Patriots shared video of celebrations after clinching AFC East

Morning Sports Update

“This season is far from being over.”

By Hayden Bird

December 29, 2025 | 12:24 PM

2 minutes to read

A hat and T-shirt moment: Even after dismantling the Jets in a 42-10 win Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Patriots still hadn’t officially clinched the AFC East.

That changed a few hours later when the Bills lost in dramatic circumstances to the Eagles, 13-12. With Buffalo’s defeat, New England was officially a division champion for the first time since the 2019 season. Notably, the Patriots then released video footage of players and staff watching the end of the Bills game, and celebrating after the news was certain.

The team then proceeded back to Gillette Stadium where T-shirts and hats commemorating the achievement were handed out, followed by a team photo to mark the occasion.

“This season is far from over,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told his team.

“All the credit goes to you guys,” he added as he congratulated the 2025 AFC East champions.

Trivia: The last time the Patriots won the AFC East was the 2019 season when Tom Brady was still New England’s starter. Can you name the primary starting quarterbacks from the other AFC East teams that season?

(Answer at the bottom.)

Hint: One is now a commentator, one is still in the AFC East, and one has led different teams to back-to-back seasons with at least 13 wins (neither of which are in the AFC East.)

Scores and schedule:

The Patriots defeated the Jets 42-10 on Sunday, clinching the AFC East division title for the first time since 2019 after the Bills lost to the Eagles. New England will face the Dolphins this coming Sunday at 4:25 p.m. in the regular-season finale.

Also from Sunday, the Celtics lost to the Trail Blazers 114-108. Boston will play the Jazz in Utah at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The Bruins face the Flames in Calgary tonight at 9 p.m.

The Boston Fleet will play the Vancouver Goldeneyes at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday (Jan. 3) at 7 p.m.

More from Boston.com:

Stefon Diggs’ take on Drake Maye in the 2025 season: NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo asked Diggs if he knew Maye would be so good prior to his decision to sign with New England in the offseason. Diggs acknowledged that Maye “surprised all of us.”

On this day: In 2002, the Patriots defeated the Dolphins 27-24 in a wild regular season finale, but still missed the playoffs despite finishing with a 9-7 record.

Daily highlight: Alongside a number of impressive plays from the win on Sunday, this Stefon Diggs catch jumped off the page.