Coming off a blowout loss against the Tennessee Titans, the New England Patriots did not play in week 11 and instead enjoyed their bye. In the meantime, the 7-3 team had to watch two of its rivals for a first-round playoff bye come away victoriously (with the third one — the Kansas City Chiefs — playing a highly anticipated prime time game against the 9-1 Los Angeles Rams tonight).
The AFC’s playoff picture therefore looks as follows:
3. New England Patriots (7-3)
Despite the Texans beating the Washington Redskins 23-21, the Patriots keep the number three seed in the conference’s playoff race thanks to the tiebreaker rules: New England defeated Houston 27-20 on opening day and therefore has the advantage over the current AFC South leaders.