The New England Patriots are on the brink of a major breakthrough.
They can clinch the AFC East, or at the very least a playoff spot, in Week 15 when they take on the Buffalo Bills.
Each week, the NFL releases all the permutations of clinching scenarios, and the Pats are one of the main teams in that spotlight this week.
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How can the Patriots clinch the AFC East vs. Bills?
This one is simple: If the Patriots beat the Bills, they win the AFC East.
New England is 11-2. Buffalo is 9-4. If the Patriots win, they'll have also swept the season series to hold that tiebreaker.
The Pats would still have a one-game lead in the division even if the Bills win Sunday, but for New England, business can simply be taken care of with a victory.
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How can the Patriots clinch a playoff spot this week?
In Week 15, there are a lot of other ways for the Patriots to guarantee they are into the playoffs, even if they ended up just as a wild card team in the end.
The scenarios that would clinch the Pats a playoff berth are:
- Patriots win
- Patriots tie and Chargers loss
- Patriots tie and Texans loss or tie
- Patriots tie and Colts loss or tie
- Patriots tie and Jaguars loss
- Texans loss or tie and Colts loss or tie (as long as both games aren't a tie)
OK, so a bunch of those scenarios aren't all that realistic for this week because of all the ties. But New England is certainly closing in on the postseason.
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