New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots made the AFC Championship Game their annual invitational with 13 appearances since 2001.
That’s far from the case now with the Patriots winning just eight games over the last two seasons. They’ve made the playoffs just once since 2020 and last won a postseason game in Super Bowl LIII after the 2018 season.
This year’s installment welcomes the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. The teams meet in the title game for the second time since 2020 and for the fourth time in the postseason in that span. Kansas City has the 3-0 advantage so far while Buffalo has four straight regular-season wins over their new-school AFC rival.
Now, it may be weird to talk about who Patriots fans should be “rooting” for given how much work New England has ahead to return to relevancy and one day to the postseason. But both teams still have impacts on Patriots of the past and present, so there’s a right answer here.
So, pick the AFC East rival that’s battered New England in the post-Brady era or the current NFL dynasty that can threaten the previous dynasty’s standing among the greats?
For as strange as it may be for the current Patriots, rooting for the Bills can protect the past, even though New England fans should be focused on the future.
The Chiefs are one year away from tying the Patriots’ mark of eight straight appearances in the AFC Championship Game. Patrick Mahomes already has three rings and could lead the Chiefs to a level the Patriots never reached should they finish off the three-peat this season.
Buffalo, who the Patriots went 32-3 with under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, won their fifth-straight AFC East title and seek their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1994 season. A win over the Chiefs would glorify Buffalo and prevent another Kansas City step in rivaling the 2000s Patriots.
So, for those watching Sunday, it’s up to the division to protect the dynasty.
The Bills and Chiefs kick off at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium at 6:40 p.m. ET Sunday night on CBS.
