---

FOXBORO - Generally, the New England Patriots don't acknowledge outside influences that may have a bearing upon what they must do. Every week is a season unto itself, self-contained and hermetically sealed, with no attention paid to anything that is outside of their own control.

But Friday in the Patriots' locker room, there was a growing acknowledgement that their best efforts to make the playoffs may not be enough - that other teams may not be able to provide the help they need for them to continue playing on after Sunday's game at Buffalo (1 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12). Some of them almost seemed resigned to the fact that an 11-5 record in this regular season might be the limit of their achievement.

Even Patriots' coach Bill Belichick admitted there is "no reprieve" available after Sunday's game - an interesting choice of words for a coach who generally tries to cut off all discussion of ramifications if they don't involve what happens between the three-hour span of a game in which his team is playing.

A few players indicated that there's a sense of inevitability surrounding what could transpire Sunday.

"You'd be happy that you had a good season, that you won 11 games if we win this weekend," guard Logan Mankins said. "But our goal is to win it all, so you'd be happy that you had a decent season but you wouldn't be satisfied." The Patriots' challenge remains the same - win in Buffalo, or else. Even if they do win, they need for the New York Jets (losers of four of their last five games) to defeat or tie the Miami Dolphins (winners of eight of their last nine) at the Meadowlands, or for the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars to either defeat or tie the 10-5 Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. The first scenario would award the AFC East title and the No. 3 seed to the Patriots; the latter would make them the sixth and final playoff entrant.

If Miami wins and Baltimore wins, it's farewell until the start of the offseason conditioning program.

"We can't worry too much about our situation," defensive tackle Ty Warren said. "We created our own situation. Granted, 10 wins or 11 wins ... that's a good season. We've had better seasons prior to this one, but we can't get all caught up in what may happen or what may not happen just because we put ourselves in the situation that we're in.

"The only thing we can do to even give us an opportunity to go further is to go up to Buffalo and get a win," he added.

There may be a sense of frustration evident in the Patriots because, after all of the injuries and changes to the lineup necessitated by the personnel losses, they're finally playing up to a level worthy of last year's undefeated run through their first 18 games. They've scored an average of 35.6 points over their last five games, going 4-1 in that stretch, and in wins over Oakland and Arizona, they started fast and never looked back.

"The last few weeks have been nice," Mankins said. "The defense has held them on their end of the field and the punt return team has gotten us good field position. It's easy to score touchdowns when we're that close to the goal line already."

But in the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots will be facing a team that has refused to throw in the towel. Despite a 7-8 record, the Bills went to Denver last week knowing that a win would put the Broncos in the playoffs, and they battled back from a 13-0 deficit to win 30-23. The loss put the Broncos in the embarrassing position of losing a chance to clinch a playoff berth and now having to face San Diego this week with the AFC West title on the line.

"It says a lot about them," Mankins said of the Bills. "Last week they could have given up and mailed it in when they were down by 10, and they came back and beat a team that needed to win that game to get into the playoffs. That shows a lot about the character of the Buffalo Bills."

The Bills are among the best teams in the league in red-zone defense, ranking fourth.

"They do what they're supposed to," Mankins said. "They play to their scheme, and they've got guys that play really hard, run to the ball and hustle a lot. They've got players that play the way their coaches want them to do." The Patriots have won 10 games in a row against the Bills, including a 20-10 decision at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 9. A victory on Sunday will keep their hopes alive of playing another game next week, possibly at home.

But as they watch whatever game is available on their in-flight satellite TV screens on the charter home, their fate will be made known - and they'll know if they have another "one-game season" ahead of them, or if they can be satisfied with becoming the first 11-5 NFL team not to make the playoffs.

"If that's the outcome," Warren said, "I guess you've got to, you know? I mean, what can you do? Nobody's going to give you a free pass to get you into the playoffs ... you've got to earn it."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.