The Patriots are in the wild card round because of how the NFL playoff format works: even as the No. 2 seed and AFC East champions, they still must play on Wild Card Weekend under the current 14‑team playoff structure.

How the NFL playoff format works

  • The NFL expanded to 14 playoff teams, with seven per conference: four division winners and three wild card teams.
  • Only the No. 1 seed in each conference gets a first‑round bye and skips Wild Card Weekend; all other seeds (2 through 7) play in the wild card round.

Where the Patriots fit in

  • The Patriots won the AFC East and finished as the No. 2 seed in the AFC after beating the Dolphins in Week 18.
  • As the 2‑seed, they are matched up at home against the 7‑seed Los Angeles Chargers in the wild card round, rather than getting a bye like the top‑seeded Broncos.

Why “wild card” doesn’t mean they barely got in

  • “Wild card round” is just the name of the first playoff weekend now; it includes both division winners (like the Patriots) and lower‑seed wild card teams.
  • In older formats, higher seeds (like a 2‑seed) sometimes got a bye, but with the current setup only the 1‑seed avoids the wild card round, so even strong teams like New England still play that first weekend.

Quick forum‑style take

The Patriots aren’t in the wild card because they snuck into the playoffs; they’re there because the modern NFL forces everyone but the top seed to play on Wild Card Weekend, even division‑winning 2‑seeds like New England.

TL;DR: They’re the No. 2 seed, not a bubble team, but only the No. 1 seed (Broncos) gets a bye, so the Patriots have to play the Chargers in the wild card round.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.