As Carson Wentz limped his way off the field in Los Angeles on Sunday, so went the chances of a juggernaut in the NFC playoff field: gimpy, vulnerable and looking for answers. All while the New England Patriots, awaiting a Monday night football matchup against the Miami Dolphins, got a little close to their sixth ring of the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era.

It’s been that kind of season for the Patriots.

While weathering their own injury woes with aplomb, they’ve seen one potential title contender after another get rocked. Quarterbacks have fallen. Secondaries have weakened. Offenses have been gutted. Meanwhile, the Patriots have steadily adjusted, tweaked and tuned up a defense that has quietly shown gains after a horrific first month of the season. Now they’re headed toward a Sunday road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game that will likely decide the No. 1 playoff seed in the conference and provide a championship-caliber litmus test.

View photos Tom Brady and the Patriots can take a big step in securing home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. (AP) More

That’s the defining game down the stretch of the NFL season because we don’t know for sure how good these Patriots are. Since thumping the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 in October, New England has been dining on a withering menu of AFC teams. Even the back-to-back high-altitude road games against the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders (in Mexico City) have taken on new meaning. Looking back, those wins were both geographically impressive for the Patriots – but they also came at the expense of franchises that now look remarkably mediocre, if not downright dysfunctional.

The Patriots are as impressive as their 10-3 record indicates (they suffered a 27-20 setback on Monday night to division rival Miami). But their win total has been fluffed a bit. In fact, the Patriots are 2-2 against teams that would be in the playoffs if the postseason started right now – with wins over the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons and losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers. (It’s key to point out that those two losses came in the first month of the season.)

A lot has happened since then. Most notably, a landslide of significant injuries that have weakened teams that might have given the Patriots a host of problems in the AFC playoffs or Super Bowl.

The Eagles looked like a Super Bowl threat before losing Wentz – not to mention All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters. The Chiefs? Their secondary has fallen apart without safety Eric Berry. The Seattle Seahawks’ defense has been walloped with the subtractions of safety Kam Chancellor, cornerback Richard Sherman and defensive end Cliff Avril. And the Green Bay Packers fell behind the playoff pace without quarterback Aaron Rodgers (who may still return), running back Ty Montgomery and right tackle Bryan Bulaga. Also don’t leave out the Steelers, who lost dynamic Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier to a frightening back injury.

All of those injuries have taken a toll on Super Bowl aspirations while leaving teams looking to fill significant voids in the starting roster. It has also elevated the teams that have stayed relatively healthy – including the Falcons and Panthers, who have either dodged the wave of injured reserve issues or admirably managed injured players to the point of their expected return late in the season. Either of those teams is capable of being close to full health and finding a postseason groove all the way into the Super Bowl.

Even the Patriots haven’t been completely untouched by losses, having to make their way without wideout Julian Edelman, All-Pro linebacker Dont’a Hightower and special teams centerpiece Nate Ebner for the rest of the season. Not to mention nursing recent injuries to offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

Story continues