The New England Patriots’ playoff chances are hanging by a thread. Following their collapse against Las Vegas on Sunday, they have only a 19 percent chance of making it into the tournament and will have to win out to control their own fate.
Doing that will not be easy, and the first opponent of their final three-game slate is already a big challenge. The reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, owners of a 10-4 record and the current No. 3 seed in the conference, will visit Gillette Stadium for a Christmas eve showdown.
The Bengals started the year slowly, and appeared to suffer from the so-called Super Bowl hangover.