Broncos' Christmas Day win puts more pressure on Patriots in Week 17

With a big comeback win over the Ravens last week, the Patriots were immediately back in contention for the No. 1 seed, tying the Broncos' record with the opportunity to steal their spot before the 2025 season ends.

Their best chance to accomplish that would be to win their final two games, with their first challenge being the Jets on the road this Sunday and the Dolphins at home next week. It certainly looks more doable than other teams hoping to improve their playoff seeding, particularly the Broncos, who want to hold onto that No. 1 spot.

That's why Patriots fans were glued to the television on Christmas night, as the Broncos took on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The hope was that the Patrick Mahomes-less Chiefs would somehow take down their biggest divisional rival, but in Bo Nix fashion, that didn't happen, and they snuck out a win in the final minutes of the game.

It now adds more pressure to the Patriots to get a win this week, which might not be as easy as it seems on paper.

The Patriots need to play like they did against the Ravens and get a big win over the Jets to still have a chance at the No. 1 seed

The Jets have been a dumpster fire (again) this season and are now down their starting quarterback after placing Justin Fields on injured reserve earlier this week.

That means they'll have Brady Cook under center, who lost to the Saints last week, and the Patriots' defense will hope to bring that same luck in New York on Sunday. And based on how their first matchup went in Week 11, with Fields in the game, it shouldn't be too difficult.

However, the Jets have nothing to lose and could use the motivation of ruining New England's chances of getting the No. 1 seed to come out strong and go hard for a win, something many eliminated teams try to do late in the year.

It could be enough to get the job done, especially if the Patriots are down some of their most important starters after many were injured in last week's game, or if we see the second-half team that played the Bills a couple of weeks ago on the field in MetLife Stadium.

Hopefully, that won't be the case, and we'll see a Patriots team build upon what they accomplished against the much better Ravens in Week 16. It will be crucial if they want to remain in the hunt for the No. 1 seed, because if they lose to the Jets, they'll have to cross their fingers and toes that the Chargers will be good enough to take the Broncos down in their final game of the season.