On Sunday, the New England Patriots claimed first place in the AFC East without playing a game. And on Thanksgiving Day, they fell into second place — again, without taking the field.
The Buffalo Bills decimated the Saints in New Orleans on Thursday night, 31-6. In doing so, they improved to 7-4, both redeeming their disastrous Sunday showing against the Indianapolis Colts and tying the 7-4 Patriots in winning percentage.
But by virtue of NFL tiebreaker rules, the Bills will take over first place.
The first tiebreaker actually calls for the team with the better head-to-head record to take the advantage, but the Bills and Patriots haven’t played each other yet.