Who will Patriots play in NFL playoffs? Scenarios, potential wild card matchups

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Dec 29, 2025 - 08:00
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Who will Patriots play in NFL playoffs? Scenarios, potential wild card matchups

Everything old is new again.

The New England Patriots are an example of that. The cast might change, but the story remains the same for one of the NFL's more storied franchises.

Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye have the Patriots near the top of the AFC with one week to go in the regular season, marking a turnaround that even the most optimistic New England fans didn't see coming.

Now officially AFC East champions, the Patriots can slot in as the No. 1, 2, or 3 seed when the dust settles, creating some uncertainty about their first-round opponents heading into Week 18.

If they land the top spot, they get to avoid the wild-card round entirely.

Here's a look at who could be on New England's schedule to open the playoffs.

Who will the Patriots play in playoffs?

The Patriots will slot in as division winners in the postseason. Here is who they could match up against:

Patriots playoff scenarios

Here are the scenarios that would lead to each first-round matchup:

BYE

Perhaps the easiest scenario is also the best-case scenario for the Patriots. If they win in Week 18 and the Broncos lose, they can take a week off and wait for the divisional round to begin in a few weeks.

  • Patriots win (vs. MIA) and Broncos loss (vs. LAC)

Buffalo Bills

  • Patriots win (vs. MIA), Broncos win (vs. LAC) and Bills lose (vs. NYJ)
  • Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Broncos win (vs. LAC), Bills win (vs. NYJ), Jaguars win (vs. TEN) and Texans win (vs. IND)

Houston Texans

  • Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Texans loss (vs. IND), Broncos win (vs. LAC), Jaguars win (vs. TEN), Bills win (vs. NYJ)
  • Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Chargers win (vs. DEN), Bills win (vs. NYJ), Titans win (vs. JAX) and Colts win (vs. HOU)

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Chargers win (vs. DEN), Bills win (vs. NYJ), Titans win (vs. JAX) and Texans win (vs. IND)

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Patriots win (vs. MIA), Broncos win (vs. LAC), Bills win (vs. NYJ)
  • Patriots loss (vs. MIA), Broncos win (vs. LAC), Bills win (vs. NYJ), Titans win (vs. JAX) and Colts win (vs. HOU)

NFL playoff schedule

The NFL playoffs kick off on Jan. 11 with the league's Super Wild Card Weekend before concluding on Feb. 9 with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

Super Wild Card weekend

All times Eastern

Wild Card weekend

All times Eastern

Saturday, Jan. 10

  • AFC/NFC wild card game: 4:30 p.m.
  • AFC/NFC wild card game: 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 11

  • AFC/NFC wild card game: 1 p.m.
  • AFC/NFC wild card game: 4:30 p.m.
  • AFC/NFC wild card game: 8:15 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 12

  • AFC/NFC wild card game: 8:15 p.m.

Divisional round

Saturday, Jan. 17

  • AFC/NFC divisional game: 4:30 p.m.
  • AFC/NFC division game: 8:15 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 18

  • AFC/NFC divisional game: 3 p.m.
  • AFC/NFC divisional game: 6:30 p.m.

NFL conference championship round

Sunday, Jan. 25

  • AFC championship game: 3 p.m.
  • NFC championship game: 6:30 p.m.

Super Bowl 60

  • Date: Feb. 8, 2026
  • Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
  • Time: 6:30 p.m.
  • TV: NBC

NFL playoff picture Week 17

AFC

  1. Denver Broncos (13-3, AFC West winners)*
  2. New England Patriots (13-3, AFC East winners)*
  3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4, AFC South leaders)*
  4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7, AFC North leaders)
  5. Houston Texans (11-5, wild card No. 1)*
  6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5, wild card No. 2)*
  7. Buffalo Bills (11-5, wild card No. 3)*

In the hunt: Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

NFC

  1. Seattle Seahawks (13-3, NFC West leaders)*
  2. Chicago Bears (11-4, NFC North winners)*
  3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, NFC East winners)*
  4. Carolina Panthers (8-8, NFC South leaders)
  5. San Francisco 49ers (11-4, wild card No. 1)*
  6. Los Angeles Rams (11-4, wild card No. 2)*
  7. Green Bay Packers (9-6-1, wild card No. 3)*

In the hunt: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9)

An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will Patriots play in playoffs? Breaking down wild card scenarios

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