The New England Patriots have set a benchmark for divisional dominance in the NFL for nearly two decades.Their mastery of the AFC East with coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady leading the way 鈥?10 straight titles and 16 in 19 seasons since 2000 鈥?has proven to be somewhat of a double-edged sword for its division opponents.It's the curse that haunts them and the engine that drives them."New England is the team that teams want to be Damien Harris Buffalo Bills Jersey ," 22-year-old Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen said after Sunday's 24-12 loss in Foxborough gave New England its latest division crown.Allen is new to the scene, but he has already had a taste of the Patriots dynasty that has beleaguered the Bills.And, the New York Jets.And, the Miami Dolphins.In all, the Patriots have won the division 21 times. The Dolphins were the last non-New England team to win the AFC East in 2008 鈥?the same season Brady missed all but one game after tearing knee ligaments in the opener.The last of the Jets' four division wins came in 2002.Buffalo's most recent of its 10 division titles came in 1995. The Bills were also the last AFC East team to string together consecutive division championships, doing so in four straight seasons from 1988 to 1991.Since the AFC East's inception in 1960, no team has done what New England has during its recent run. The Dolphins came closest, winning five of their 14 titles consecutively from 1981-85 and 10 in 15 years."I think every team wants to (emulate them)," Allen said. "Obviously, they've got one of the greatest coaches to ever coach and one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football. ... So, obviously, that's what we want to be."Just about the only thing working against the Patriots is time.Brady is now 41 years old and in his 19th season. Belichick, 66 Youth Drew Bledsoe Jerseys , is four decades into an NFL coaching career during which he has won seven Super Bowls, five as a head coach in New England.Yet the Patriots still find themselves a Week 17 win against the Jets away from clinching a first-round bye in the playoffs, ensuring them an all-important extra week of rest and at least one more game in Foxborough."We still have one hugely important game left," Brady said. "We have to finish strong."Unlike years past, the Patriots' road to the AFC East crown hasn't been as easy. Their five losses are the most for any Patriots team since going 10-6 in 2009 and losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round.Off-field issues such as the abrupt departure of midseason acquisition Josh Gordon, who was suspended indefinitely by the NFL last Thursday for another violation of the league's substance abuse policy, have made the road even tougher."Every team goes through things," Belichick said during a conference call Monday. "When you play football for five months, things happen that you have to deal with as a team and we all have to deal with individually. So, I can't imagine a season where that would ever not be the case."It's becoming harder to imagine a season that doesn't end with the Patriots on top of the AFC East, as well. The world champions have some of the NFL’s elite on their roster." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhitePats Pulpita New England Patriots communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpPatriots NewsOpinion and AnalysisContribute!About the SiteTopicsPatriotsOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementFiled under:Patriots First Read3 Patriots make Pro Football Focus’ list of the top 50 players for the 2019 NFL seasonNew,31commentsThe world champions have some of the NFL’s elite on their roster.EDTShareTweetShareShare3 Patriots make Pro Football Focus’ list of the top 50 players for the 2019 NFL seasonPhoto by Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesYou may not have noticed, but we are already past the NFL’s summer solstice: the offseason is more than four months old but there are only three more to go until the 2019 regular season gets kicked off. Now — with OTAs and minicamps underway or already concluded across the league — is therefore the perfect time to start looking ahead at who might be the major impact players of the upcoming season.Advanced analytics website Pro Football Focus did just that and recently released its list of the top 50 players for the 2019 season. And when looking at the list you can notice that there are three members of the New England Patriots on it as well — only three teams have better representation Drew Bledsoe Jerseys Stitched , and two of which were beaten by the reigning world champions during last year’s postseason: the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs each have four men on the list, the New Orleans Saints five.Let’s go back to the Patriots, however, and their representatives on the top-50 ranking:There are only two guards on the list, and the Patriots’ Shaq Mason is one of them. Mason, of course, was outstanding in 2018 — his first year since signing a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 2015 — and a key member of one of the best interior offensive lines in all of football. As PFF’s numbers show, he has improved greatly as a pass blocker over the course of his career and can now be considered elite in this part of his game as well.The highest-ranked of the five cornerbacks on the list, Stephon Gilmore is coming off a tremendous second year in the Patriots’ system. The All-Pro, who made the game-clinching interception in Super Bowl 53, was terrific no matter the opposition he faced. A true shutdown cornerback, the 28-year-old again projects to be New England’s number one coverage defender during the 2019 season — and if he can keep his level of play up Youth Kevin Faulk Jerseys , the Patriots’ secondary should be one of the best in the business.Despite turning 42 in early August, there is little doubt that Tom Brady will once again be among the NFL’s best quarterbacks this year — and PFF sees it the same way, ranking him as the top passer on its list, ahead of illustrious names such as Drew Brees (#5), Patrick Mahomes (#6), and Aaron Rodgers (#17). In 2018, Brady was his usual self: while he started the year slowly, he picked up steam late and led the Patriots to their sixth title. As long as the future Hall of Famer will be under center, New England is among the favorites to win the Lombardi Trophy. 2019 projects to be more of the same from the greatest ever.