So You're Saying There's a Chance! New England Patriots' (Unlikely) Path to Playoffs

The New England Patriots' Thursday night victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers kept their 2023-24 playoff hopes alive ... at least temporarily.

Baby steps out the door, baby steps to the elevator ... baby steps to the playoffs?

The advice that Bill Murray's eponymous character received from Richard Dreyfuss in the 1991 black comedy "What About Bob?" probably isn't going to help the New England Patriots at this point, but this is the season of miracles, after all. 

Amid their most joyless season in decades, the Patriots offered a smidge of yuletide glee on Thursday night, taking an unexpectedly offensively swift 21-18 decision from the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. New England (3-10) ended a four-game losing streak and dealt a sizable blow to Pittsburgh's playoff case.

Ezekiel Elliott (15) and the Patriots kept their dwindling playoff hopes alive on Thursday / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of the postseason, the Patriots' win, irrelevant as it may be in the grand scheme of things, temporarily kept its dwindling playoff hopes alive. Fellow New Englander Lloyd Christmas may have a better chance of living happily ever after with Mary Samsonite Swanson than the Patriots do of making the playoffs ... but as the Jim Carrey-portrayed character confirmed, there is indeed a chance.

Prior to Thursday's game, CBS Sports outlined the Patriots' unlikely path to the playoffs on its social media channels. The numerical labyrinth requires plenty of fortune from the football gods ... and that's not even taking into account the fact that New England must win each of its final four games. Two of them come against teams they're "chasing"... and another is against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. 

The entire scenario is listed below, week-by-week ...

Week 14

• PATRIOTS beat Pittsburgh
• Houston loses to NY Jets
• Cincinnati loses to Indianapolis
• LA Chargers beat Denver
• Buffalo loses to Kansas City

Week 15

• PATRIOTS beat Kansas City
• Pittsburgh loses to Indianapolis
• Houston loses to Tennessee
• LA Chargers beat Las Vegas
• Denver loses to Detroit
• Buffalo loses to Dallas

Week 16

• PATRIOTS beat Denver
• Pittsburgh loses to Cincinnati
• Houston loses to Cleveland
• LA Chargers lose to Buffalo

Week 17

• PATRIOTS beat Buffalo
• Pittsburgh loses to Seattle
• Houston loses to Tennessee
• Cincinnati loses to Kansas City
• LA Chargers lose to Denver

Week 18

• PATRIOTS beat NY Jets
• Pittsburgh loses to Baltimore
• Houston loses to Indianapolis
• Cincinnati loses to Cleveland
• LA Chargers lose to Kansas City
• Denver loses to Las Vegas
• Buffalo loses to Miami

Anyone with even the most fleeting interest in the Patriots' season knew it was a long shot. The most delusionally optimistic supporters probably checked out a while ago. Even after securing a hard-fought victory, New England's work might all be for naught, as official elimination could still come as soon as Sunday.

But a fleeting modicum of hope ... perhaps those with a financial interest in the affairs ... lingers and the Patriots completed the first step on Thursday night. 

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Patriots fans looking for gridiron tidings of comfort and joy would be better off looking at the current NFL Draft ledger: even with Thursday's win, New England still holds the second overall pick behind only the Chicago Bears (who own the first-round choice of one-win Carolina). 

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