Pats Pulpit
Thanks to their 28-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday night, the New England Patriots punched their ticket to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2021. However, their head coach made it clear immediately after the game that the sights are set on bigger goals.
“We are going to try to win the division,” Mike Vrabel said during his postgame presser. “We are going to focus on that. We just take it one day at a time, and whatever happens, we figure out what is the best thing for the team.”
While the Patriots were not in a position to win their division in Week 16, there is a path to the AFC East crown this weekend:
Disregarding the scenarios involving ties — only one of 240 games so far this season ended without a winner (0.4%) — we can see that the Patriots’ path to division victory is relatively straight-forward. It starts with them beating the New York Jets, a feat they already accomplished earlier this year: in Week 11, they celebrated a 27-14 victory over their rivals.
Since then, the Jets have not made any serious strides toward improvement. They are entering their rematch with the Patriots having lost four of the five games since and with a 3-12 record overall. They also will start third-string rookie Brady Cook, who has thrown one touchdown and six interceptions so far, at quarterback. The game should be there for the taking for New England.
The Buffalo Bills’ challenge this weekend projects to be a tougher one. They will play hosts to the reigning world champion Philadelphia Eagles, who have started to rebound after some struggles earlier this month.
Kickoff between the Patriots and Jets at East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 28. Bills vs. Eagles will start at 4:25 p.m. ET.
