Players buying in to the Patriots' way of doing things, like rookie QB Mac Jones, mean all signs point to a deep New England playoff run. (AP photo)

The home stretch. And it will mean home field.

That’s what you can expect from your New England Patriots over the next four weeks, beginning with Saturday night’s game at Indianapolis. They should win out, claim the top seed in the AFC, have a bye week, then two games to get to the Super Bowl.

Just like the good ol’ days.

Of course, things can always change. Right now, it’s between two teams, New England and Kansas City, but the injury bug lurks and changes expectations. Just ask the Tennessee Titans, who just aren’t quite the same without injured running back Derrick Henry.

Indianapolis is the biggest hurdle. The Bills appear to be toast, playing just well enough to lose and the AFC East certainly looks like a done deal. Highly unlikely the Patriots will blow a two-game division lead with four to play.

Once again, the reason for the Patriots’ sudden emergence as not only a Super Bowl contender but the AFC odds-on favorite in some eyes is their physical play on both sides of the ball. They have turned the tables on a finesse league by simply pushing other teams out of the way, leaving bodies and limping opponents in their wake.

In a league where teams like to turn games into a track meet through the air, the Patriots will turn it back into football on the ground. They don’t want rookie QB Mac Jones to throw 50 times a game if they can avoid it.

Saturday night, they may meet their match in the physical department. The Colts can pound and ground, but the Patriots might be able to score some points on a team that gives up 21 a game, six more than New England.

And they are 28th against the run. We may see more than three passes by Jones Saturday night but probably not many more if the game trends the way it could, based on the numbers.

But here’s one of the biggest keys to the Patriots success as they return from their bye week: They’ve bought in.

It’s easy to buy-in when you’re winning, but many of the veterans on the team would get up at the post-game podium after those early season losses and express the fact that all wasn’t lost, that the team was close, determined, and adhering to the system they knew would pay dividends in the long run. Players like Matt Judon, Devin McCourty, and even Jones, who was downright giddy after a night in Buffalo in which he threw just three times.

“It’s not just the captains or one or two guys,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “We have multiple leaders at every position. This group has worked hard. They’ve earned what success we have had to this point. Hopefully, we’re all ready to keep earning it.”

Belichick made sure to get plenty of veteran help. He jumped on bringing back linebacker Kyle Van Noy after Miami let him go. Van Noy is a huge presence in that locker room, you better believe it.

Who would win a matchup between the Patriots and Chiefs? It would come down to one thing: How miserable the Patriots with their Judon-led pass rush can make life for Patrick Mahomes.

Are we jumping ahead? Perhaps. Four games left, and three weeks of playoffs before the Super Bowl teams are determined the last weekend in January.

That’s a lot of hits on the field and COVID tests off it that will determine a lot of things.

But one thing is for certain, for these Patriots, united they stand, but divided they won’t fall.

POWER RANKINGS

AFC

1.New England (9-4). 2. Kansas City (9-4). 3.Tennessee (9-4). 4. L.A. Chargers (8-5). 5. Indianapolis (7-6).

NFC

1.Tampa Bay (10-3). 2.Green Bay (10-3). 3.Arizona (10-3). 4. Dallas (9-4). 5.L.A. Rams (9-4).