Patriots take over 1st place in AFC East after Bills lose to Falcons

Patriots fans should take a look at the NFL standings Tuesday morning, and admire it.

That’s because on this, the day of our lord, Oct. 14, 2025, the New England Patriots are in first place in the AFC East division.

Thanks to the developments of the last two weeks of football, the Pats have risen to the top spot in the east, and certainly with a lot of help from the Buffalo Bills. After starting 4-0, the Bills have suddenly lost two in a row, most recently with a 24-14 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons. Josh Allen was just 15-for-26 with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss, a 72.6 passer rating. Since both teams are now 4-2, the Patriots need a tiebreaker to top the Bills -- but they of course have the most important tiebreaker of them all, head-to-head.

So, for now, the Patriots would be the AFC East champions if the season ended today.

To be quite certain, there is a long way to go. We are not firing up the duck boats just yet. The Pats might be 4-2, but four wins never got anyone anywhere in the NFL.

But this does speak to how much that win over the Bills changed the Patriots' season. They're officially in a dogfight with Buffalo for the AFC East crown, and ought to stay that way, due to the league's easiest schedule and the play of Pats quarterback Drake Maye (112.5 passer rating, fourth in the league). At the very least, the Pats are going to force the Bills to get back to winning and keep racking up Ws in order to keep their throne.

At the same time, if the Bills come to Foxborough in Week 15 and win, that makes their AFC East records the top tiebreaker, followed by common games. That will make it even more important for the Pats to clean up against the inferior Dolphins and Jets, and also to take care of business against the Falcons at Gillette Stadium in Week 9.

If those things all happen, the Patriots could legitimately be in the driver's seat in the division. It's a wild realization just six weeks into Maye's second season, but the Pats, and especially their quarterback, have played them into this spot.