Final: Patriots 24, Bills 12 - Patriots clinch 10th straight division title taken at Gillette Stadium (Patriots)

(Adam Richins/Boston Sports Journal)

Patriots

Final: Patriots 24, Bills 12 - Patriots clinch 10th straight division title

By Christopher Price

Dec 23, 2018 • 11:20 am

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FOXBOROUGH — Bring on the hats and T-shirts. Finally.

After back-to-back heartbreaking losses on the road, the Patriots closed out the AFC East for the 10th consecutive year on Sunday at Gillette Stadium against the Bills with a 24-6 win over Buffalo.

They actually had the thing finally clinched in the late stages of their own game when the Jags upended the Dolphins, but they made it official with the victory.

New England’s passing game was sloppy at best — Tom Brady had just 40 passing yards in the first half, and ended up 13-for-24 for 126 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Julian Edelman had six catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.

But a terrific running game saved the Patriots, as New England rushed for 273 yards, one of the best single-game marks on the ground of the Bill Belichick Era. Sony Michel had 18 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown, while James White added eight carries for 41 yards a score and Cordarrelle Patterson had four carries for 66 yards.

The Patriots never trailed on the afternoon, but they certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves. New England’s passing game struggled all afternoon, as Brady couldn’t get any sort of traction through the air. But Michel and White helped power things in the early going, as both found the end zone to give the Patriots a 14-0 lead at the half.

The Bills would cut the lead to 14-6 midway through the third quarter, but a terrific catch-and-run on a Brady pass for Edelman ended with a 32-yard dash to the end zone to put them up 21-6. Stephen Gostkowski added a fourth-quarter field goal with 7:44 left in the game to make it 24-6. The Bills tacked on a late touchdown with just over minute to go, but couldn’t convert on the extra point, finishing the scoring.

IN-GAME UPDATES



4:02 p.m.: That should do it -- 24-12 final.

3:48 p.m.: Brady had just 40 passing yards in the first half, and ended up 13-for-24 for 126 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

3:31 p.m.: It's not exclusive, but to this point, we are seeing an awful lot of the Patriots use either two TEs or two backs. One of the reasons we've seen Gronkowski come off the field. Given their field position, settling for three here feels like a bit of a defeat, but regardless, it's 24-6 with 7:44 left in regulation.

3:29 p.m.: Seems like the tide has started to turn here in New England's favor with that last series.

3:13 p.m.: Has to be ground and pound the rest of the way, provided they steer clear of penalties.

3:11 p.m.: Annnnnnd the Bills give up the football in the New England red zone. Jason McCourty and Brown team up for the turnover.

3:08 p.m.: Patriots have a season-high 228 rushing yards. Again, record under Belichick for one game is 277.

3:07 p.m.: Patterson (knee) -- return is questionable.

3:06 p.m.: After the play, Hogan comes over to slap five with Edelman and Brady. Looks like it was a brief thing.

3:04 p.m.: OK, so that looks like a bit of a spark, especially if it holds up -- 32-yard TD pass. Smart play by Edelman to keep running with his knee not touching the ground. Woke the people up -- if it stands, it'll be one of those game-changing plays that will likely come to define this contest. It does, and it's 21-6 with 5:05 left in the third.




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"Big whoop, it's the Bills."


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Adam Richins




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