Who Do You Want the Pats To Play In 1st Round of Playoffs? [POLL]
The New England Patriots officially punched their ticket to the NFL postseason yesterday, though there is still much to be determined as to who exactly they will meet in the Wild Card Round in just less than two weeks' time.
As things stand, the Patriots are currently the top-wild card team in the AFC and thus own the 5th seed. If the Patriots and Bills both win in Week 18 (Pats vs. Miami, Bills vs. Jets), it's quite simple. The Pats will make the short flight to Buffalo to face the Bills, where they won on December 6.
If the Pats can grab a victory in the regular-season finale in South Beach and the Bills somehow stumble against the Jets, however, the teams would flip seeds, the Pats would be crowned AFC East champs and the game would be played in Foxborough. There is also a scenario where the Pats win, Buffalo loses, and based on other results, New England hosts Buffalo in the 3 vs. 6 matchup, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for either wish to come true...
After Buffalo, the next-likeliest scenario would see the Pats travel to Cincy, to face the AFC North champs and a red-hot Joe Burrow. However, this would require Buffalo to beat the Jets and need Cincinnati to lose their final game against Cleveland, which would bump Buffalo to the 3-seed and drop the Bengals to 4th. The Pats could also find their way to Cincy in a potential 3 vs. 6 showdown, but that would require losses from New England, Buffalo and Cincinnati coupled with an Indianapolis win.
Finally, there's a slim chance the Pats could get paired with Kansas City but would result from the Chiefs losing their final game at Denver, while Buffalo also falters vs. the Jets and the Bengals take care of business vs. Cleveland.
If you have made it through all that info without your head spinning, congrats to you. Let's make this real simple, shall we? Who do you want to see the Pats meet in the AFC Wild Card Round?