New England Patriots clinch division, playoff spot in win over Buffalo Bills

New England Patriots win 10th straight AFC East title over the Buffalo Bills by leaning on the run game and an opportunistic defense.

How do you attack the No. 1 passing defense in the NFL? By running the ball, of course.

Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick dialed up the right plan at the right time to combat Buffalo’s stingy secondary, turning instead to a combination of Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, James White, and Cordarrelle Patterson on the ground to do their scoring on Sunday.

The result was a 24-12 win that earned the Patriots their 10th consecutive division championship. Technically, New England wrapped up the division by default a bit earlier in the day when the Dolphins lost at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Michel rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, White had 41 yards and a touchdown, and Burkhead chipped in 79 all-purpose yards. Patterson added 66 yards as a rusher before leaving the game early with a knee injury.

Altogether, the Pats had 275 yards on the ground, excluding two Brian Hoyer kneel-downs. It’s the best rushing performance for the team this season.

And it came at a good time, as Tom Brady again struggled throwing the football. The future Hall of Famer completed just 13 of his 24 passing attempts for only 126 yards. He also threw two picks against one touchdown to Julian Edelman.

As predicted, Edelman had a nice bounce-back game against the Buffalo secondary. The wily slot receiver caught six passes for 70 yards and a score.

New England’s much-maligned defense even got in on the action Sunday against the Bills. Besides holding Buffalo to just 12 points, the Patriots also gobbled up two Josh Allen interceptions – one by Jason McCourty and one by rookie J.C. Jackson.

Overall, it was an impressive performance from a team that had lost back-to-back games for the second time this season.