Bedard: 13 thoughts on the Patriots as they get to 13-3 and take back the AFC East from Bills

Thirteen thoughts on the Patriots as they get to 13-3 with a blowout win over the Jets, and get ready for their t-shirts and hats...

1. Patriots are back as AFC East champs: The Bills almost made another second-half comeback, but ended up falling 13-12 to the Eagles after their kicker missed an extra point, and the Bills went for 2 and the win. Josh Allen missed Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone, so the Patriots are division champions for the first time since 2019.

The Bills' reign ends after five years, and in the first year of the Mike Vrabel-Drake Maye tandem.

The Patriots are now assured of at least one home playoff game. That opponent, at the moment, would be Allen and the Bills (Chargers hold a common opponent tiebreaker on them). 

We're still waiting for the Week 18 schedule. I'm guessing both the Patriots and Broncos are at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, but I will update.

UPDATE: Yup, both games are at 4:25 p.m.

"Yeah, I think winning the division is what we're focused on," Maye said after the game when asked about the possible top seed. "We’ve still got to win out to win the division. That was our mindset and if that means the one seed’s at play, then that's what we're trying to do because we're trying to win the division and win the AFC East.

Well, they got the t-shirts and hats already ...

2. Drake Maye is just ridiculous at this point: Maye is the first player in NFL history to have at least 250 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, and a 90% completion percentage in a single game. Maye is also the first player in NFL history to have multiple games of 200-plus passing yards and at least 2 passing touchdowns with at least a 90% completion percentage in a single season. His other game was against Tennessee on Oct. 19, 2025.

Maye totaled +30.7 EPA on his dropbacks before exiting, the best mark among any NFL quarterback this season. Maye leads the league with 0.27 EPA per dropback. The rest in his neighborhood: Brock Purdy (0.23), Jordan Love (0.22) and Matthew Stafford (0.20). Seven of the last 9 NFL MVPs have led the league in the category, in case you were interested in that kind of thing. Stafford has the Falcons (Monday) and the Cardinals left.

Maye was 6 of 6 for 90 yards and three TDs against the Jets' blitz.

Amazing that he threw his five touchdowns to team-record five different receivers, including Efton Chism.

"There's nobody else that we want as our quarterback or that I want as our quarterback," Mike Vrabel said. "And so to be able to do that and as the plays go through to progression, somebody asked me this week about progression and different things, I said, "Just throw to the guy that's open as soon as you work through your progression," and I think he did that. Some really good designs, but also some great execution."

Maye even got a game ball from Vrabel!

3. Speaking of play design, Josh McDaniels was in his bag again on Sunday.

Possibly as a result of Mack Hollins being out for the next four games, the Patriots used their jumbo package on a season-high 25.8% of snaps in Week 17 against the Jets and that resulted in two touchdowns. Without Hollins, the Patriots' 11 personnel grouping (three receivers) was used at its lowest rate since Week 9 but was really good — thanks to some new faces getting more run (Kyle Williams, Chism, DeMario Douglas) — averaging 9.9 yards per play and scoring 3 touchdowns.

The biggest jump in personnel packages came from 21 personnel (two backs), and that could be FB Jack Westover (crushing block on Stevenson's rushing TD) or both running backs on the field together. The season average was 14.9%, and it jumped to 22.6% against the Jets (third-highest of the season). Had a success rate of 42.9%, and it was a perfect 50-50 run-pass split in that package. 

"You go through the play sheet and I star the ones that we like and I like and I feel like we got a good chance to pick up a first down," Maye said. "I starred a lot of them this week and felt good about the plan. So, he shows up every week and I think his part and what he does for us and getting us in the right spot and expecting a lot out of us and pushing us to practice hard is one of the biggest reasons why we’ve got to stay improving as the year goes on and helps us in the long run."

McDaniel's niftiest play was on 3rd and 8 just before Chism's touchdown. It was a legal pick play (Chism) when Stevenson exited through the A gap for 17 yards.

4. Man, the Jets might be hopeless, and you wonder about Aaron Glenn's future.

Certainly the Jets are down a bunch of players with injury, but that was a pretty pathetic display of football, even for the Jets. And Glenn knew it.

"Yeah, that’s very disappointing to see that," he said. "But I’ll always say this, I’m upset with the effort, but I’m also upset with us as coaches, too, though. And again, it’s going to start with me of getting these guys ready to play against a hell of a team for our last home game this season. And that bothers me. It does. In front of our fans, to let them see how we end this season, and we end it like that. It bothers me."

This felt very similar to the Patriots' 40-7 home loss to the Chargers in Week 17 last season. And we know what happened after that. I wonder if Woody Johnson takes a look at the other side of the field, the decision that Robert Kraft made about a year ago, and thinks harder about making a change, if he thinks at all about anything.

5. If the Patriots are to make a Super Bowl run, Rhamondre Stevenson is going to need to be large.

Since his rough debut after injury in Week 12 against the Bengals, Stevenson has been a terrific all-around back for the Patriots, as he's had 22 carries for 148 yards (6.7 average) in the past three games alone, when he really got his footing. Obviously, there's the fumbling issue, but he is by far the Patriots' best every-down back, and Maye is going to need a dependable running game with each passing postseason game.

There's no question that TreVeyon Henderson is immensely talented and a home-run hitter if the blocking is there, but he's too inconsistent on down to down. Too many lines like Sunday: 1 yard, no gain, 2 yards, 12, 6, no gain, -2, 17, 4, 5, 3, -2, 2, 16, 3 ... Obviously that's not all his fault, but Stevenson is remarkable at getting more than what's there. And he's become a very natural pass catcher.

I'd like to see more of a 60-40 split in the postseason. Thunder and lightning.

6. I don't know what has gotten into Stefon Diggs, but more, please.

After posting yardages of 20, 26 and 26, Diggs has exploded for 9 for 138 and 6 for 101 in the past two games. Don't know if he heard the chatter of December Diggs, or if someone challenged him after putting poor film out there in the loss to the Bills, but he looks like a new man.

With no Hollins, Diggs and Hunter Henry are going to get a lot more attention in the postseason, and they're both going to need to cash in on every single opportunity. Both had great catches against the Jets.

7. Road warriors.

With the win over the Jets, the Patriots improved to a perfect 8-0 road record in 2025. They are the only team that has not lost on the road in 2025. The Patriots finished undefeated on the road two other times in team history with 8-0 records in 2007 and 2016. 

Going 8-0 is nothing to sniff at, and is a testament to the entire apparatus, starting with Vrabel. I don't care what schedule they played because two of their biggest wins (Buffalo, Baltimore) came on the road, and coming back at Miami was no small feat.

That's why I'm not worried about playoff seeding, and where they might have to play. Yes, that includes Denver, and I don't want to hear anything about your Patriots PTSD in the Mile High City. It's a new day and live in the now!

8. Kudos to the Patriots' special teams (mostly).

A big key was not allowing the Jets' top-ranked unit to get any big returns. There were three touchbacks and a 28.5 kickoff average. And one punt was not returned.

Of course, Andy Borregales missed a 41-yard field goal, so it wasn't perfect.

Oh, I almost forgot the Jets ran back-to-back fake punts. Got Brendon Schooler a little on the first one.

9. Not too much to quibble with, but I still don't understand this sequence before halftime:

The drive resulted in a touchdown, but did they really need to call a timeout before 3rd and 1? And they couldn't have had another play ready after the sneak? Let Drake Bake. Let him have some fun at the line of scrimmage. A good moment to work on some things and let your hair down a little.

10. I guess some of the Jets didn't like the Patriots' smack talk.

Armand Membou, Christian Barmore's favorite guy after he planted him into the turf just before halftime, had this to say: "Yeah, it was really scrappy. Especially once they got up on us, you know, just getting cocky and everything."

Don't let them score.

11. Patriots' run defense is still a big worry.

The Jets had 28 carries for 164 yards, with Breece Hall going 14-111-1 with a 59-yard touchdown. The Patriots are still down people, and the backups got extended run in the second half, so I'm not super worried. But it needs to get fixed in a hurry. The rushing offense DVOA rankings for potential AFC playoff teams: 2. Bills, 5. Ravens, 6. Steelers, 14. Denver, 21. Chargers. The Patriots entered Sunday as 23rd against the run.

12. Shoutout to the entire coaching staff for what they've done this season.

You'd be hard-pressed not to find an area of this team, or even individual players, that have not gotten better over the course of this season. Some of the improvements from the preseason and Vikings joint practice are remarkable. 

13. Again, health should now be the priority.

With the division wrapped up, it's very tempting to go for the No. 1 seed. But I'm not playing anyone (likely Khyiris Tonga, Will Campbell, Robert Spillane, Kayshon Boutte) who could make their injury worse by playing.

But if the doctors say it's fine, I would like to see Campbell, Milton Williams and Spillane knock the rust off for a quarter against Miami.