The New England Patriots are no strangers to entering the postseason later than most clubs: the team earned a first-round bye in each of the last eight years. In seven of them, the Patriots went on to reach the conference title game. They won the AFC four times and the Super Bowl twice. Whether the success will be the same in 2018 (technically in 2019, though) remains to be seen, but the foundation has again been laid.
Thanks to a 38-3 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday, New England locked up the second playoff seed in the AFC and a ninth straight bye won wild card weekend.