FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — All the New England Patriots need to gain home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs is a win or tie against the struggling Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

It didn’t do the Patriots much good the past two years.

Last season, they earned the conference’s top seed, but were stunned 28-21 in their first game by the New York Jets who sacked Tom Brady five times. The previous season, they lost the wild-card game, 33-14 to the Baltimore Ravens in front of their own fans who booed them in the first quarter.

Home-field advantage? Not if you play poorly.

Patriots defensive end Shaun Ellis was with the Jets last season and had two sacks in the playoff win over the Patriots.

Still, “It’s very important to be able to play all your games at home with your home fans behind you,” he said Thursday. “It’s a good thing, but you’ve got to win those games, too.”

In the loss to the Ravens, nose tackle Vince Wilfork was shoved aside, opening a huge hole for Ray Rice to run 83 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first offensive play.

That’s history. It doesn’t matter anymore to Wilfork.

“Our main goal is playing good football,” he said. “You can’t compare any other season to this one because each one is different. You have different players. You have different coaches. You have different teams in the playoffs. So you really can’t compare.”

The Patriots (12-3) would get the No. 1 seed and home advantage for two AFC playoff games, if they win the first, as long as they don’t lose to Buffalo at Gillette Stadium. They had won all seven playoff games there before the loss to Baltimore. Since it opened in 2002, they’re 21-2 at home in regular-season games in December and January.

Even if they fall to Buffalo, which ended a seven-game losing streak last Saturday, the Patriots would clinch the top seed if both the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers lose or tie on Sunday.

“I (couldn’t) care less where we play,” Wilfork said. “(The) only thing for sure now is we have one game in the regular season left and one playoff game right now. So where it is? Who knows? One, two seed, who knows? I really don’t care.”

Not now, anyway, with his focus on simply winning the next game. Do that, and the Patriots wouldn’t have to travel until the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, if they get that far.

“Let’s just win this game,” guard Brian Waters said. “If you take care of your business on the football field those things take care of themselves. If you concern yourself with those things, it’s just another one of those things that takes up time that you can be putting into preparation against your opponent.”

Like Ellis, James Ihedigbo was with the Jets last season. Now he’s starting at safety for the Patriots, who are 6-1 at home.

“Anytime that you can have that home-field advantage, I think it’s a big key to being successful in the postseason,” he said.

Their first playoff game will be at home but that’s more than two weeks away. Now the focus is on beating the Bills.

“We’re preparing for this game like we’ve prepared for the last 15,” coach Bill Belichick said.

When the playoffs come, Ellis doesn’t expect the Patriots to rely too much on the friendly crowd to pull them through.

“You can’t, because it’s one game,” he said. “You bring your best or you go home.”

Like the past two seasons, it wouldn’t be a long trip.