This may be a no brainer, but the New England Patriots absolutely need to win the next two out of three games left in the season if they want to make the playoffs.

And even then, it may take some luck–they’re no longer in the ‘control your own destiny’ realm.

After Sundays horrendous loss to the Las Vegas Raiders 30-24, the Pats now sit 7-7 and right outside the wildcard position. The team that sits above them is their division rivals in the Miami Dolphins at 8-6.

Luckily for the Pats, they will get their chance to face the Dolphins in two weeks before playing their last game against the Bills. It’s certainly possible that after solidifying a playoff spot–Buffalo might play their bench in their final game, allowing the Pats to pull out a win.

But this week they’ll have to go up with the reigning AFC champs in the (10-4) Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals may have gotten off to a rocky start on the season, but they really have came together in the past few weeks. It will be hard, but not impossible, for the Patriots to beat the Bengals this week.

A huge upside for Patriots fans may be to see that the Dolphins are going up against the #1 seeded Bills this week. If the Dolphins lose against Buffalo, the Patriots likelihood of getting in the postseason automatically goes up.

It’s also worth noting that the New York Jets have the same record as the Patriots. So every game up this point is more important. That’s why it’s crunch time for the Patriots.