The New England Patriots are in the fortunate position of controlling their own destiny in regards to clinching a first-round bye in the upcoming NFL playoffs.
A victory or tie against the rival Miami Dolphins in Sunday's Week 17 regular season finale at Gillette Stadium would secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs for the Patriots. New England also would clinch the No. 2 seed if the Kansas City Chiefs lose or tie the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium. Oddsmakers don't expect the Patriots vs. Dolphins game to be close. The defending Super Bowl champions are 15.5-point betting favorites for this Week 17 matchup.
The Patriots still could lose out on a playoff bye and fall to the No. 3 seed. For that to happen, they would need to lose to the Dolphins and have the Chiefs beat the Chargers. Kansas City and New England both would finish with 12-4 records in that scenario, and the AFC West champs own the head-to-head tiebreaker from their Week 14 win at Gillette Stadium.
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Both of these games are in the 1 p.m. ET window Sunday, so there will be plenty of scoreboard watching in Foxboro and Kansas City.
The Patriots clinched the AFC East title with last week's win over the Buffalo Bills and are headed to the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season. They've earned a playoff bye in the last 10 of those postseason appearances.
There are two playoff berths still up for grabs Sunday -- one in each conference. Here's a breakdown of those scenarios, including a crazy one where the Oakland Raiders need five different outcomes to all happen for them to clinch a postseason spot.