Bills win ends Patriots’ record division title streak at 11
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. » For just the fourth time since Bill Belichick became Patriots coach in 2000, New England won’t win the AFC East.
The Buffalo Bills improved to 10-3 (7-2 in the conference) with their 26-15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. It eliminated the hopes of New England (6-7, 5-4) to extend its NFL-record run of 11 straight division titles. The Los Angeles Rams own the NFL’s second-longest division streak, earning seven straight titles from 1973-79.
The Bills beat New England 24-21 last month. The last time the Patriots failed to win the division was 2008, when Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the opener.
This will also be the first time since Belichick’s first season in 2000 that an AFC East foe has finished with more victories than the Patriots. In 2008, New England and Miami were 11-5, but the Dolphins won the division on a tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed a wild-card spot by tiebreaker. The Jets and Patriots finished 9-7 in 2002, New York taking the division title.
New England is still mathematically alive to extend its league-record 11 consecutive playoff berths but will need lots of help.
Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier didn’t downplay the significance of the Bills being in position to win the division.
“Absolutely. That was the goal, No. 1, going into this season, to win our division because of what it assures us,” he said. “It’s a big deal and we’re working as hard as we can to achieve that goal, because it’s the first step toward our ultimate goal.”
Young, young defense has Washington surging
WASHINGTON » The good news for Washington is that its young, Chase Young-led defense is terrific, propelling a four-game winning streak that put Ron Rivera’s team alone in first place in the NFC East at 6-7 after a
1-5 start.
The bad news? The offense, where Alex Smith might be
100 percent healthy, with a test coming against Seattle.
“What happens is, when you become relevant and a part of that conversation, now sometimes your reputation is going to proceed you and that’s going to help you,” Rivera said. “For you personally, the confidence, the swagger, I think that’s helpful. Again, it can’t be false. You’ve got to earn that relevance. You’re not given the relevance.”
It’s been a while since this club mattered this much for its on-field positives. It is drawing attention not just for victories, such as the
23-15 outcome against San Francisco, but for the sort of star power and leaguetakes-notice talent possessed by Young, the rookie from Ohio State who was the No.
2 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.
The defensive line is stacked with first-round draft picks: Young, Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen and Montez Sweat. Payne forced the fumble that Young returned 47 yards for a touchdown Sunday, then recovered the fumble Young forced.
With the help of linebacker Jon Bostic and a secondary that produced points with rookie Kamren Curl’s 76yard pick-6 in the third quarter, Washington managed to win on the road without an offensive TD for the first time since 1992.
Young is the first player in team history with a fumble return for a TD, a forced fumble and a sack in one game — and he compiled those accomplishments in the first half alone.
“I feel like that’s your goal, for any player, any position — to be just good in everything that you do. That’s what I strive to do,” Young said. “And that’s what I’m going to keep striving to do.”
Cowboys look to build on Cincy win
First-year Dallas coach Mike McCarthy draws parallels to his debut in Green Bay when the Packers finished a rough year with four straight victories on the way to a strong second season.
The Cowboys (4-9) have a chance to do the same after beating Cincinnati 30-7 to start the final quarter of 2020, although the path to the playoffs got significantly narrower.
“I thought that it was one of the foundation blocks for my time in Green Bay, those last four wins,” McCarthy said. “Because it was something that we built on, talked about and emphasized throughout the whole offseason.”