Even after the Patriots had finished their game in Week 17, the good news kept pouring in.
New England had quite the impressive performance on Sunday, routing the New York Jets 42-10 in a record-setting performance from second-year starting quarterback Drake Maye. That alone was enough to make it a good Sunday for the Patriots – but things got even better as the Bills took the field against the Eagles later in the day.
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The Bills would struggle in a home-field match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles, and by the end of the evening, the NFC East champions had knocked off Buffalo 13-12. And that loss, combined with the Patriots’ win earlier in the day, helped the Patriots clinch the 2025 AFC East Championship just one week after punching their playoff bid.
The divisional championship marks the franchise’s first since the 2019 season, and the 22nd AFC East title for the Patriots since joining the NFL in 1970. Their playoff appearance this season will be the first since 2021.
Now the Patriots will dial in on their Week 18 showdown with the Dolphins, where they’ll be playing for the opportunity to clinch the top seed in the AFC entering the playoffs. Currently a tiebreaker away from the top spot in the conference, a Patriots win and Broncos loss to a playoff-contending Chargers squad to close the regular season would clinch the No. 1 seed for New England.
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This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Patriots clinch first AFC East title in six seasons
