East Champs…Again

They’re still the New England Patriots.

Everyone tired of seeing the Patriots crash their Super Bowl Sunday party wants them to go away. People tuned in Saturday hoping to see some sign from the Buffalo Bills that there would be a change in the AFC East.

Not yet. The Patriots might not have a vintage team, but they’re still 12-3 and AFC East champions for the 11th straight season. They clinched the division with a very hard-fought 24-17 win over the Bills on Saturday. They had to come back in the fourth quarter, but how many times have we seen that? Rex Burkhead’s touchdown run with 5:06 left gave the Patriots the lead. A late defensive stand, after the Bills drove inside the 10-yard line in the final minutes, sealed the division title.

There could be a day soon when the Bills overtake the Patriots in the division. There were signs on Saturday of the Bills’ growth as a team. The gap between the Patriots and anyone else in the AFC East seems smaller than it has in years.

But the Patriots still aren’t ready to give up the crown. And even when the Bills led in the second half, everyone must have known that Tom Brady and his team would find a way to pull out a win.

Even in a loss, the Bills made a statement.

Early on, it looked like the same old AFC East vs. Patriots game. New England was able to dink and dunk down the field. Bills quarterback Josh Allen missed a few wide-open passes. The Patriots led 10-3 and it just seemed like a game we’ve watched before.

Then it changed. The Bills defense started to dig in. The offense hit a huge play at the end of the first half, with Allen throwing a perfect deep pass to tight end Dawson Knox to the 1-yard line, then offensive tackle Dion Dawkins catching a touchdown on a tackle-eligible play. John Brown caught a long touchdown against a Patriots defense that hasn’t given up too many big plays all season, and the Bills led 17-13.

The Patriots were in a true battle. The notion that Saturday’s game would decide the AFC East was overblown. The Patriots were set to clinch with a win, but could also win the division with a win next week at home over a terrible Miami Dolphins team. But it’s rare for the Patriots to not have a division title wrapped up already, and even more rare for a divisional rival to have the Patriots on the ropes in Foxborough.