Patriots learn date, time of regular-season finale vs. Dolphins

There will be plenty still up in the air when it comes to playoff seeding by the time the Patriots take to the field in Foxborough next weekend.

Even though New England clinched the AFC East on Sunday following Buffalo’s loss to the Eagles, the Patriots are still fighting for a shot at securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

If New England wants to close out the regular season with the No. 1 seed — securing home-field advantage and earning a first-round bye as a result — they’re going to have both beat the Dolphins on Sunday … and rely on the Chargers to beat the Denver Broncos on Sunday as well. 

The Patriots and Broncos both hold identical 13-3 records with one game to go. But the Broncos hold the tiebreaker over the Patriots thanks to their better record against common opponents. 

New England opened the season with a Week 1 loss to the Raiders, while Broncos beat Las Vegas twice during AFC West divisional play.

With the No. 1 seed set to be determined by both the Patriots-Dolphins and Broncos-Chargers games, the NFL scheduled both games for Sunday with identical 4:25 p.m. start times. 

Beyond giving themselves a shot at taking the No. 1 seed by beating Miami, the Patriots have other incentives for closing out the regular season with a win. 

If New England loses to the Dolphins, they could drop down to the No. 3 seed in the AFC if the Jaguars end their season with a win over the cellar-dwelling Titans. 

Jacksonville will battle Tennessee at 1 p.m. on Sunday. 

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.