It's been 15 years since another AFC East team had a better record than the Patriots

This 2014 pic is too good not to bring back.

The Patriots won their 11th game of the season Sunday, their worst-case scenario is now 11-5.  If the Jets win out, their best-case scenario is 11-5.

Back in 2000, the year before Tom Brady took over (and the first under Bill Belichick), New England went 5-11.  In each of the 15 seasons since, the Patriots have had the best record in the AFC East.  They're also the only team in the league to post a winning record every year in that time.  This will be the Pats' 13th division title in those 15 seasons.

In the the two years New England wasn't division champs, it still tied for first place:

- 2002, 9-7, three-way tie with Jets and Dolphins
- 2008, 11-5, tied with Miami (the Matt Cassel season in which the Patriots became the first 11-5 team ever not to make the playoffs)

A decade-and-a-half of AFC East dominance.

Thanks Brady/Belichick.


Here are the previous versions of this post, which has become an annual thing on LucidSportsFan.com: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011


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