Agonizing. That's the only way to describe yesterday if you're a Patriots fan.

We're not talking about the actual game out in Oakland, of course. That was a breeze of epic proportions.

We're talking about the 15 or so minutes that preceded it, when the Pats' rivals for the AFC East crown went down to the wire in their respective games to put New England tantalizingly close to an outright lead in the division.

Thanks to local coverage that broke perfectly for the scoreboard watchers, if you plopped yourself down in front of the TV at 4 p.m. you were treated to final moments of Dolphins-Niners and Jets-Bills. You then got to watch in horror as the Bills handed the Jets a game that only Joe Pisarchick could appreciate and the Niners tightened up just as they appeared ready to go in for the winning score.

The Pats then kicked off and took care of business with an easy, 49-26 romp, and for satellite owners the flipping didn't stop as they were able to see the Pats get some help from the Steelers in their win over Baltimore. But at the end of the day, the bottom line remained the same.

The 9-5 Pats are on the outside looking in.

Since the NFL went to its current playoff format in 1990, no 11-win team has failed to make the postseason, but that circumstance remains firmly on the table for the Pats. For them to get in they have to win both of their remaining games (there are scenarios by which they could get in at 10-6, but they are all unlikely) and hope for one of two things:

1. A loss by the Ravens in one of their two remaining games, which would give the Pats the second wild card berth.

Or, 2. One loss each by the Dolphins and Jets, which would give New England its sixth consecutive division crown.

The problem is that having other teams control your destiny is often a painful experience. And there can be no better example of that than what happened at the Meadowlands.

I mean, what a gift.

With the Jets trailing 27-24 and with the boos raining down on a defense that couldn't get the Buffalo runners on the ground, Bills coach Dick Jauron inexplicably called for a J.P. Losman pass play with 2:06 left in the game and the Bills facing a second-and-5. Again, the Jets hadn't stopped the Bills on the ground all game (the Bills ran for 187 yards as a team) and had started to burn their timeouts. The Bills only needed to run clock. Worse case, they would have had to punt back to New York with under two minutes remaining and with the Jets having used up two of their three time outs. To call it an obvious running situation would be an understatement.

By now you know what happened next. Losman rolled out, was hit from behind by blitzing safety Abram Elam, and fumbled. Embattled defensive lineman Shaun Ellis picked up the ball, dropped it, had it bounce perfectly back up into his arms, and then bulled 11 yards into the Buffalo end zone. Ball game.

You could also blame Losman, of course, who showed mind-numbingly bad awareness in allowing the one thing that couldn't happen to happen.

“It's on my shoulders to protect him, to keep him from that situation,” insisted Jauron. “And I didn't do it.”

Whatever. Looks like Buffalo will be looking for another head coach this offseason.

It wasn't quite as bad down in Miami, where San Francisco simply showed its offensive ineptitude when the stakes were at their highest. The Niners were just being the Niners, so it's hard to call this one a fluke. Still, it was a 14-9 game when San Francisco drove to the Miami 21, where they had a first-and-10 with 1:20 on the clock. They would get no further. A spike, two incompletes and a sack by Joey Porter (ugh) ended the threat in short order.

The Pats got the benefit of the close plays in the Baltimore-Steelers game, but it didn't take the sting out of what went on earlier.

It also didn't change their reality. A 10-6 record would be a great accomplishment given the circumstances of their season, from the Tom Brady injury to all the losses on defense. It just won't be good enough for a playoff berth.

“We know we lose, we go home,” said nose tackle Vince Wilfork. “We know our playoffs started a week ago.”

As for the Pats' performance in Oakland, it's hard to know just how good they were because the Raiders are currently a sad joke. The Pats ended up allowing 26 points to a bad offense, but this was not a normal game. It was over after the Pats went out to a 21-0, first quarter lead, and the rest of the game amounted to an extended garbage time.

Still, give big credit to quarterback Matt Cassel, who was sharp in throwing for a career-high four touchdowns just days after losing his father. Also give a nod to Randy Moss, who was terrific in catching two touchdowns and finishing with five receptions, including a few over allegedly unbeatable cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. It was also a huge day for the Pats running backs, as Sammy Morris had 117 yards and a score, LaMont Jordan added 97 yards and another touchdown and Kevin Faulk took advantage of the man-to-man defense of the Raiders and posted 111 all-purpose yards and a score.

It was a performance worthy of a first-place team. Too bad Dick Juaron, JP Losman and the Niners kept them from getting there.

Michael Felger can be seen nightly on Comcast Sportsnet and is a regular contributor for WEEI.com. He can be reached at mfelger@weei.com.