The Patriots’ 35-17 over the Dolphins last Sunday pushed them closer to another AFC East title by moving them to 9-2 on the year.
Those nine wins guarantee the Patriots a winning season in 2017 and a winning season for the 17th year in a row. That’s something no franchise has done since the merger with the AFC and the coach who has been on the sideline for all of those wins said on Monday that he takes pride in the accomplishment even if his thoughts remain focused on moving to 10-2 against the Bills.
“That’s what we’re here for is to win games,” Bill Belichick said on a conference call. “Yeah, we take a lot of pride in it. But, that being said, there’s probably another time to talk about that and reflect back on it and so forth. You know, none of those other -- however many seasons it was or however many games it was -- really makes any difference this week. I mean, nobody cares about that. This is just strictly a matchup between the Patriots and the Bills in 2017, and how these two teams compete against each other is really what it’s all about. So, I don’t think living in the past is going to help us, and I don’t think living in the future is going to help us, either.”
The Cowboys bridged the pre- and post-merger eras with 20 straight winning seasons from 1966-1985. Tom Landry was in Belichick’s spot for all those wins, but he didn’t have the same stability at quarterback that the Patriots enjoy with Tom Brady. Should Belichick continue to enjoy that stability through 2020, there probably won’t be anyone betting against New England matching Dallas’ run.