Before the final whistle was blown on the New England Patriots’ victory over the visiting Buffalo Bills, the team’s tenth straight division title was already secured: thanks to the Miami Dolphins losing 17-7 — their second straight defeat coming off the so-called “Miami Miracle” — against the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England would stay on top of the division no matter what happened in the game against the Bills.
What did happen was the Patriots running wild over their opponent and playing stout defense en route to a 24-12 win and AFC East title.