The New England Patriots completed one of the most stunning single-season turnarounds in NFL history, rising from four wins in 2024 to AFC champions heading into Super Bowl LX. Under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots clinched the AFC East on December 28, 2025, when Buffalo lost to Philadelphia.\n\nThe celebration was brief. After arriving at Gillette Stadium, players took roughly 15 minutes for championship photos with their hats and t-shirts before returning to work.\n\n'Other than that, it was back to work,' Vrabel told reporters the next day. 'You don't have time to marinate in one step when you're pursuing a championship.'\n\nNew England's rise shatters the Kansas City Chiefs' seven-year stranglehold on the AFC. Kansas City had appeared in five of the previous six Super Bowls, winning three titles. The Patriots joined Denver (ended Chiefs' 9-year AFC West streak) and Jacksonville as teams transforming from also-rans to contenders.\n\nThe Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on February 9, 2026, at Levi's Stadium. A victory would make them just the fourth team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl after winning four or fewer games the previous season, joining the 1999 Rams, 1988 Bengals, and 2003 Panthers.\n\nNew England opened as 2.5-point underdogs to Seattle, with the total set at 48.5 points.