{"id":97245,"date":"2020-11-02T20:51:03","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T01:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=97245"},"modified":"2020-11-02T20:51:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T01:51:37","slug":"after-buffalo-beat-new-england-race-for-afc-east-is-officially-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/11\/02\/after-buffalo-beat-new-england-race-for-afc-east-is-officially-on\/","title":{"rendered":"AFC East: The Race for the Division Title Is on After the Buffalo Bills Win Over the New England Patriots"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the New England Patriots<\/a> fell to the Buffalo Bills<\/a> in their fourth consecutive ugly loss, predictions that the AFC East title would finally be up for grabs have been proved accurate.<\/p>\n

For the past 11 years, the Patriots have dominated the division, winning it every time and doing so in a way that left little doubt they couldn\u2019t repeat their success the following year.<\/p>\n

That is unless you lose your franchise quarterback whose leadership and talent were largely the reason for such consistent divisional success.<\/p>\n

But this weekend\u2019s football made it clear that the division no longer belongs to the Patriots.<\/p>\n

The matchup between the Bills and Pats had significant implications for both sides.<\/p>\n

The Bills had lost two of the last three games, albeit to strong opponents but the opponents they should be looking to beat if they expect a deep playoff run this year.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, they hadn\u2019t beaten the Patriots at Bills Stadium since 2011 which has become something of a sore point for fans. Quarterback Josh Allen<\/a><\/strong> hadn\u2019t beaten them at all in his still-young NFL career.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s fair to say, with Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> out of the way, fans had their eye on this match-up to start erasing some of that history.<\/p>\n

The Patriots were struggling heading into this game, coming off three ugly losses which saw the offence crash and burn.<\/p>\n

While fans had chosen to see the positives from Cam Newton<\/a><\/strong> in the early games, they had now vanished and the Patriots needed a strong outing in Buffalo to restore confidence and to hold on to any hope they could retain their AFC East title.<\/p>\n

What happened instead was yet another ugly loss for New England and, although it was far from a dominant performance, Buffalo was able to secure the victory which puts them two games ahead in the division.<\/p>\n

As we close in on the mid-point of the season, it certainly looks like the AFC East is Buffalo\u2019s to lose.<\/p>\n

While Miami may have leap-frogged New England with a win over the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> this weekend, rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa<\/strong> <\/a>wasn\u2019t exactly dazzling on his first NFL start, going 12-for-22 for 93 yards.<\/p>\n

They have a strong defense and their special teams even helped out with a touchdown of their own but if they stick with Tua, there\u2019s definitely work to be done to make them contenders for the divisional crown.<\/p>\n

With the extra playoff spot open, they may even have their sights set on sliding into the post-season.<\/p>\n

But Buffalo is 4-0 on divisional opponents so far and even though they have some tough games coming up – with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> this week and the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> in Week 10 – it\u2019s going to take a lot to knock them off the top spot in the AFC East.<\/p>\n

The other two teams – the Patriots and the Jets – will face off in Monday Night Football and with the way the Patriots have been playing, it\u2019s difficult to say for sure whether they will be able to best the 0-8 Jets.<\/p>\n

But it goes without saying that it\u2019s a must-win game for New England if they have any hopes of keeping their season alive.<\/p>\n

For all the latest NFL news, follow us on Facebook here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>