all the teams in the mix for the playoffs have a number of games against each other the rest of the season, which means every game counts in a big way. One team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is the Dolphins as they could create separation with games against the Broncos, Jets and Bengals the next three weeks. One more note on the Patriots, it would seem at this point the division is pretty much out of reach not just because the Bills are 7-3, but also because the Dolphins are 6-3, so it would take two teams collapsing over the second half of the year.
