Patriots' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 16

The New England Patriots brutal loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 didn't just hurt their pride. It did quite a number on their playoff hopes.

Following the last-second loss to the Raiders, the Pats now have just a 20 percent chance to make the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight's projections.

Of course, the best thing the Patriots can do to increase those odds is to upset the Cincinnati Bengals on Christmas Eve. That win alone would double their odds to 40 percent, per FiveThirtyEight's calculations.

At 7-7, the Patriots are at a tipping point.

A win over the Bengals would revive the entire season, but they would still need some help making the final seven-team field in the AFC. Here's a look at three other games that could help the Patriots make a run at the postseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders, Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET

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The Patriots should be hoping the Raiders' positive momentum doesn't continue against the Steelers.

The loss to the Raiders stings for a variety of reasons. The fact that it has the Raiders in the hunt for the same playoff spot the Patriots are in the hunt for is one of the worst.

The Patriots essentially had the opportunity to end the Raiders' season. A 5-9 record would have been a death knell to their playoff chances. Now, they are just a game behind the Patriots, the eighth-ranked team in the AFC.

The Raiders will look to keep those hopes alive in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that will be a de facto playoff eliminator. Both teams are 6-8, so they likely need to win out if they want to capture a wild-card berth.

Of the two, the Patriots should be rooting for the Steelers. The Raiders now have a head-to-head win that would be the first tie-breaker if the two teams end with the same record.

Meanwhile, the Pats' Week 2 win over Pittsburgh would give them the advantage if they end up tying at the end of the season.

The Steelers have won three of their last four and are set to get Kenny Pickett back at quarterback.

This Christmas Eve game could wind up being really important in a few weeks.

Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

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Christian Watson has helped spark the Green Bay Packers offense.

A Green Bay Packers win over the Miami Dolphins should be one item on the Patriots' Christmas wishlist.

The Dolphins are hanging on to the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoff field. The Patriots are going to have the opportunity to catch up with their AFC East counterpart. They'll play in Week 17.

However, it certainly wouldn't hurt for Tua Tagovailoa and Co. to be coming in on a four-game losing streak. Miami's playoff stock has taken a hit during a three-game losing streak, but it has come against stiff competition. One-score losses to the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers are nothing to be ashamed of.

The Niners are one of the teams with a real shot at winning the NFC, so losing to them isn't the worst thing, either.

The Packers give them the best opportunity to get things back on track before the big inter-division contest next week. Still, Green Bay has shown signs of life recently. After a 40-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, they have back-to-back wins over the Bears and Rams.

This is one of the more interesting matchups of the week, and the Pats should hope the Packers can help them out.

Los Angeles Chargers at Indianapolis Colts, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

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Interim head coach Jeff Saturday will turn to Nick Foles to pull off an upset in prime time.

If the season ended today, the Los Angeles Chargers would make the playoffs with the sixth seed, but they are just one game ahead of the Patriots at 8-6.

Justin Herbert is playing really well right now. He's had over 300 yards passing in three straight games and has enjoyed having a healthy Keenan Allen to work with. However, they only beat the struggling Titans 17-14 last week, so they are far from invincible.

The problem for the Patriots and their hopes of catching the Chargers is that the schedule is fairly easy over the final three weeks. They will play the 4-9-1 Colts on Monday Night Football, then they will get the 4-10 Rams and Broncos to close out the year.

That means the New England faithful are stuck hoping some of these teams that might be packing it in for the year show up with an upset in mind.

That starts with rooting for the Colts on Monday night. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday has announced the team will bench the struggling Matt Ryan and turn things over to Nick Foles against the Chargers.

Foles has only played in two games over the last two seasons, but he did win his lone start in 2021, so there's a chance for a Christmas miracle yet.