Houston, which plays at Philadelphia, can secure the No. 2 seed (hence a first-round bye) with wins over the Eagles and Jacksonville. The Texans have never finished ahead of New England in a given year, and by winning out could force the Patriots to play a first-round game. The Patriots, who lost their inside track on the No. 2 seed Sunday, have never made a Super Bowl in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era without earning one of the AFC’s top two seeds.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times