Theirs to Lose (2025 AFC East Preview)

It's on the horizon, folks. The National Football League's 106th season is almost here, and it's time to talk about possibilities for the 2025 season. 32 teams, eight divisions of four teams each. Each one with a story to tell. Let's start off with the AFC East, and take a look at that division. Similar to last year, the teams will be mentioned in reverse standings order.

So let's get this started:

New England Patriots (4-13)

So the Jerod Mayo experience didn't work out well, but hey, it gave us football fans something interesting in Week 1: they defeated the Bengals on the road. So another rebuild year is finished. Four wins in 2024. Rebuilding takes time. How much time it takes depends on the team. It is going to be a while for the New England Patriots, but I don't think fans are impatient. The Pats snagged Stefon Diggs during the offseason, and they have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel. Yes, it's a loyalty hire. But Vrabel did do some wonders in Nashville for the Titans, so it could work. I'm definitely not saying playoffs, but we could see some small improvement in 2025.

New York Jets (5-12)

The Aaron Rodgers experience came to an abrupt end after two seasons, and 17 starts (and four plays). In 2023, the New York Jets still had enough drive even with Rodgers out for the whole season. This lead many to believe that Rodgers being back in 2024 would lead to good things finally. Instead, it led to power trips, shakeups, and a decline. A two-game drop from 2023. Rodgers was out, enter Justin Fields. The Jets extened Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, which is good. Even so, do the Jets have enough to end what is currently the longest playoff drought in the NFL? I'll have to wait until the season's one-third done to determine that. The easy answer would be to say that the Jets are still fucked, but if they can salvage something good after the first six weeks, we could have something here. For those wondering, the Jets' first six weeks: vs PIT, vs BUF, @ TB, @ MIA (on MNF), vs DAL, and vs DEN (on international soil). If they start 3-3, they'll have a shot.

Miami Dolphins (8-9)

Poor Tua. The man is saddled by question marks and cursed by concussions. He's had way too may of the latter in his brief career, but he's still out there. Regardless of his health, Tua remains a question mark, because no one knows which Tua will show up. Will it be the clutch Tua, or will it be the one that gets derisively referred to as "Tua Turndaballova"? For the record, I hate when he gets called that, because clowns hurl that when he has one bad game in a span of a month and a half. I hope that Tua has a great year health-wise, and as for the Miami Dolphins, well, they almost made it even with the circumstances. They just need three things: consistency, a healthy Tua, and for Tyreek Hill to keep his head out of his own ass.

Buffalo Bills (13-4)

Well, I concede. I concede that the AFC East will belong to the Buffalo Bills for as long as Josh Allen is their QB. Honestly, I conceded in the middle of last year. Don't get it twisted. I'm not conceding out of some belief that they're an authentic threat in the AFC. I'm saying it because a) the AFC East is still shit, it's just, to borrow a line from Megamind, "under new management." And b) the Buffalo Bills are the best regular season team in the league. Emphasis on regular season. Between September and the first Sunday of the New Year, they're great. Beyond that? Godawful. The Bills will again win the AFC East, because of course they will. And they'll again fuck it up and choke because of course they will. I only ask one thing, Bills fans. When the Bills fuck up in January, and they will, especially if they have to run into KC yet again, will you finally put the blame where it belongs: on Josh Allen?

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The AFC East, despite basically being decided already, looks very interesting this season. The Bills are always captivating, the Dolphins have something to prove, and hopefully, the Jets and Pats will turn heads for positive reasons. We'll definitely see what develops in 2025.