FOXBOROUGH - There was a time when the Patriots had the AFC East on lockdown. They won 17 division titles from 2001 to 2019, including an 11-year streak from 2009 to 2019. But Life after Tom hasn't been kind, and the Pats haven't been in a position to clinch the division. Hell, they were more likely to be competing for the #1 draft pick, at least recently. But on Sunday, when the Bills are in town, this once-mighty franchise can continue to conjure up memories of the good old days. A win secures the division. So, will Mike Vrabel use hats and t-shirts as motivators?
"No. I don't use the hat and t-shirt," the head coach said bluntly. "Like, we're just trying to play for the championship that we have available this week. I think it's a great testament to our players that put us in this position to be able to do that. And again, that's not going to be easy. This is a very good football team (Buffalo). There's a reason that they've won this division five years in a row. A lot of respect for him. They're never out of it, never down. Or they may be down, and just like last week, it's a football team that understands that somebody's going to make a play, and then the quarterback is going to give him a chance to the very end."
We'll dig more into Josh Allen and what he's done and is capable of doing as the week goes on - he was otherworldly against the Bengals - but in the here and now, this Pats team has quite the opportunity in front of it, and it's one the players are looking forward to.
"Yeah, that's what you play for, right?" Austin Hooper said. "I mean, obviously, I got the opportunity to come back here again, so it feels a little different this time of year, being able to really compete for this division. If you're a competitive individual, this is exactly the situation you'd want to be in."
"Embrace it a lot," Marcus Jones said. "We're playing the guys that won the division and everything like that for, you know, a lot of years. So, being able to play this game and everything at home, we want to take advantage."
A week ago, when Vrabel was asked about what his message to the team would be heading into the bye, he said,