The Patriots' Week 17 win over the Jets was a thing of beauty for many reasons, one being Drake Maye's nearly flawless performance, which set NFL records (again) with his accuracy. Beyond that, the win was made even sweeter when the Bills fell to the Eagles later in the afternoon, officially handing the AFC East to New England, after owning the division for five straight years.
The reigning champions went into the 2025 season expecting to remain atop the division, a prediction many analysts shared, because despite the ever-evolving narrative surrounding the Patriots' easy schedule, that was not part of the discussion throughout the offseason.
But now that they have won 13 games so far and the division again, the schedule is being used to downplay what they have accomplished.
That doesn't mean anything in the eyes of Patriots fans, however, especially now that there are some funny offseason takes to revisit, most of which are from Buffalo fans.
Patriots fans are quick to laugh at some old predictions about the Bills' 2025 season
One of those infamous takes began circulating on New England social media over the weekend, and Patriots fans couldn't help but troll their rival over the now-cold assumption that the Bills would remain the "father" of the AFC East.
It was already a hilarious assertion, considering they did absolutely nothing in the five years they were the reigning champions, but it's even funnier now that the Patriots took the crown.
Hailee Steinfeld naming the 4 AFC East teams,
— BillsOnReal (@BillsOnReal) February 19, 2025
“The Buffalo Bills and their 3 sons”
SHE AINT WRONG 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/770saKSFSm
Instead, the Patriots have regained their label as the rightful owners of the East, just as they did for two decades during the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era.
The current team hopes to attain that kind of success under Mike Vrabel, and in his first season, they're certainly accomplishing far more than anyone imagined. They're on the cusp of winning 14 games after back-to-back seasons of just four wins, and are still contending for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Regardless of where they'll ultimately sit, they're headed to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season and have their eyes on the biggest prize of all, the Super Bowl. No matter how the year ends, it has been a success, and the future looks bright, which is not something the Bills or the rest of the AFC East want to see.