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What is at stake in today's game between the Jets and the Patriots?
If the Patriots win:
The Patriots clinch the top seed in the AFC Playoffs.
The Jets can be eliminated by tomorrow night if the Steelers, Chiefs, and Broncos also win. To make the Playoffs, the Jets would need to beat the Bills next Sunday and need one of those three teams to lose two games in a row.
If the Jets win:
The Patriots will have to wait to clinch the top seed in the AFC. They will still control their own destiny for the spot, but a Cincinnati win over Denver on Monday would take the race for the number one spot into the final weekend of the regular season.
The Jets at the very least would be guaranteed to still be alive Week 17. With a loss by the Steelers, Chiefs, or Broncos, they would enter the final week of the regular season controlling their own destiny for a Wild Card spot.