The Patriots may have played like a playoff team this season, but they won't be one.
"Yeah, I mean any time you go 11-5 you think you've played well enough to have the opportunity to play in the postseason," said safety James Sanders. "Unfortunately for us this year, it's kind of different and we [did] not get that chance."
In a season filled with bad breaks, starting with the loss of franchise quarterback Tom Brady just 15 offensive plays into the season, the Patriots just couldn't catch one on its final day.
Needing a victory and a loss by either the Miami Dolphins to win a sixth straight AFC East title or a loss by the Baltimore Ravens to slip in as the final wild card, the Patriots got neither after doing their part with a wind-whipped 13-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Patriots players could only watch helplessly as the Dolphins defeated the New York Jets, 24-17, at the Meadowlands and the Ravens routed the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-7, in the 4 o'clock games to also finish at 11-5 and knock New England out of the postseason for the first time since 2002. (The Patriots lost the conference record playoff tiebreaker to both teams, finishing with a 7-5 AFC mark while Miami and Baltimore finished at 8-4.)
"We were all watching. The plane has those little TV screens on it, so we saw our lovely Jets not helping us out," said fullback Heath Evans.
Despite missing out on the postseason, the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick could end a cursed campaign with their heads held high, winning the final four games of the season.
"You know, like Bill said when he called us up at the end, in some years 11 wins will get you homefield advantage," said cornerback Ellis Hobbs. "That wasn't the case this year. As much as we downplayed things this year the way this team handled adversity from every aspect, to just stay focused and be professionals about everything and just staying focused and doing what we needed to do, my hat is off to every single one of us in here."
The Patriots' playoff plans are now gone with the wind, which played a major part in their season-ending win over the Bills.
