FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It’s not every day that a team finds itself cheering for the opponent it lost to in the last Super Bowl.

This isn’t a typical season for the New England Patriots.

Patriots players erupted in a loud cheer in the locker room when Eagles kicker Jake Elliott’s 35-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired to give Philadelphia a victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Combined with the Patriots’ 24-12 win over the Buffalo Bills that snapped a two-game losing streak, New England moved back into the No. 2 spot in the AFC with one game to play. A Patriots win over the Jets next week would give New England another first-round bye in the playoffs.

“Fly, Eagles, Fly!” receiver Julian Edelman said afterward.

It was a perfect ending to a less than perfect day for the Patriots.

New England (10-5) earned its 10th straight AFC East title, with Sony Michel running for 116 yards and a touchdown. It also improved to 7-0 at home and became the first franchise in NFL history to earn playoff berths in 10 straight seasons. It marked the Patriots’ fifth straight win over the Bills (5-10) and their 26th season sweep of Buffalo.

Tom Brady went 13 of 24 for 126 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions – his lowest output since he passed for 123 yards in a 2003 loss to the Bills.

“We didn’t have our best day in the passing game. But it felt good to win. At this time of year, whatever it takes to win, that’s what you’ve got to do,” Brady said. “And we still have one hugely important game left. We have to finish strong.”

Brady joined Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers with at least 10 seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards. Manning has 14 such seasons, Brees is closing in on his 13th, and Rivers has 10.

It was Michel’s fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. The Patriots rushed for 273 yards, which helped mask Brady’s off day. He now has 11 interceptions in 2018, his most since 2013.

Brady’s touchdown pass came thanks to a heads-up play by Julian Edelman in the third quarter. With New England leading 14-6 and facing fourth-and-4 on the Bills 32, Brady found Edelman over the middle on a quick slant. Edelman appeared to be stopped by safety Rafael Bush, but he rolled over Bush and another defender, never touching the ground. He got up and sprinted into the end zone.

Brady’s interceptions were among three turnovers by the Patriots, but Buffalo turned them into just three points. With the score 24-6 and less than seven minutes remaining, Brady was replaced by backup Brian Hoyer.

Asked why he pulled Brady, Coach Bill Belichick said because “I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Buffalo rookie quarterback Josh Allen was bottled up for most of the day, limited to 20 of 41 for 217 yards with two interceptions. He ran five times for 30 yards. Buffalo finished with 72 rushing yards, the first time in five games it failed to rush for 100 or more.

“Gotta get better,” Allen said. “We’ll learn from this one. New England is the team that teams want to be, the trajectory of where we want to put this team and how they can sustain success, so yeah, we’re gonna learn from this one.”

After going three plays and out on their first drive, the Patriots went to the run game to score the game’s first touchdown. New England ran six straight times, capped by a 4-yard TD run by Michel. It was Michel’s first touchdown since a Week 12 win over the Jets.

After a fumble by Rex Burkhead, Buffalo kicker Stephen Hauschka’s 43-yard field-goal attempt hit the crossbar.

New England then pushed its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter on a 27-yard touchdown run by James White.

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