It’s that time of year when NFL coaches, players, and fans start paying a great deal of attention to the playoff picture, as teams jockey not only for a berth in the postseason but also one of the two byes in their conference, with which comes the coveted week off.

So any eagle-eyed Patriots fan who took a look at the AFC standings after Sunday night’s game between the Steelers and Ravens — a game Pittsburgh won, 23-20, with a 12-play drive that ate the remaining time on the clock and culminated in a 42-yard Shaun Suisham field goal — noticed there had been a change.