Playing at home throughout the playoffs before the Super Bowl is never a bad thing. But how bad would it be for the 2025 Patriots, who have managed an away schedule record any NFL team would envy, to play away? The Patriots have posted a 6-0 away record this season, including wins over the Bills, Bucs, and Bengals.
This is a prodigious achievement that can't be overestimated. Yet, Denver is, as is usually acknowledged, a different atmosphere altogether. Should the Patriots have to play the Broncos in Denver, the dynamics change. And here's where that first seed comes into play if both the Patriots and Broncos get that far.
Playing in the Mile High City is never easy and never will be, even when the Patriots had the best quarterback in history, Tom Brady, slinging the rock for them. Even the GOAT had a 3-9 record overall in Denver. It's something about the air, and it's an advantage for the Broncos. It's cold, and the atmosphere is literally thinner at a mile high, and that impacts stamina.
It's a huge advantage for the Broncos.
Winning the No. 1 seed will help the Patriots in their first postseason appearance in four years
Playing at home, rather than anywhere else, is always a good thing. The Patriots will have the rabid Patriot Nation at Gillette Stadium urging them on. Winning the No. 1 seed not only gets that all-important bye, but it also obviates the need to travel with all that entails.
In the Patriots' case, getting the No. 1 seed rather than No. 2, which no longer gets a bye, will provide additional time for injured players, especially offensive linemen, Will Campbell and Jared Wilson, and key defensive linemen Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga additional time to get ready to face playoff competition.
Beating the Bills at Foxborough will create a nice psychological advantage for the Patriots should they face them later in the playoffs.
Earning the No. 1 seed will also mean that the game will be in Foxborough, either in the Divisional round or the AFC Championship game if they advance.
The Patriots come out of their bye with a 51 percent chance at a first-round bye, per @TheAthleticNFL's playoff projection. https://t.co/vrXC5SMGFB pic.twitter.com/rvsjog5kZc
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) December 8, 2025
Beating Buffalo on December 14 will likely win the Patriots the AFC East
The Bills are never an easy opponent, and having home-field advantage is a plus. Beating them on December 14 will further fuel the feeling that no hurdle is too high for the 2025 Patriots. The Bills played in the 2024 AFC Championship game. That's where the 2025 Patriots want to go.
Beating them sends a message that the 2025 Patriots are better than the Bills and plan to overachieve the Bills' 2024 season by getting to the Super Bowl. At the beginning of the 2025 season, the thought was that the AFC Championship was going to be played in Orchard Park or Kansas City. The Chiefs may not be in the running, but the Bills certainly will be. Beating them for a second time this regular season will dramatically change that perception.
That's the first litmus test in the final four games of the season, as the team heads to the playoffs, beating the Buffalo Bills. A win over Buffalo at Foxborough will only fuel the feeling that there is no hurdle too high for the 2025 Patriots.
The Patriots should go all-out to win the No. 1 seed. They'll play one fewer game, and all their games will be at home. Yet, regardless of where any AFC Championship game is played, don't count out a Mike Vrabel-coached squad with the unflappable MVP candidate Drake Maye, who's meeting wild expectations and leading the NFL in several passing categories, at quarterback.
Maye, the presumptive MVP favorite is now equipped with a team capable of beating any team anywhere. He leads he league in completion percentage, passing yards, and quarterback rating. He's unflappable, and his 2025 away record is indicative of that fact.
That is why, while having the No. 1 seed is a huge positive with the bye week to rest, recuperate, and plan, along with other positives mentioned, there is no hurdle that the Maye-led Patriots cannot overcome. And that includes beating the Denver Broncos in Denver. They've beaten the Bills in Buffalo and the Bucs in Tampa. There's nothing to say they can't do the same in Denver.