New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots have made the most of their non-conference games this season.
New England left Florida with a 28-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Patriots improved to 5-0 on the road after completing their sweep over NFC South competition.
The Patriots have now defeated all four teams from the NFC South. Head coach Mike Vrabel appeared to acknowledge the feat when greeting players in the tunnel after the win, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“NFC South champs!” Vrabel repeatedly declared.
It’s unclear if Vrabel was bestowing that label onto his team or noting that the Patriots defeated the division winner from the last four seasons. No NFC South team had more than four wins within the division in 2024.
Drawing that division factored into New England’s favorable 2025 schedule. The Carolina Panthers, New Orleans and Atlanta Falcons each had a losing record last season and negative point differential this year, and the Patriots took advantage by beating them all.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, wasn’t an easy draw at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers entered the game with a 6-2 record, having lost only to top NFC contenders in the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions.
The Patriots joined that list on Sunday, accruing 435 total yards behind big touchdowns from rookies TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams. Drake Maye left their latest road triumph as the MVP favorite for the AFC East leaders.
New England gets one more NFC matchup when facing the New York Giants in Week 14. The Patriots play four of their final seven games within their division, starting with Thursday night’s battle against the New York Jets.
