(Photo courtesy of USA Today)
by Dakota Antelman
The Patriots held practice Tuesday just a few hours after learning that, by virtue of a Denver Broncos loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, they had clinched the number one seed in the AFC.
Week 16’s edition of Monday Night Football was packed with tension and local focus. The Patriots, having won their game with the Jets on Sunday, needed either a Broncos loss before the end of the year or a win for them against Buffalo next week to mathematically clinch the AFC and guarantee themselves homefield advantage through the AFC Championship.
They got the former when the Bengals defeated the Broncos by a score of 37-28. Peyton Manning fell flat in the game throwing four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Following the game, the interceptions seemed to sting a normally accurate Manning the most.
"Four interceptions, you're not going to beat many good football teams," he said.
He took the brunt of the blame and in turn, the ensuing mockery from Patriots fans watching from afar following the loss. Those fans were thrilled Tuesday following the win and celebrated the no mathematically meaningless finale the Patriots will take part in next week vs Buffalo.
The Patriots themselves however did not suggest any sense of pride or mental easement provided by the Denver loss.
“That was really out of our control [Monday] night,” Patriots QB Tom Brady said. “I think we did our best to do our part on Sunday, which was good, but still the season is not over for us. There is plenty of time to think about things down the road down the road. This isn’t the time for it. We’ve got to go play well this week. That is the attitude and that is what all the leaders of the team have to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
The Patriots understand the need to be on the same page. They picked which page that was years ago when faced with similar situations to this and acted similarly as they convened at their Tuesday practice. Simply, they would be no taking the foot off the gas.
"It's my fifth year. I knew not much was going to change when we came in here today. It's always business as usual, focused on the next game," Patriot safety, Devin McCourty said. "We've been in games where we've lost by a lot and the next week we had to focus on the next game. We've been in games where we've won by a lot and Bill [Belichick] has come in the same way. We're on to whatever team is next and this week it's Buffalo."
The Patriots host the 8-7, Buffalo Bills next week. The game carries no mathematical weight in terms of playoff seeding but arguably has immense influence on the momentum that the team carries into the postseason. Needless to say, there remains the possibility that the Patriots could treat the game as the washout it is and rest some of its starters when they get the chance.
