The New England Patriots will go to the AFC playoffs if they beat the Buffalo Bills on the final day of the NFL’s 2022 regular season.

The Bills already have secured the AFC East title and a home game to start the postseason, but the Bills could be playing for the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs.

The Kansas City Chiefs can lock up the No. 1 seed by beating the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday afternoon. If Kansas City loses, Buffalo would become the top seed by beating New England.

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But the 125th New England-Buffalo regular-season meeting has a storyline that goes beyond must-win games and playoff scenarios.

In the first quarter of the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin’s heart stopped after he had made a tackle. Revived on the field, Hamlin was rushed to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and while the news on his recovery has been steadily good, the incident triggered a reaction like nothing the NFL had seen previously.

New England quarterback Mac Jones realizes Sunday’s contest in Buffalo is more than just another NFL game.

“There’s a game on our mind, but there’s also a lot bigger things than football itself,” Jones said. “We’re definitely still feeling it, and we feel for him and his family and all that. Just trying to do everything we can to prepare, but at the same time, we’re all there for him. …

“Definitely a lot of emotions and things like that running around, and to try and stay focused on the game is hard. It’s a hard thing to do, and that’s just one thing you have to do is focus on each day.”

The uncharted territory opened by Hamlin’s incident included the suspension and then cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game. The first snap of Sunday’s game will be the first for Buffalo since Hamlin left Paycor Stadium in an ambulance.

“Obviously, him being on their team, that’s a lot of motivation just to play for him,” Jones said. “I mean, we’re all playing for him, right? We all want to be out there and compete, and that’s what he does when he’s out there. He’s all over the tape, you see him making plays, and it’s just tough to see that he’s hurt so bad. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to go out there and compete, really just honor him on both sides of the ball.

“Obviously, have a respect for the Bills and everything they’ve been through this past week. It’s really tough. Obviously, we’re not in their situation, but we’re all in this together. I think it’s important to realize football is a game that brings people together, and I think this is a great example of bringing not only our teams together, but the whole league, the whole world really, the whole nation.”

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When the game starts, Jones said, the Patriots must be focused on winning. New England already has lost to the Bills this season 24-10 on Dec. 1, and another defeat by Buffalo likely would end the Patriots’ season.

New England could lose to the Bills and still get the final wild-card spot in the AFC playoffs, but only if the Miami Dolphins lose to the New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend.

“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of respect for the team we’re going against and, obviously, in the situation that they’re in,” Jones said. “It’s just being there for them however we can, and we’ve done that all week. Obviously, on the game, there’s a lot of emotions flying. That’s every game, but, obviously, this game, very much so, too. Really just trying to accept all the emotions and just be there for their team and whatever we’re going to do and all that. When the kickoff starts, you kind of just have to go out there and play and compete against a really good team.”

The former Alabama All-American will face Buffalo for the fifth time in his career, including a playoff contest last season. This will be the first time that Hamlin has not been on the other sideline.

Placed on injured reserve on Friday, Hamlin was mainly a special-teamer for last season’s games, totaling 15 defensive snaps. But he played 51 defensive snaps and broke up a pass as a starting safety in last month’s meeting.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar and his family,” Jones said. “Sounds like he’s definitely making some good progress, and as a player, we love this game and it’s just tough to see that happen. We know that he loves this game, too. Got a chance to compete against him a couple times here, just a great guy, and you can see all the support around the world, really, just for the game of football and for him, his family.”

The Patriots and Bills will square off at noon CST Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. CBS affiliates in Alabama are scheduled to televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.