In the AFC East, the ranking of the teams depends on the starting quarterbacks.
Then factors like the defense, the running back room and the wide receivers come into play.
As football season prepares for its final weekend, here’s what the AFC East standings look like before the regular season.
4. New England Patriots
The Patriots continue to go downhill. They changed their wide receiver unit, hired an inexperienced rookie head coach to match their inexperienced rookie quarterback, and traded away one of their best defenders, Matt Judon.
The Patriots are not expected to compete for much more than a first-round pick in the next NFL Draft. They will be an interesting team, but it is becoming apparent that this team will be dominated by the other three division rivals.
3. New York Jets
Mainstream media even has the Jets ranked as the No. 1 team in the division, but they are banking on Aaron Rodgers to lead the team to the playoffs and the division title.
Rodgers is still elite when he stays healthy, but he fails to realize that the Jets need a lot more than him. New York needs to be a more balanced team. They tend to make too many mistakes, and that won’t change with Rodgers at quarterback. The Jets looked good at times last year without him, and you could see the potential, but until they prove it on the field, they can’t be ranked any higher.
2. Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa appeared to be in midseason form during his only series against the Commanders last Saturday, with his offense running without his top three receivers, backups and a stable of running backs that wasn’t asked to do much.
The Dolphins look much better defensively than they did last year. A more athletic and physical unit under Anthony Weaver will bode well for Miami. Miami has perhaps the best wide receiver duo in the NFL in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The team has a great 1-3 punch at the running back position with Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane and rookie Jaylen Wright. There is a lot to look forward to in 2024.
1. Buffalo Bills
We fans can twist and turn it all we want and make it a division of the Dolphins, but the Bills are the top team until they are eliminated.
The Bills didn’t show much in the preseason, but they have a top quarterback in Josh Allen, a strong defense, a good offensive line and running backs who are difficult to tackle.
The Bills have changed a lot since last season. They saw their two best wide receivers leave, one as a free agent (Gabe Davis) and one via trade (Stefon Diggs). Defensively, they’ve lost cornerbacks and safeties, but as long as they have Allen at quarterback and a physical defense, they’ll be tough to beat.
