New England Patriots are still favorites over Buffalo Bills until proven otherwise
The Patriots have owned the AFC East for the past two decades and that shouldn’t be expected to change just because there’s a new quarterback in town.
The New England Patriots accomplished something that most NFL teams haven’t ever been able to. They managed to stay relevant and at the top of the pack for 20 years.
A large reason why is that they struck gold with their sixth round pick in 2000 when they took Tom Brady, but he’s off to Tampa Bay now. Because of that, many people have immediately taken the AFC East crown from the Patriots and handed it off to the Buffalo Bills, who look to be the favorites in that division.
Not so fast though.
Yes, Brady was a huge reason for why the Patriots won six Super Bowls over the course of 20 years (and went to nine total Super Bowls), but did people forget that Bill Belichick is still the head coach there?
Belichick has shown he can succeed even without Brady, as he helped Matt Cassel (yes, Matt Cassel) look like a good quarterback and got the Patriots to an 11-5 record in 2008. That was the one year New England didn’t make the playoffs during that time, but if Miami hadn’t been decent, the Pats still would have gotten in.
Belichick also helped guide the Patriots to a 3-1 record in 2016 when Brady was suspended due to Deflategate. He did that with Jimmy Garoppolo (who we’ve learned is a decent quarterback) and Jacoby Brissett as his quarterbacks.
Bill Belichick, not Tom Brady, has been the driving force behind beating the Bills
Before when it was looking like Jarrett Stidham was going to get the nod at quarterback, I would have understood ruling out New England a little more. Cam Newton, however, gives the Patriots an experienced quarterback who has made it to a Super Bowl in the past five years and can make big time plays on the biggest of stages.
Now, let’s look at the Bills.
It makes perfect sense that people are picking the Bills to emerge out of the AFC East from now on. They made the playoffs last year and went toe-to-toe with the Texans in Houston in the Wild Card round, only to come up short.
Buffalo gave Josh Allen a legitimate weapon in the form of Stefon Diggs, who immediately becomes their WR1. He also has the likes of John Brown, Cole Beasley, Dawson Knox, Devon Singletary, and rookie Zack Moss at his disposal.
Buffalo also has an incredible defense and it’s possible that unit is even better this year despite losing some key talent.
The concern that I – and many others – have with the Bills is that Allen has to be the one to take the next step. He was good in 2019, but not great. He did start all 16 games and threw for over 3,000 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions, but he’s going to have to increase those numbers big time.
Patriots Will Dominate AFC East if Cam Newton is Healthy. dark. Next
Diggs will help Allen get better for sure, but Buffalo had two cracks at the Patriots last year and couldn’t get the job done against them either time. Until the Bills show they can beat New England, it’s going to be hard to officially make them the team to beat in the division.
As long as the Patriots still have Belichick at the helm, they’re still the favorite.