Before understanding how the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots approached their final regular-season games Sunday, it may help to rub the eyes, clean out those ears and free the mind from all other thought.
Is there something in the mountain air, or did the Bengals and Patriots each play as if they would prefer playing their second-round AFC playoff game against the Colts in Indianapolis instead of the Broncos in Denver?
The Bengals and Patriots each entered their respective final games needing a win to secure the AFC’s No. 3 playoff seed.
By halftime of their respective games, the Bengals and Patriots appeared to be stumbling over each other in pursuit of fourth. The Bengals were tied 3-3 after the first quarter when they took out star quarterback Carson Palmer. They wound up getting clobbered 37-3 by the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Patriots were tied 7-7 after the first quarter when they removed their star quarterback Tom Brady. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions fell at home 28-26 to the Miami Dolphins.
Clearly, neither the Bengals nor Patriots treated the No. 3 seed as a Holy Grail. When it comes to the NFL playoffs, there are the first and second seeds, and there is everybody else.
The bye means that much. The Broncos, as a No. 2 seed, have it.
Among the many advantages a bye brings, none is greater than this: Without having to play, the Broncos (13-3) have advanced to the second round for the first time since the 1998 season.
“We get that bye, which gets us one game closer to the ultimate prize,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “We get to do (the second-round playoff game) in front of our home fans, which is a great testament for them. They deserve it, and I tell you what, Invesco is going to be rocking.”
The Bengals (11-5) and Patriots (10-6) played Sunday as if they want no part of the place. Like it or not, the Bengals wound up with the No. 3 seed. They will host their first-round playoff game Sunday against the sixth- seeded Pittsburgh Steelers. No. 4 New England will stay home to open the playoffs Saturday night against the No. 5 Jacksonville Jaguars.
If the Bengals and Patriots win at home, they will play the second round on the road. In that scenario, the Bengals would play the Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High on Jan. 14 or Jan. 15, while the Patriots would play the top-seeded Colts at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
There are two more possibilities: If the Steelers beat the Bengals and the Patriots win, the Broncos would play the Patriots in their second-round playoff game. If the Bengals and Steelers both lose, the Broncos would host Jacksonville.
OK, so thin air doesn’t play that many mind tricks. The motivation for the Bengals and Patriots in resting their top players Sunday was not to avoid the Broncos but to competitively enhance their chances of winning their first-round playoff game.
To wit: Got to win one before you can win two. But the Bengals and Patriots also can’t deny that as they planned for their regular-season finales, they gave zero thought to avoiding the Colts in round two. Would have that been the case three weeks ago, when Indy was 13-0?
In the end, it was the Broncos, not the Colts, who laid claim to an undefeated season. The Broncos finished 8-0 at home. Come the second round of the AFC playoffs, could it be tougher for a visiting team to win in Denver than in Indy?
“We have such a better team than we did last year,” Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. “Obviously, we are more consistent. … We have a lot of good character in this room. Everybody wants the same thing. They want to win that Super Bowl this year. I think when you have a group of guys that want to put out for a mission like that, it’s going to get done.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
