WARNING: The following article deals with a number of hypothetical and even outrageous scenarios for the Patriots fan, which may seem unrealistic for some. Use of a virtual reality headset to process the information may be advisable for those who can handle it.
’Tis a great feeling watching your football team lay the smackdown on a Sunday afternoon. During the holidays. Across the country. Against a team many thought would beat them. Truly does lift the holiday spirits.
But the time for celebration was yesterday. The Pats are on to LA, literally, again, As in Thursday night, as they play the second half of an away/away five day, two game double banger in LA. Chargers down, Rams to go. And it’s looking like the Pats will have to win out if they want to play football on a field and not a screen past Jan. 3.
I’m like you - I want to see this team keep the train rolling as long as possible. They seem to be picking up steam, jelling and developing in all the right places. The kind of team that, if they can continue this style of play, nobody would want to play soon enough. Young, imperfect, uneven, emotional ... all that and then some. But with their heart, effort and Belichick there’s no denying they’d be a tough out, or make some noise, in the second season.
OK, so how do we make this leaning towards impossible scenario possible? As of now, according to NBC’s Steve Kornacki (gives the kind of effort and energy Belichick covets), the Pats are 1/5 to make the postseason. BUT (oh such a big word for only three letters), as we mentioned earlier, if they win out their chances go up to almost a shoo-in 98 percent. Tall ask, tough road to hoe, but when you lose a few you should have won early in the season, this is the space you traffic, these are the games we play.
We’ll spare you the 28-3 rah-rah and just put it plain: what else has to happen for the Pats to make the playoffs? Supposing they’re able to stick it to Sean McVay again and become the first team to win two game in less than a week at SoFi Stadium, here are the teams ahead of the Pats, their records and ensuing opponents through the end of this season.
Bills (8-3) - @ 49ers / Steelers / @ Broncos / @ Pats / Miami
Colts (8-4) - @ Raiders / Texans / @ Steelers / Jaguars
Browns (9-3) - Ravens / @ Giants / @ Jets / Steelers - 10-6
Raiders (7-5) - Colts / Chargers / Dolphins / @ Broncos - 10-6
Dolphins (8-4) - Chiefs / Pats / @ Raiders / @ Bills - 9-7
Ravens (6-5) - Cowboys / @ Browns / Jaguars / Giants / @ Bengals - 9-7
Patriots (6-6) - @ Rams / @ Fins / Bills / Jets - 10-6
Would have helped if Watson didn’t fumble at the end vs the Colts Sunday, but that happens ... and if the Jets didn’t go Cover 0 and let the Raiders score on a last second bomb, but Jets gonna Jets, I guess. Poor Trevor Lawrence. Pats were burned by Jets last two times they missed the playoffs, no less (2002 & 2008). Anyway, it is what it is...frustrating as that is may be. On with the best case scenarios...this is what you should be rooting for, not what will happen. Some of these scenarios will seem outlandish, but such is the life of the dreamer on the outside of playoffs.
For our purposes Steelers & Chiefs are IN as division winners, Browns pretty much a sure bet as a Wild Card at 9-3. You read that correctly. Don’t fight the weird. It’s 2020.
WEEK 13
Bills (8-3) LOSE @ San Francisco (in Arizona) on MNF
--Until we see the AFC East crown placed on the Bills head then we’ll hope the Pats have a chance to reclaim their crown, however improbable
Ravens (6-5) host and LOSE to Cowboys on Tuesday Night Football
--Unlikely but so was 45-0 over the Chargers
WEEK 14
--Pats Beat Rams
--Bills lose to Steelers
--Colts beat Raiders
--Browns beat Ravens
--Dolphins lose to Chiefs
Pats would be 7-6, tied with Ravens and Raiders, a game out. With no optimal outcome here too outrageous playoff talk wouldn’t seem so crazy after all.
WEEK 15
--Pats beats Dolphins
--Raiders lose to Chargers
--Jags beat Ravens
--Texans beat Colts
--Browns lose to Giants
--Bills lose at Broncos
The most important result in Week 15 is the Pats going to their house of horrors and beating the Dolphins, which would be enormous for their playoff hopes s they rise and a division foe falls. Jags beating the Ravens would be like finding a $100 bill in your freshly washed jeans.
WEEK 16
--Pats beat Bills
--Steelers beat Colts
--Jets beat Browns (LOL)
--Raiders beat Dolphins
--Giants beat Ravens
Oh, but to have Bills @ Pats on MNF after Christmas mean something! Keep the dream alive into the New Year. If the “win out”scenario continues they’d be 9-6 with a likely embrace of the 7 seed within their own grasp. By now Cleveland will be all but locked for a Wild Card spot, and all other scenarios herein are within the realm of reason. CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE PATS ARE COOKIN’?
WEEK 17
--Pats beat Dolphins
--Broncos beat Raiders
--Bengals beat Ravens
--Bills beat Dolphins
--Jags beat Colts
--Steelers beat Browns
Never mind that the Steelers, following this fuzzy math, could be on the verge of a perfect regular season, or that we’ve asked the Jags to help us out again (like asking the family dog to vacuum the house while you’re at work). This scenario, or at least one where the Dolphins, Raiders and Ravens take a bow with an L, while the Pats open the year with a win over the Jets, could see that 98% playoff chance play out. At this point the No. 7 seed would be a dream, regardless if that meant a trip to KC the next week. Pats & Cam have unfinished business there after The Great Hoyering of 2020. And then the Pats could go on the road to Pitt and deny them their perfect season. Hey! One can dream big after the harsh realities of 2020.
Suffice to say there are a lot of unique if not unlikely scenarios and big games to root for and against in the coming weeks for Pats fans in hopes the team could sniff the playoffs if the team holds form. IF! An even bigger word than BUT, and yet a letter shorter. We’ll worry about the math surrounding those games later. Only number for you to be concerned with for now is the Pats final score being greater than LA, for the second game in a row, Thursday. After taking two outside Hollywood we’ll get to work on scripting the perfect ending for the story of the 2020 Patriots.
