The New England Patriots had Week 14 off, which opened the door for the Denver Broncos to move back up to the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture. Sure enough, a 24-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders allowed them to do just that.
While both the Pats and Broncos have 11-2 records, Denver holds the tiebreaker over New England due to its better record against common opponents. With just four games left on the season, the Broncos now hold a tiebreaker over the Patriots, no matter what happens the rest of the way out.
Considering how N.E. is currently the No. 2 seed, and it has tough games against the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens coming up, it may seem like the No. 1 seed is unattainable. According to The Athletic’s latest playoff projection, though, the Patriots still have a

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