Riding a three-game winning streak, he New England Patriots entered Week 12 as the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture. In a tight conference race, however, every slip-up could be a costly one — and the Patriots found that out over the last few days.
After dropping their Thanksgiving game against the Minnesota Vikings to fall to 6-5 on the year, they saw the rest of the AFC’s playoff hopefuls all register victory. While one game is still left to be played in the conference, we already know that New England will end the week outside of the postseason ranks.