January and the first week in February are when NFL champions are decided.
December sets it all up.
Since the NFL went to the 16-game schedule in 1978, the Super Bowl champions have a combined record of 112-36 (.757 winning percentage) in the final four games of the regular season during those title seasons. Coincidentally, 28 of those 37 Super Bowl winners - yep, 75.7 percent - won at least three of their final four regular-season games during that span.
New England has an NFL-best 17-3 mark in the final four games of the regular season since 2010, including a 3-1 record last season on the way to the Super Bowl win against Seattle.