Story by
Bills focused on keeping AFC East hopes alive, not ruining Patriots’ party
- Story by
- Bills focused on keeping AFC East hopes alive, not ruining Patriots’ party
FOXBOROUGH — Somewhere in Gillette Stadium there were boxes filled with “ New England Patriots 2025 AFC East Champions” hats and T-shirts.
They were ready to go, first to the players on the field and then to the shelves of the team store if New England won
Advertisement
The Bills made sure those boxes stayed sealed a little longer.
Buffalo erased the Patriots ’ early 21-0 lead and kept their hopes of a sixth straight division title alive with a 35-31 win over New England.
The Bills were glad to win and to stay alive in the division race, but they were more focused on building off Sunday’s win than reveling in it.
“We understood what was at stake. But at the same time, that wasn’t really in the back of our heads,” Josh Allen said. “We were just, hey, we’ve got to find a way to win the football game. And that’s what we did tonight.”
Bills coach Greg McDermott agreed.
Advertisement
“It feels good to win. It does. We came in here to play a football game. We’re not really into their goals. We’re into our own journey,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for them. Their coaches do a great job. We came, wanted to play as good as we could and get a win, and we did.”
Tre’Davious White said the Bills were glad they could still win the AFC East, but stopping the Patriots wasn’t a specific priority.
“Ultimately, we want to win the division and we could stop them from doing it, but they were the next opponent,” he said. “We just want to go out and get better every week. Urgency is high.”
At 11-3, the Patriots still have a one-game lead on the Bills (10-4) in the AFC with three games left. As of now, New England also holds the tie-breaker because their 3-1 division record is better than the Bills’ 3-2.
Advertisement
The Bills have one division game left vs. the Jets, while the Patriots face both the Jets and the Dolphins.
The Patriots’ remaining schedule
Bills’ remaining schedule
-
Dec. 21 at Cleveland
-
Dec. 28 vs Philadelphia
-
Jan. 4 vs. NY Jets
More Patriots Content
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
