The Patriots don't play their Week 16 game until Sunday Night Football, but that doesn't mean the team and their fans aren't paying close attention to the slate of games in the hours beforehand, particularly those in the AFC East.
The Bills, in particular, were the matchup to watch, as they went to Cleveland to face a reinvigorated Browns team with Shadeur Sanders at quarterback. It was a close game that came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Bills only won by a field goal after the Browns ran out of timeouts.
That moves them to 11-4, just one game behind the Patriots, putting even more pressure on them to deliver a solid performance against the Ravens on Sunday night. Although they don't technically need to win, because they'd have a tied record with Buffalo and would remain the No. 2 seed due to the tiebreaker, holding a one-game lead over their divisional rival would be optimal for the rest of the season.
It would be even more crucial now, as the Patriots now know they'll likely have to put off winning the AFC East until Week 18, meaning their biggest game of the season could be a game that they would have otherwise been able to rest their starters.
The Bills' win over the Browns moves them one step closer to stealing the AFC East from the Patriots
Now that the Bills have improved their record after beating the Patriots last week, there is even more on the line for New England to win out the final three games of the season.
As mentioned, they don't need the win over the Ravens, but there's no reason for them to lose that game, especially if they're hoping to avoid another collapse like we saw last week. And it would allow them to have a bit of a break in their final game of the season against the Dolphins.
But as of now, it looks like that won't be an easy end to what has been a beyond impressive season so far, as the Bills are still in contention to steal the division from the Patriots' grasp.
They arguably have a tougher end to their season, facing the Eagles at home next, which could work in the Patriots' favor, but it's a shame they might have to rely on that kind of thing to help them win the division.
Regardless, they can lighten their load over the next two weeks with an unexpected win over the Ravens on Sunday night. It would put them back on the map after last week's disaster, and could move Drake Maye back into the MVP conversation after Matthew Stafford's recent loss and Josh Allen's rough outing.
But the most important thing at this point is winning the division and, at the very least, making the playoffs.