The Patriots clinched their sixth straight AFC East title on Sunday with a 41-13 victory over the Dolphins and they extended another streak as well.
New England hasn’t been swept by an AFC East team since 2000 after the Dolphins failed to repeat their success from the season opener. That game back in September feels like a long time ago, but the Patriots had memories of it fresh in their mind on Sunday. Coach Bill Belichick had quotes from Dolphins players about their 33-20 win around the New England practice facility all week and cornerback Darrelle Revis said that the Dolphins got a bit ahead of themselves.
“I don’t know what they were saying after the first game. There was a lot of talk. Those guys were chirping. The Miami Dolphins were chirping this week about they should have beaten us by 50 and all those type of things [in] the first game,” Revis said, via the Providence Journal. “If that’s what they want to do, that’s what they want to do. The one thing you’ve got to understand is you get a second stab at them because we’re in the same [division]. You might need to watch what you say.”
It’s been a long, long run at the top of the division for the Patriots, something that’s tough to pull off if you can’t find new ways to motivate players who have already accomplished quite a bit. Miami’s words did the trick this time and a few more results like Sunday’s will have the Patriots extending their string of AFC Championship Game appearances as well.