Patriots Clinch Top Seed In AFC
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots clinched the top seed in the AFC on Monday night simply by watching television.
With the Denver Broncos losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 37-28 on Monday Night Football, the Patriots locked in the No. 1 seed in the AFC and clinched home field advantage until the Super Bowl. That means the road to Glendale, Arizona goes through New England.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick did not seem very interested in talking about the top seed during his press conference on Tuesday. As should be expected, his focus is on Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.
"I don't think it really has a big effect on what we've been doing," Belichick told reporters. "Just keep getting ready for Buffalo, that's what our challenge is. Whatever our position is, it is. That will all take care of itself in due course. It doesn't have anything to do with right now."
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This marks the fifth time the Patriots have earned the AFC's top seed in franchise history, also doing so in 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2011. The only time they went on to win the Super Bowl was in 2003, when they beat the Carolina Panthers in the big game. They fell to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl in both 2007 and 2011, and lost to the New York Jets in the divisional round in 2010.
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With the Patriots locking up the top spot in the AFC, Sunday's regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium will remain a 1pm start.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Bills game on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV -- the flagship stations of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 10am on the Sports Hub, and at 11:30am on WBZ-TV with Patriots GameDay. Stay tuned after the game on 98.5 for three hours of postgame coverage, and catch Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's press conferences live over on myTV38 on Patriots 5th Quarter.
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