When Tom Brady announced he was leaving the Patriots in 2020, most fans outside of New England hoped he would leave the AFC and join a team in the other conference, in hopes of avoiding having to play him in the upcoming season. They got their wish, as the quarterback eventually signed with the Bucs, only to win a Super Bowl that year, and continued to wreak havoc on the league.
That was great news to a team like the Bills, who have gone on to reign supreme in the AFC East since Brady left, and they don't want that to end anytime soon. Fortunately for them, they have had virtually no divisional competition over the last five years, but that might be changing soon.
While it might be too early to declare that the Patriots are back, their win on Sunday Night Football in Buffalo certainly put them in the same stratosphere as one of the league's best teams. It was a primetime display of just how good Drake Maye is going to be, and the work that Mike Vrabel has already accomplished in making them a competitive team again.
You know they have reached that level already based on the reactions from Bills fans, who continue to be seen in social media comment sections complaining about the loss, and trying to insult the Patriots in the process.
The Patriots' win over the Bills has put Buffalo fans into emotional despair
Perhaps the funniest reactions of all continue to be the insinuation that the Patriots' Week 5 win was somehow treated like a Super Bowl victory.
Aside from the absurdity of that statement, it's ironic to see Bills fans say that because they have no idea what a Super Bowl win is like, and their championship window with Sean McDermott and Josh Allen is closing in.
Patriots won their Super Bowl
— 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@tailgate_beers) October 6, 2025
That narrative continued into Monday morning, as NFL insiders reshared the Patriots' locker room celebration to their Twitter pages, which received a lot of negative reaction from Bills fans.
They, of course, continued with the idea that the Patriots somehow treated this win like it came with a Lombardi, despite the fact they should be happy with beating the final remaining undefeated team and the first time they have won a truly competitive game in Buffalo in four years.
This was their Super Bowl.
— Jaco (@BildoBoi) October 6, 2025
This is very much in line with how most would like to discredit what the Patriots accomplished against the Bills, as many don't want to see them become a competitive team again. They could be coming for that spot atop the division, so Bills fans are not pleased with what they witnessed on Sunday Night.
And to be fair, it's an expected reaction given the potential future implications of the Patriots being a good team again could mean. But at the same time, claiming this was their Super Bowl is a crazy reach, because any team would celebrate hard if they beat a perennial contender on their field in primetime.