No teams have clinched berths in the postseason yet, but the Patriots will have a chance to do that and more in Week 15.
If the Patriots complete a sweep of their two games against the Bills by beating them at home on Sunday, they will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since the 2019 season. That would be a significant accomplishment in head coach Mike Vrabel’s first year, but Vrabel said at a Monday press conference that he won’t be making the possibility of celebrating with commemorative merchandise a focus of the team’s preparation this week.
“No, I don’t use the hat and T-shirt,” Vrabel said, via a transcript from the team. “We’re just trying to play for the championship that we have available this week, and I think it’s a great testament to our players that have put us in this position to be able to do that. Again, that’s not going to be easy. This is a very good football team. There’s a reason that they’ve won this division five years in a row. A lot of respect for them. They’re never out of it, never down, and they may be down, and just like last week, it’s a football team that understands that somebody’s going to make a play. And then the quarterback is going to give them a chance to the very end.”
Ending the Bills’ run at the top of the AFC East would be a significant development for New England, but it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be much talk about anything but the next game in New England this week.
