{"id":63794,"date":"2025-12-12T07:58:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=63794"},"modified":"2025-12-12T07:58:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:58:24","slug":"can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can the Patriots make it 11 wins in a row and lock up the AFC East division crown for the first time since 2019? Entering the week at 11-2, they are in an excellent position for their stretch run to secure the division and a top AFC seed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Bills, who have won the division for the past five years, are not going to go gentle into that good night. Buffalo was on the ropes at home last week in the snow against Cincinnati before rallying behind Josh Allen and a defense that caused multiple turnovers in the fourth quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Patriots will have their hands full in this matchup, as the Bills looked very good against the Bengals last week. They know that if the Patriots win, they sweep the season series and clinch the division.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps they discounted the Patriots in Week 5, during the first meeting in Buffalo. They won\u2019t this time.<\/span><\/p>\n

This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with J.J. Watt as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will provide analysis from the sidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n

The game is also carried on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let’s quickly get to the matchups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs. Bills Front Seven <\/b>\u2014<\/b> Edge New England<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

The Patriots’ running game has struggled for much of the year. So has Buffalo\u2019s run defense. It is kind of a weakness-on-weakness this week, although the Bills\u2019 run defense has looked a bit better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Look for Josh McDaniels to scheme up some plays, looking for some chunk yardage from TreVeyon Henderson, who has come on in the second half of the season. Rhamondre Stevenson has battled a toe injury, and the bye week hopefully did him some good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bills\u2019 defense misses Ed Oliver. But can the Patriots take advantage enough to dominate? Doubtful, but they will stick with the run to open up play-action passing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs. Bills Secondary <\/b>\u2014<\/b> Edge New England<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

The Patriots’ passing game has been excellent this season, as Drake Maye is an MVP candidate. He can attack all three levels of the field and can extend plays with his feet as well as scramble for yardage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first matchup, the Bills played coverage in the first half and tried to blitz Maye in the second half, which was a mistake, as Maye carved them up for nearly 180 yards after halftime. Look for the Bills to drop seven into coverage and force Maye to hit his spots.<\/span><\/p>\n

This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins, who didn\u2019t have a catch (the only time this season) in the game and wasn\u2019t targeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next up is the Bills offense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bills RBs vs. NE Front Seven <\/b>\u2014<\/b> Edge Buffalo<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

The Patriots’ run defense is currently the #3 unit in the NFL. They have allowed only 89.5 yards per game, and should be getting Khyiris Tonga back this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Buffalo\u2019s running game is #1 in the league with James Cook and Josh Allen leading the way. They average 157.8 yards per game. The Bills love to run to the weak side of the formation, allowing Cook to cut back, allowing for big chunk plays at the second level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look for the Patriots to attack and try to penetrate the offensive line, especially on early downs, to take away the cutback lanes. Not having Milton Williams, who had a big game in Week 5 hurts, but getting Tonga back will surely help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bills WRs vs. NE Secondary <\/b>\u2014<\/b> Edge Buffalo<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

The Bills have the reigning MVP from a year ago, and against the Bengals, Allen looked the part. While the Bills passing game isn\u2019t as explosive as years past it is still a tough matchup because of their excellent pair of tight ends with Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buffalo likes to use them crossing the middle of the field, an area that the Patriots defense has struggled. However, with Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones, the Patriots’ secondary has the tools to lock up the receivers and slow down the passing game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the pass rush has to have gap discipline in this one, if they rush past Allen, he\u2019ll take off and hurt them or extend plays with his legs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Special Teams <\/b>\u2014<\/b>\u00a0 <\/b>Edge New England<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

The Patriots’ special teams gets the slight advantage over the Bills here, especially being at home. Marcus Jones is the guy who can change the entire complexion of the game with his return ability. The Bills will be cognizant of his strengths and try to take that away.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team should also get ace special teamer Brandon Schooler back for this week\u2019s game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Patriots have the opportunity to unseat the Bills as division champions for the first time since 2019 with a win on Sunday. This one should go right down to the wire again.<\/span><\/p>\n

This one should be more high-scoring than the first one. Some interesting tidbits:, Josh Allen is 15-1 in his last 16 December games. Mike Vrabel\u2019s teams are 6-0 coming off the bye week. The Bills average 33.4 points scored at home, but that number falls to 23.7 on the road.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think both quarterbacks will excel in this one, but the Patriots (underdogs) will pull off the upset with a last-minute stop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Patriots 31-27<\/b><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at<\/span><\/i> stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>PatsFans.com<\/span><\/a> Patriots No Huddle <\/span><\/i><\/a>podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Derek Havens, Mike D\u2019Abate, and I discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":62949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23757,23296,23494,11],"tags":[254,46,23269,23398,2200,23466,2201,22857,1743,23704,22987,664,44,22588,23738],"class_list":["post-63794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-patriots-season","category-buffalo-bills","category-new-england-patriots","category-patriots-commentary","tag-afc-east","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-christian-gonzalez","tag-dalton-kincaid","tag-dawson-knox","tag-drake-maye","tag-ed-oliver","tag-james-cook","tag-josh-allen","tag-khyiris-tonga","tag-marcus-jones","tag-mike-vrabel","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-rhamondre-stevenson","tag-treveyon-henderson"],"yoast_head":"\nCan Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday? | PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PatsFans.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T12:58:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2198\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1465\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Balestrieri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SteveB7SFG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@patsfans\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\"},\"headline\":\"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T12:58:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":980,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AFC East\",\"Buffalo Bills\",\"Christian Gonzalez\",\"Dalton Kincaid\",\"Dawson Knox\",\"Drake Maye\",\"Ed Oliver\",\"James Cook\",\"Josh Allen\",\"Khyiris Tonga\",\"Marcus Jones\",\"Mike Vrabel\",\"New England Patriots\",\"Rhamondre Stevenson\",\"TreVeyon Henderson\"],\"articleSection\":[\"2025 Patriots Season\",\"Buffalo Bills\",\"New England Patriots\",\"Patriots Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T12:58:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg\",\"width\":2198,\"height\":1465,\"caption\":\"Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Patriots Commentary\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/patriots-commentary\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"description\":\"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PatsFans.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/PF_Social_Logo.webp\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"PatsFans.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/patsfans\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/patsfans\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@patsfans.official\"],\"foundingDate\":\"2000-06-17\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da\",\"name\":\"Steve Balestrieri\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Balestrieri\"},\"description\":\"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/steve.balestrieri\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/SteveB7SFG\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.patsfans.com\\\/patriots\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/sbalestrieri\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?","description":"This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday? | PatsFans.com","og_description":"This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/","og_site_name":"PatsFans.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","article_published_time":"2025-12-12T12:58:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2198,"height":1465,"url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Balestrieri","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SteveB7SFG","twitter_site":"@patsfans","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Balestrieri","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da"},"headline":"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?","datePublished":"2025-12-12T12:58:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/"},"wordCount":980,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg","keywords":["AFC East","Buffalo Bills","Christian Gonzalez","Dalton Kincaid","Dawson Knox","Drake Maye","Ed Oliver","James Cook","Josh Allen","Khyiris Tonga","Marcus Jones","Mike Vrabel","New England Patriots","Rhamondre Stevenson","TreVeyon Henderson"],"articleSection":["2025 Patriots Season","Buffalo Bills","New England Patriots","Patriots Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/","name":"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-12T12:58:24+00:00","description":"This seems like a Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry-type game for the offense. My \u201cX\u201d factor in the passing game is Mack Hollins","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg","width":2198,"height":1465,"caption":"Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2025\/12\/12\/can-the-patriots-end-bills-reign-clinch-afc-east-this-sunday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Patriots Commentary","item":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/category\/patriots-commentary\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Can Patriots End Bills\u2019 Reign and Clinch AFC East This Sunday?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","name":"PatsFans.com","description":"Patriots Blog with News and Analysis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#organization","name":"PatsFans.com","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/PF_Social_Logo.webp","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"PatsFans.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pfans","https:\/\/x.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/patsfans\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/patsfans","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@patsfans.official"],"foundingDate":"2000-06-17"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/71433b60b6fa7632bd955481ae49f3da","name":"Steve Balestrieri","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfc4c29c648a043b9caafa2dddd23d6eff929a8dee4095b872f8bdd1a072f2cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Steve Balestrieri"},"description":"A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/steve.balestrieri","https:\/\/x.com\/SteveB7SFG"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/author\/sbalestrieri\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/USATSI_27257479_168390408_lowres.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63795,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63794\/revisions\/63795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}