Brady leads comeback as Pats clinch AFC East
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Unlike some of their recent AFC East titles, the New England Patriots earned this one the hard way.
Quarterback Tom Brady and the offense came to life with a fourth-quarter comeback Saturday, and the defense stiffened on a final drive, to help the Patriots defeat the resilient Buffalo Bills 24-17 and clinch their 11th consecutive AFC East championship.
“It’s pretty cool,” Brady said. “It’s hard to do and it’s a lot of effort and hard work, and a lot of people are coming in day after day and sitting in these chairs and trying to do what’s right for the team. It’s a great reward, it’s a great step for us and it’s great to control the ability to do that, too. To win the division, that’s pretty cool. Happy for us, our team, our coaches, our families and our fans, and hopefully we can build on it and go play great next week.”
The Patriots trailed 17-13 entering the fourth quarter, which marked the first time they were behind at home through three quarters against a division rival since the 2016 season.
They scored the game’s final 11 points, sparked by Brady, running back Rex Burkhead and the return of wide receiver Julian Edelman, who had left the game in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. Burkhead’s 1-yard touchdown run with 5 minutes, 6 seconds remaining, followed by Brady connecting with Edelman on a 2-point conversion, put the Patriots ahead for good.
The crowd at Gillette Stadium serenaded the quarterback with chants of “Brady! Brady! Brady!” in what was an electric atmosphere.
Soon, those chants turned to “Let’s go defense! Let’s go defense!” as the Patriots held off a late charge by the Bills, who drove from their own 25-yard line to the Patriots’ 15 before they were stopped on a final fourth-and-15 play in the end zone.
Brady, who finished 26-of-33 for 271 yards and one touchdown, improved to 32-3 all-time against the Bills. He completed 79% of his passes, his best completion percentage since Week 11 of the 2017 season. Brady hadn’t reached 56% in his previous five games.
Meanwhile, the Patriots improved to 12-3 and maintained their position as the No. 2 seed in the AFC postseason chase. If they beat the Miami Dolphins at home next weekend, they would earn a first-round playoff bye.
Asked how he feels about where the Patriots stand entering Week 17, Edelman said there are still improvements to be made.
“It’s good right now, but there’s a lot of things we can do, going back to the practice field this week and building off this week,” he said. “That’s what you try to do each and every week, whether it’s good or bad. You’ve got to learn and continually try to improve. The teams that I’ve been on that have really embraced that and really been able to do that, good things usually happen.”
The Patriots have won 12 games 12 times since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and the franchise tied San Francisco for the most 12-win seasons over that span.