NFL Playoff picture: Who Patriots fans should be rooting for in Week 13

The tough part for a team that loses on Thursday this late in the season is that they have to watch Sunday, helplessly hoping for teams not to gain ground or pull away from them.

The Patriots are in that spot for the second week in a row after losing to Buffalo.

With five games remaining, New England is now in the ninth position on the playoff ladder at 6-6.

Here are the games they’ll be watching and who they’ll be rooting for:

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings — After losing to Minnesota last week, the Patriots are big fans of the Vikings, Sunday. At 7-4, the Jets, who are one slot ahead of New England on the playoff ladder and AFC East standings, can move to two full games ahead of the Patriots with a win.

Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens — The Ravens (7-4) enter the weekend leading the AFC North, but they could drop into the wild card picture if the Bengals pass them so the Patriots are invested in seeing the Broncos beat them.

Miami Dolphins at San Francisco 49ers — With five games left, if Miami (8-3) wins here, they’re probably out of reach for the Patriots going forward, so New England will be pulling for ex-Pat Jimmy Garoppolo.

Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals — The Patriots would really like their Dec. 24 game against the Bengals (7-4) on Dec. 24 to mean something. If New England makes the playoffs, they likely have to knock the Bengals or Jets out and keep the Chargers out. So for this weekend, New England is part of Chiefs Kingdom.

Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders — The Patriots clearly miss Josh McDaniels, but their old offensive coordinator could do them a big favor by beating the Chargers (6-5) on Sunday.

The current AFC playoff picture looks like this:

Division Leaders

1. Kansas City (9-2) at Cincinnati

2. Buffalo (9-3) – won at New England

3. Tennessee (7-4) at Philadelphia

4. Baltimore (7-4) vs. Denver

Wild Cards:

5. Miami (8-3) at San Francisco

6. Cincinnati (7-4) vs. Kansas City.

7. New York Jets (7-4) at Minnesota

Outside looking in:

8. Los Angeles Chargers (6-5) vs. Las Vegas

9. New England Patriots (6-6) – lost to Buffalo