Coming off a blowout loss and going up against an unbeaten division rival on the road, the New England Patriots celebrated a big win in Week 4. Playing their most complete game of the season, especially on the offensive side of the ball, they beat the Buffalo Bills 29-26 to, in the words of their head coach, get “back in the race.”
Let’s find out what the victory means for Mike Vrabel’s team.
AFC East standings
Buffalo Bills (3-1)
New England Patriots (2-2)
New York Jets (1-3)
Miami Dolphins (0-4)
Just like last year, the AFC East is shaping up to be a two-class society. The Bills remain on top despite losing to the Patriots, but what could have been a decisive win for them decreased their lead to just one game with New England now holding the ever-important head-to-head tiebreaker.
Behind the two playoff aspirants, the Jets and Dolphins are reeling. The former dropped their third straight game after starting the season with a win, while the latter have an argument as the worst team in football right now: not only is Miami 0-4 under new head coach Jeff Hafley, their -55 scoring differential ranks 32nd in the NFL.
AFC playoff standings
Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1)
Buffalo Bills (3-1)
Cleveland Browns (3-1)
Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
Las Vegas Raiders (3-1)
New England Patriots (2-2)
On the bubble: 8. Denver Broncos (2-2), 9. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2), 10. Indianapolis Colts (2-2), 11. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2), 12. New York Jets (1-3), 13. Miami Dolphins (0-4), 14. Los Angeles Chargers (0-4), 15. Tennessee Titans (0-4), 16. Houston Texans (0-4)
Their win over the Bills propelled the Patriots’ back into the playoff picture as the current No. 7 seed and the best-ranked of the 2-2 teams. Why? Because their wins over Pittsburgh and Buffalo gives them a 2-1 conference record, best among their peers at .500.
New England will be in a position to add to it this week. Hosting the Raiders at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, they can get to a winning record for the first time all season and further put the pressure on the Bills and the rest of the AFC. And, yes, we know Las Vegas started 3-0 before a close loss to the Chiefs, but those victories came against the winless Dolphins, winless Chargers, and one-win New Orleans Saints.
Are you confident the Patriots are headed in the right direction?
Every week of the season we will ask fans if they think the team is moving in the right direction. This allows us to track the level of confidence in the fan base throughout the season and analyze what events had the biggest impact in fan support.
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