What the Ravens’ win over the Chargers might mean for the Patriots

The Baltimore Ravens’ upset over the Los Angeles Chargers could actually benefit the New England Patriots quite a bit come January.

In a piece published earlier Saturday morning, we identified five separate scenarios Patriots fans should be rooting for around the NFL in Week16. Later Saturday night, the first scenario came to pass: an upset win for the Baltimore Ravens over the Los Angeles Chargers.

The outcome of that game – coupled with Tennessee’s win earlier against the Redskins – could prove to be instrumental in determining not just the playoff seeding of the AFC, but also who actually makes the playoffs in the first place.

It’s setting up nicely for what could be a dream penultimate week of the regular season if you’re a Pats fan. Four more things really need to happen for Christmas to come early in Boston:

1.) The Patriots need to beat the Bills today to clinch the division and a postseason berth.

2.) The Eagles need to beat the Texans at home to punt Houston back into the No. 3 spot.

3.) The Saints need to beat the Steelers at home to drop Pittsburgh’s record to 8-6-1.

4.) The Seahawks need to beat the Chiefs at home to drop Kansas City’s record to 11-4.

The most important of those scenarios by far are the first two, because if they happen, New England would be well-positioned for a playoff bye as the No. 2 seed. Keep in mind: the Patriots have never made it to the Super Bowl under Bill Belichick without starting with a first-round bye.

The fourth scenario is less significant because the Chiefs losing really only matters if they lose again next week at home against the Raiders. Never say never, but that probably won’t happen.

The third scenario, however, is the juiciest one to analyze right now, especially in light of Saturday’s results. If the Saints beat the Steelers (highly-plausible), then Pittsburgh would fall out of the No. 4 seed completely and into the No. 6 seed.

Making matters worse for the black-and-yellow, should the Colts beat the Giants today at home as they are expected to do, then both Indianapolis and Tennessee would be sitting on 9-6 records with one game left to play: against each other. And by default, the winner of that game would finish 10-6, and just ahead of the Steelers for the sixth and final playoff spot – regardless of whether Pittsburgh wins their final game or not.

To put it more simply, if Pittsburgh loses against New Orleans, Indianapolis beats New York, and Baltimore beats Cleveland next week, the Steelers are out of the playoffs entirely. And that scenario is very, very possible… which is good news for Pats fans.

As much as they might not want to see the Ravens anywhere in the AFC bracket, imagine New England’s relief in knowing Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and (let’s be real) Jaylen Samuels aren’t going to be around in January. It’s a comforting thought, and an attainable one.

Besides, if the Ravens win the AFC North, they’d probably go in as the No. 4 seed and would play the Chargers again on Wild Card Weekend, only this time in Baltimore. Most rational Bostonians would agree that outside of the Chiefs, those are the two most dangerous teams in an AFC playoff universe that doesn’t include Pittsburgh.

Why not let them beat each other up? Whoever wins that matchup, it still eliminates one sizable threat for New England down the road.

In this dream playoff universe (that could very quickly become reality), the Patriots’ most likely opponents after a first-round bye would probably be the Texans. That would leave the winner of Baltimore/L.A. to face Kansas City. No disrespect to Houston, but again it’s worth noting that in this scenario, two out of the three scariest teams in the AFC (Chiefs, Ravens, Chargers) would be out before any potential AFC Championship matchup with the survivor from that group.

At the end of the day, the Patriots have admittedly been their own worst enemy most of this season. But Saturday’s results – particularly Baltimore’s win in Los Angeles – might have far-reaching consequences next month, which could make another conference title game appearance just a little bit easier for the Patriots.