While not unexpected, the Patriots’ Thursday night win over the Jets strengthened their grip on first place in the AFC East. The victory also puts pressure on the Colts and Broncos to keep pace in the race for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

At 9-2, New England, at least temporarily, has the best record in the NFL before Sunday’s games even kick off.

At 5-4, the defending AFC champion Chiefs are currently one spot out of the playoffs, but they’ll have a chance to fight their way in, while impacting the top of the race at the same time.

Kansas City is at Denver on Sunday before hosting the Colts next week at Arrowhead. Indy has a bye this week to prepare.

Patriots record: 9-2

Games remaining: 6

The Patriots are currently 3-0 against division foes, while the Bills are 2-2, which could be significant if they finish tied.

Buffalo hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday.

The Patriots and the Broncos are each 5-2 in conference, while Indy is 6-1 vs. the AFC. Conference record would be the first applicable tie-breaker among these three teams.

Thursday’s Games

New England 27, N.Y. Jets 14

Sunday’s Games involving AFC contenders:

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

Houston at Tennessee, 1 p.m.

L.A. Chargers at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

Baltimore at Cleveland, 4:25 p.m.

Kansas City at Denver, 4:25 p.m.

Byes: Indianapolis, New Orleans

Byes: No. 1 New England

No. 2 Indianapolis vs. No. 7 Jacksonville

No. 3 Denver vs. No. 6 Buffalo

No. 4 Pittsburgh vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers

Seven teams from each conference make the playoffs — Four division winners and three wild cards.

The No. 1 overall seed is the division winner win the best record. It gets a bye in the first round.

Seeds 2-4 are the remaining division winners ranked by record and any necessary tie-breakers.

No. 5 is the top wild card team, the non-division winner with the best record and any necessary tie-breakers.

No. 6 and 7 and the second and third best wild card teams.

In the first round:

In the second round, the lowest remaining seed plays at the No. 1 seed and the other two winners face each other.

All tie-breakers can be found here