It looks like there is going to be a new sheriff in town in the AFC East in 2020.
With Tom Brady leaving the Patriots to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the division is wide open for the first time in what feels like forever. Despite Bill Belichick still roaming the sidelines and an upper-echelon defense still intact, New England no longer has an invincible feeling to it without the greatest quarterback of all-time under center.
The Patriots are now in a transition phase, which leaves the door open for another team in the division to claim the crown. Could 2020 be the year the Jets get over the hump and rise to the top?
Not so fast.
Expectations surrounding the Bills entering this upcoming season are as high as they were when Buffalo was a frequent participant in the Super Bowl. Led by second-year quarterback Josh Allen and one of the best defenses in football, the Bills reached the postseason a year ago and nearly defeated the Houston Texans to reach the divisional round.
Buffalo returns almost all of its starters from last season and also added some fresh faces in the offseason that are primed to make an instant impact in Orchard Park. The Bills traded their first-round pick to land Stefon Diggs, giving Allen a potential star at wide receiver to work with. Pairing Diggs with John Brown, who finished with over 1,000 yards last season, and Cole Beasley, who caught 67 passes out of the slot in 2019, could be exactly what Allen needs to take Buffalo’s passing attack to new heights.
“If they don’t [win the AFC East], then something’s wrong,” former Bills and Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly said on CBS Sports Radio over the weekend. “Tom Brady is not there to block you anymore. That to me is huge. Now that Brady’s out, I do believe the Bills are the team to beat even though the Jets are getting better, Miami with Tua (Tagovailoa) coming in — I think they’ll be better. Belichick will have New England ready to play.
“We’ll see what happens at the quarterback position in New England, but right now there’s no doubt the Bills are probably favored to win the AFC East. And if they don’t, then they must have some serious injuries because they have all the ingredients to move on in the playoffs.”
Kelly is right. The Bills don’t just have the talent to win the division. They have enough pieces to make a deep playoff run. There is a reason why Buffalo registered its first 10-win season since 1999 last year.
Allen is not a world-beater, but he has shown he is good enough to put enough points on the board with an elite defense backing him. Now that his supporting cast has improved, it would not be much of a shock to see the Bills turn into one of the AFC’s better teams.
The Jets’ time is coming. This offseason has certainly been a step in the right direction when it comes to inching back toward the postseason. As long as Sam Darnold develops as expected, Joe Douglas can continue to build the foundation of the organization around him.
Until then, the AFC East seems like Buffalo’s to lose. That might not be music to Jets’ fans ears, but it is a reality that must be faced until New York can establish itself as a consistent winner.