Patriots set up ‘hat and t-shirt game’ versus Bills with win over Giants

The last time the Patriots were AFC East champions, Mike Vrabel was in his second year as Tennessee Titans head coach and Drake Maye was a junior in high school. In the years since, the division has belonged to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. That could all change in a few weeks.

After a 33-15 win over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, the Patriots next win could come with some hardware. When the Buffalo Bills visit the Patriots in two weeks, a Patriots win would clinch the AFC East. The Pats will be on their bye-week while the Bills host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Because of divisional tiebreakers, that game has to impact on a potential clinching situation when the Bills visit Gillette.

The 1PM game between the Patriots and Bills could be a "hat and t-shirt" game if New England can beat Buffalo and sweep the regular season match up against their AFC East rivals. Clinching games get that nickname because of the apparel typically given out if the team wins the game.

Winning the game would check off one of the major goals Vrabel set during his introductory press conference back in January. "Our goals will be to win the AFC East, to host home playoff games, and to compete for championships. That's what it's going to take," Vrabel stated. "We're going to work like crazy, we're going to compete like crazy, we're going to give the players a plan, and they're going to form an identity on the field in the way that we're going to play and play for each other that they're going to be proud of."

Buffalo's five consecutive division titles is their longest in more than 30 years. They were division champions from 1988 to 1991. For the Patriots, clinching the East would be their first division title since Tom Brady's last year in New England in 2019. Prior to that, the Patriots were the dominant team in the AFC East, winning the division from 2009 to 2019.