Pats claim AFC East again
New England wins another division title, loses Blount.
Another year, another division title for the New England Patriots.
The Patriots (11-2) claimed their seventh straight AFC East title and the 13th under Bill Belichick era on Monday by virtue of the Dolphins losing to the Giants.
“It’s nice to have it, but at the end of the day it’s not our end goal,” Patriots defensive lineman Alan Branch said. “We’ll put it in our pocket, but it’s on to the (Tennessee) Titans.”
New England has captured 12 of the past 13 division crowns, with the exception in 2008 when quarterback Tom Brady went down with a seasonending knee injury in the opener.
After winning 11 games to start the season, New England lost back-to-back against the Broncos and Eagles, falling to the No. 3 seed in the AFC. The Patriots bounced back Sunday with a 27-6 win over the Texans to reclaim the top spot in the conference following losses by the Broncos and Bengals.
The Patriots received a boost Sunday from the return of tight end Rob Gronkowski, but lost two other key contributors: Leading rusher LeGarrette Blount injured his left hip in Houston and will miss the rest of the season, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday; and second-year defensive lineman Dominique Easley was placed on injured reserve with a thigh injury suffered in the same game.
Broncos: Quarterback Peyton Manning is set to return to practice today for the first time in a month, but he’ll be a sideline spectator again Sunday at Pittsburgh when Brock Osweiler makes his fifth consecutive start.
Browns: Wide receiver Brian Hartline was placed on injured reserve with a broken left collarbone, ending his first season with Cleveland.
Hartline was injured Sunday in a win over San Francisco. The Browns said he had surgery Tuesday. Hartline, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, finished with 46 catches for 523 yards and two touchdowns.
Colts: Re-signed outside linebacker Andy Studebaker and waived guard Todd Herremans, who was signed as a free agent during the offseason but lost his starting job after two games.
Falcons: Placed starting safety William Moore on injured reserve with an ankle injury and waived wide receiver Leonard Hankerson off of injured reserve. Moore suffered a high ankle sprain in the 38-0 loss at Carolina on Sunday, the team’s sixth straight loss. He had 51 tackles and two interceptions this season.
Hankerson was placed on IR on Dec. 4 with a hamstring injury. He had 26 catches for 327 yards and three touchdowns but couldn’t stay healthy.
Bears: Rookie receiver Kevin White will remain on the physically unable to perform list for the rest of the season. The No. 7 pick in the draft, White has been sidelined all season after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left shin. A 21-day evaluation period to determine if the Bears would activate the former West Virginia star ended Tuesday.
Rams: The St. Louis city council advanced a measure to fund the city’s share of a new football stadium — a $150 million commitment likely to make or break the effort to keep the NFL team. A final vote is expected Friday.
Late Monday
Giants 31, Dolphins 24: With the score tied in the fourth quarter, Odell Beckham Jr. somehow slipped 5 yards behind the secondary. That turned out to be the winning margin for New York.
Beckham’s 84-yard touchdown reception put the Giants ahead to stay with 11 minutes to go, and they forged a three-way tie atop the NFC East by beating Miami.
New York’s Eli Manning went 27 for 31 for 337 yards and four scores. His passer rating of 151.5 was his highest since 2009, and his 87 percent completion percentage was a career best.
The Giants (6-7) broke a three-game losing streak and are tied with the Redskins and Eagles for the lead in their woeful division. The Dolphins (5-8) were eliminated from the playoff race.