AFC East: 5 things to look for in 2018

1. Which team can keep pace with the Patriots?

Unless something unexpected goes down, the Patriots will most likely be winning the AFC East crown for the 10th straight season. That has pretty much just been a given over the last two decades for the most part. But a new trend has started to emerge in recent years: a second team from the AFC East has found its way into the playoffs during the last two seasons.

In 2016, the Dolphins scratched and clawed their way to a 10-6 record and a wild card berth. Last year, it was the Bills that found their way in, going 9-7 and sneaking into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. Both teams made first round exits, but the fact that other AFC East teams besides New England were reaching the postseason was a big step forward for this division.

So this will be another interesting AFC East subplot: the race between the Jets, the Bills, and the Dolphins to keep pace with the Patriots throughout the regular season and sneak into the playoffs as a wild card. All three teams should be just as good as they were last year, if not a little better, so one of them very well could do it again.

The team that has the best chance of doing it is probably Miami, seeing as how they should have a more than capable offense, as well as the most stability at quarterback with Tannehill. The Jets and Bills could experience turnover at the quarterback position at any point this season, so it’s hard to predict just how lethal their offenses will be.

At the same time, though, the Dolphins and the Bills have made it the last two seasons, so in the interest of fairness, it might be the Jets’ turn in 2018. Either way, the race for second place will be just as intense as ever.