Patriots fans woke up Monday morning to an unusual and unexpected sight — their team wasn’t in first place in the AFC.

That distinction belongs to the Raiders, who have the same 8-2 record as the Patriots and vaulted ahead thanks to the NFL’s fourth tiebreaker — strength of victory (.469 to .390 after Thursday’s games).

Of course, there are six games to go, and the Raiders still have road games at the Chiefs and Broncos, plus games against the Panthers, Bills, Chargers, and Colts.

But the Patriots are no longer the lock for the No. 1 seed that many of us expected them to be, and not just because the Raiders are playing well. The Patriots may be 8-2 but are showing signs of trouble — they can’t consistently get to the quarterback, they aren’t forcing turnovers, they’re benching or trading away key players on defense, and now the injury bug is starting to hit, with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski dealing with issues.

The Patriots should still be considered the favorites in the AFC, but they won’t coast to another Super Bowl appearance. Let’s take a look at the AFC teams that could prevent the Patriots from getting to Houston:

Raiders — There’s a lot to like about this team, starting with its third-year quarterback, Derek Carr. Not only do his stats sparkle — 280 yards per game, 20 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions — but Carr displays the mental toughness needed to beat the Patriots in the playoffs. The Raiders are 5-0 on the road this year, and Carr has led four fourth-quarter comeback wins.

The Raiders came to Gillette Stadium in 2014 when Carr was a rookie and he didn’t have nearly the caliber of supporting cast as he has now, and the Patriots eked out a 16-9 victory. Carr was driving for a tying score in the final minutes when a pass was deflected in the red zone and intercepted by Vince Wilfork to save the victory.

But the Raiders are more than Carr, of course. He’s got two outstanding receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. They’ve got one of the best offensive lines in football and a top-10 running game, averaging 118 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry. And while their secondary is suspect, the Raiders have one of the best pass rushers in the game in Khalil Mack, who can ruin a game in a hurry. Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon often struggle against elite pass rushers, and Patriots fans remember Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware crushing their Super Bowl hopes last year.

Dolphins — The 6-4 Dolphins are currently the No. 7 seed, and the Patriots would rather they don’t make the playoffs.

They’re one of the hottest teams in the NFL with five straight wins, and they have many elements that give the Patriots trouble — an athletic, mobile quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, a great offensive line bolstered by three first-round picks, a resurgent running game led by Jay Ajayi, playmakers at wide receiver in Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker, and a fearsome defensive line anchored by Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh. Not to mention, first-year coach Adam Gase learned at the foot of Josh McDaniels — and by extension, Bill Belichick — and knows how to craft an offensive game plan.

Scoff all you want at the Dolphins, but they’ve been trouble for the Patriots. The Dolphins have beaten the Patriots in Miami three straight times, and the Patriots still have to play down there in Week 17. And Tannehill tore up New England for 387 passing yards in a 31-24 Patriots victory in Week 2, before the Dolphins got rolling.

Titans — The 5-6 Titans are only 11th in the AFC right now, but they’re just 1½ games behind the Texans for the AFC South lead. And this is another team that doesn’t look like a great matchup for the Patriots on paper.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota is not only a tremendous athlete but he’s been incredibly efficient this year, throwing for 23 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. More impressively, he’s never thrown a red-zone interception in his two-year career, with 31 touchdowns. The Patriots struggle with mobile quarterbacks, and Mariota has 264 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns this year.

And the Titans have done a great job in surrounding him with playmakers. DeMarco Murray has been awesome, with 1,268 total yards and 11 touchdowns, helping the Titans boast the NFL’s third-best running game. Tight end Delanie Walker (607 receiving yards, five touchdowns) and receiver Rishard Matthews (605 receiving yards, six touchdowns) are difficult matchups, and UMass product Tajae Sharpe has had a nice rookie season (453 receiving yards, two touchdowns). They also have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, with top-10 draft picks at the tackle spots ( Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin) and former Patriot Josh Kline is playing well at right guard.

The defense is suspect, particularly the secondary, but they have two players who can definitely get after the quarterback in Brian Orakpo (nine sacks) and Derrick Morgan (eight sacks). We have a hard time envisioning the Titans coming into Gillette Stadium and winning a playoff game, but the Titans could definitely give the Patriots a tough game.

Broncos — This list wouldn’t be complete without the Broncos, especially if the Patriots don’t lock up home-field advantage and have to play in Denver, where Brady is 2-7 in his career.

The Broncos are using pretty much the same formula as last year. Miller has 9.5 sacks, and the Patriots still don’t seem to have an answer for him. Ware has struggled with injuries, but Derek Wolfe (4.5 sacks) and Shane Ray (four sacks) are a handful, and they still have one of the best secondaries in the league with Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, and T.J. Ward.

The Broncos’ offense doesn’t have a whole lot of firepower, and the quarterback doesn’t scare you. But a wheezing Peyton Manning did just enough last year to beat the Patriots and then the Panthers for the Super Bowl title, and if Trevor Siemian can protect the football, the Broncos’ defense can still win games.

HIS TIME HAS COME

McDaniels is deserving of shot

A few Patriots-related tidbits to help you digest that turkey:

■ Josh McDaniels could’ve been a little more direct with his words, but he still made it pretty clear that he wants another chance at a head coaching job soon, probably this coming offseason. Had McDaniels intended to stay in New England to succeed Bill Belichick, as was surmised in an article from Pro Football Talk last week, he would’ve simply said that he’s happy where he is.

McDaniels should be at the top of most lists — a young, offensive-minded coach who has had great success in the NFL and already has learned his mistakes in his first go-round as head coach in Denver. We’ve already heard from several Packers, Jaguars, and Rams fans on social media about wanting McDaniels to come in and work with Aaron Rodgers, Blake Bortles, and Jared Goff. The Packers job could be mighty tempting for McDaniels — in the NFC, not much to do with the Patriots — assuming Green Bay fires Mike McCarthy, of course.

■ While we don’t have any specifics on Tom Brady’s knee injury, we hear he’s pretty “banged up,’’ and that he won’t be taking too many practice reps for the near future. Jimmy Garoppolo took all of the practice reps Wednesday and Thursday, and we’re told the Patriots plan to activate Jacoby Brissett off injured reserve this week, barring an unexpected circumstance. Brissett is seven weeks off of thumb surgery, and the Patriots will use Brady’s injury to get Brissett some much-needed work in practice.

■ As the playoffs near, it’s good to review the tiebreakers for the No. 1 seed. They are, in order: head to head, won-loss percentage in conference games, won-lost percentage in common games (minimum four), strength of victory, strength of schedule, and six more tiebreakers that probably won’t come into play.

The Patriots will have trouble winning any strength of victory or strength of schedule tiebreakers, thanks to beating the 0-11 Browns and the 1-9 49ers. Not only do the Patriots trail the Raiders in strength of victory, they also have the second-lowest strength of schedule in the NFL (.436), ahead of only Dallas (.408).

■ In speaking with former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik last week for a story about the Patriots’ contract players, Dominik made an interesting comment that the most interesting contract decision involves not any of their upcoming free agents, but what, if anything, they will do with Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski is set to make only $5 million next year, down from a total of $9 million this year, and the Patriots may need to redo Gronk’s deal to keep him happy.

“It’s such a good value now,’’ Dominik said. “It’s going to be more interesting to watch that one play out than the guys that are going to be unrestricted free agents.’’

seeking solutions

Schedule tweak on the table?

Patriots president Jonathan Kraft threw some water on the buzz that the NFL may be cutting some commercial time out of its broadcasts in an effort to speed up the game and retain fans, saying before last week’s 49ers game that “nothing formally has been discussed.’’

Kraft said that the most substantive talks will come at the owners’ meetings in March and May, when the league does most of its administrative work.

Kraft also noted that while attending the Conor McGregor fight at Madison Square Garden a few weeks ago, executives from Fox and Turner “were actually talking about how the ratings during ads were not dropping. So the ads might not appear to be the issue.’’

And Kraft mentioned that the owners have discussed, very casually, about having some sort of “wild-card’’ game in the NFL schedule that would allow the NFL to schedule two teams that aren’t part of the regular schedule rotation.

The comment was made following a question about why great teams such as the Patriots and Seahawks, who just played another classic battle, play only once every four years.

“We have talked about at the league meetings that if we were ever to do something with the way the schedule rotates or if games were ever to be added, could it be a wild-card game that would make sense,’’ Kraft said.

“But beyond the very hypothetical, I think we’re a long way from seeing that happen, as great as it would be for the game.’’

Also, note to Roger Goodell and the NFL owners: TV ratings aren’t down because London games start at 9:30 a.m. In fact, I think many of us very much enjoy the morning football option, and it also helps the league broadcast games to Asia in prime TV windows.

If the NFL wants to trim the fat, cut down on “Thursday Night Football,’’ which is a sloppy product.

ETC.

Missed PATs are a pointed topic

The NFL saw a league-record 12 missed extra points last week, and the league’s extra-point struggles are fascinating. The extra point is now the equivalent of a 32- or 33-yard field goal, depending on the spot of the hold, and NFL kickers have made 706 of 754 extra points this year (93.6 percent).

But those struggles aren’t translating to traditional field goals. Kickers are 45 of 46 (97.8 percent) on field goals from 32-33 yards this year, with the only miss from the Bucs’ Roberto Aguayo.

Last year, the kicks fell in line — kickers made 1,146 of 1,217 extra points (94.2 percent), and went 50 for 53 on field goals from 32-33 yards (94.3 percent).

Giving Smith a chance

The Cowboys activated rookie linebacker Jaylon Smith from the non-football injury list last week, but that doesn’t mean that he will play this season — or perhaps ever.

Smith was the potential top-10 pick who suffered a horrific knee injury in Notre Dame’s bowl game last January, and while his ACL and MCL could heal, Smith also suffered nerve damage that could threaten his football career.

By activating Smith, the Cowboys now have three weeks to observe him practicing before deciding whether to put him on the 53-man roster, but Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said the team just wants to look at Smith, and almost certainly won’t activate him this year.

Hopefully Smith is able to return to the field next year, but if not, he has full guarantees of $745,226 next year and $404,840 in 2018, on top of the $450,000 salary and $2.9 million signing bonus he got as the 34th overall draft pick.

Extra points

The laser incident in last week’s Texans-Raiders game was an embarrassing look for the NFL and fans in Mexico City. A fan shined a green laser at the players throughout the game, and security from the league or the stadium couldn’t find the culprit. “I never want to say one thing is a difference-maker, but certainly having a laser zoomed in on your eyeball definitely affects how you play a game,’’ Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler said. Mexico City was hosting its first regular-season game since 2005, and the laser incident should give the NFL pause about returning . . . The best part of the Seahawks-Patriots highlight package on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL’’ a couple of weeks ago — Pete Carroll yelling “Throw it away!’’ at Russell Wilson a microsecond before Wilson threw a touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with six seconds left in the second quarter . . . Darrelle Revis worked out with former Patriots teammates Logan Ryan, Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, and Tavon Wilson in the offseason at the Fischer Institute in Phoenix. “Barely though,’’ one league source said. “He was never on time.’’ . . . Jay Cutler didn’t go on injured reserve with his shoulder injury — reportedly a torn labrum — but we have probably seen the last of him in a Bears uniform. He is due a $12.5 million salary and a total of $16 million next year — a lot of money for a passionless, inconsistent quarterback — but none of it is guaranteed, making it easy for the Bears to move on. Cutler is 51-51 as the Bears’ starter with only one playoff appearance in eight seasons (2010), while making about $104 million.

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.