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