Updating the Patriots’ clinching scenarios after the Bills loss

After their loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the Patriots' playoff picture still hasn't been made official yet. While they can't win the division this upcoming week, they can finally officially punch their ticket to the postseason.

That's right - despite sitting at 11 wins the Patriots still have not clinched a playoff spot. This week though that can change relatively simply.

On Tuesday, the NFL shared the clinching scenarios around the league for the upcoming Week 16. For the Patriots, it's as simple as win-and-in against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. They would also get in with a tie.

While ideally the Patriots would take care of business for themselves, they do have other ways they can clinch even without a win. A Houston Texans loss or tie to the Las Vegas Raiders would do it, or an Indianapolis Colts loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Texans-Raiders game is at 4:25 on Sunday, while the Colts don't play until Monday Night Football.

A playoff spot is all the Patriots can clinch for now. The division will come down to the final two AFC East games at the end of the year against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. The No. 1 seed is still a longshot, and the Broncos could actually lock it up this week with a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, plus losses by the Patriots, Bills (versus the Cleveland Browns), and the Los Angeles Chargers (versus the Dallas Cowboys).

Elsewhere around the AFC, the Bills can clinch a playoff spot with a win and loss by either the Colts or Texans, the Jaguars can clinch a spot with a win and loss by the Colts or Texans, and the Chargers can clinch a spot with a win and loss by either - that's right - the Colts or Texans.