{"id":8944,"date":"2016-10-31T19:00:55","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T23:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=8944"},"modified":"2016-11-01T08:29:24","modified_gmt":"2016-11-01T12:29:24","slug":"rex-ryan-concedes-afc-east-patriots-following-blowout-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/10\/31\/rex-ryan-concedes-afc-east-patriots-following-blowout-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Rex Ryan Concedes AFC East To Patriots Following Blowout Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

At one point during the 2016 season, it appeared the Buffalo Bills were in a position to give the New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> some competition in the AFC East. Back on October 16th, the Bills had defeated the San Francisco 49ers in a 45-16 thrashing that saw the team move to 4-2 and a four game winning streak. It was a streak that included a shutout victory over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.<\/p>\n

Had the Buffalo Bills taken care of business in Miami just over a week ago (A 28-25 loss), the storyline heading into Sunday would have been an opportunity for the Bills to not only jump back into first place, but also be the first AFC East team to sweep the Patriots since 2000. Instead, the Bills found themselves in all too familiar territory following a 41-25 beat down by Tom Brady, a two game losing streak, and a three game deficit in the division.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the game, the usually confident Rex Ryan succumbed to his teams stumbling ways and admitted to something not many coaches would, he conceded the AFC East to the New England Patriots after just eight games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s unrealistic to think you\u2019re going to win your division \u2026 how many games now are they up by? Three, something like that, so I don\u2019t see that changing,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cI just told you the truth. I thought winning the division \u2026 you\u2019re pretty much shot if you really think we can run the table and still win it. I don\u2019t think so. That team\u2019s three games up on us and at the halfway point they\u2019ve lost one game. And No. 12 (Tom Brady) is back, so yeah, I don\u2019t see that happening (winning the division). I hope I\u2019m wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Ryan is not ruling the Bills out of the playoffs or kissing Bill Belichick’s rings, the Patriots have been completely dominant since Brady’s return. Ripping off four straight wins while averaging 34 points per game and an average 16.25 margin of victory.<\/p>\n

The Bills last made the playoffs in 1999, and have the longest active drought in the NFL, with the loss, Ryan moves to 5-12 lifetime vs the Patriots as a head coach.<\/p>\n

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The look on Rex Ryan's face as Stephen Gostkowski makes the Field Goal! #PriceLess<\/a> #Patriots<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/psabHmKmZb<\/a><\/p>\n

— RichM (@PastorRichardM) October 30, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n