Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots have dominated the AFC East for most of this century, but they are on a dry spell at the moment. Since 2020, the year Tom Brady left after 18 division titles and six Super Bowls, the Buffalo Bills have taken over as top dog.
After five straight division crowns went to Buffalo, however, another changing of the guard might be upon us. On Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, the Patriots are officially in position to recapture the AFC East crown.
That’s right, it’s “Hat and T-shirt Game” time. A win over the 9-4 Bills at Gillette Stadium, and the 11-2 team of head coach Mike Vrabel would claim the division with three weeks left in the season.
Entering Week 15 and following a Bills win over the Bengals on Sunday, the Patriots are regarded as 90% favorites to win the division. Even in case of a loss, those odds would only drop to 77% given New England’s current two-game advantage over Buffalo as well as the schedule ahead. After hosting the Bills, the Patriots will play at the Ravens and Jets before finishing at home against the Dolphins.
The Bills, on the other hand, will visit Cleveland in Week 16 followed by home games against the Eagles and Jets.
Regardless of outcome, the Patriots being in position to win their division after back-to-back 4-12 seasons and two coaching changes along the way is nothing short of remarkable. It also would check the first box off of Mike Vrabel’s list of goals.
“Our goals will be to win the AFC East, to host home playoff games, and to compete for championships,” he said during his introductory press conference back in January. “That’s what it’s going to take. And what the timeline is, just like we say with injuries, we’re not going to put a timeline on an injury and we’re certainly not going to put a timeline on what those will be. But that’s going to be the expectations.”
