The Buffalo Bills finally knocked the New England Patriots off their AFC East pedestal, and the Bills Mafia celebrated the momentous achievement with a billboard right in the heart of Patriots country that mocks the division rivals.
The Bills clinched the AFC East for the first time since 2005 with a convincing 48-19 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The division title came on the same day as the Patriots were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.
Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins sealed the Patriots’ postseason fate, which comes in a season that also saw the team’s streak of an NFL-record 11 consecutive division titles come to end.
In the aftermath, Bills fans decided to simultaneously celebrate the division title and gloat over recently winning FOX Sports’ “Ultimate Fan” bracket. How? By having a billboard erected near Gillette Stadium that touts being “The Best Fans in Football,” as the fan bracket allowed the winners to erect a billboard anywhere in the world in recognition.
The choice of billboard location by Bills Mafia definitely rubbed some salt in the fresh wounds of Patriots players and fans alike. Making matters even worse, NFL on FOX also shared an image of the billboard and asked Bills fans to take photos in front of the trolling sign that sits about four minutes away from Gillette Stadium.
This isn’t the first time the Patriots have been trolled by an opposing fan base with a billboard erected in their own backyard, but the case can be made that while the Bills Mafia’s move was clever, it stung a lot worse for Patriots backers the last time such a thing happened.
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