There was a time when the New England Patriots were perennial playoff contenders.
Those were the days when the bar was set to Super Bowl-or-bust heights. Who cares if the Patriots made it to the dance? It was all about being the last team standing with the Lombardi Trophy in the end.
Of course, things are quite different these days with the team sitting at 3-10 with long-shot odds of making it to the playoffs. You’d have to twist your brain into pretzels thinking up a path, but one does still exist for the Patriots.
However, the likelihood of them getting there is about as probable as Tom Brady coming out of retirement and playing for the team in 2024.
Now presenting:
A potential road to the playoffs for the 2-10 New England Patriots pic.twitter.com/pRJfPPyASa
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 5, 2023
Here’s all 32 NFL teams ranked by playoff probability, via ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index 2023:
32
Carolina Panthers: Eliminated from playoffs
31
Washington Commanders: 0.0%
30
Arizona Cardinals: 0.0%
29
New England Patriots: 0.0.%
28
Tennessee Titans: 0.0%
27
New York Jets: 0.1%
26
New York Giants: 0.1%
25
Las Vegas Raiders: 0.9%
24
Chicago Bears: 0.9%
23
Denver Broncos: 14.5%
22
Cincinnati Bengals: 14.7%
21
Los Angeles Chargers: 17.8%
20
Buffalo Bills: 24.7%
19
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 25.9%
18
New Orleans Saints: 27.6%
17
Seattle Seahawks: 27.7%
16
Pittsburgh Steelers: 33.3%
15
Los Angeles Rams: 43.3%
14
Minnesota Vikings: 49.1%
13
Atlanta Falcons: 60.1%
12
Indianapolis Colts: 61.0%
11
Green Bay Packers: 66.9%
10
Cleveland Browns: 69.0%
9
Houston Texans: 71.5%
8
Jacksonville Jaguars: 95.0%
7
Detroit Lions: 98.4%
6
Kansas City Chiefs: 98.6%
5
Baltimore Ravens: 99.3%
4
Miami Dolphins: 99.6%
3
Dallas Cowboys: 99.9%
2
San Francisco 49ers: 100%
1
Philadelphia Eagles: 100%
