Remember the years when the New England Patriots ruled the AFC East by winning 17 out of 19 division titles, including 11 in a row (2009-2019)?
Those days are long gone, as the Buffalo Bills have recently dominated the AFC East winning the division for the last three years.
But in 2023, the AFC East could be a gauntlet as the Jets, Dolphins and Patriots have all made strides this offseason. The Dolphins made the playoffs as a wild card team in 2022 after finishing 9-8, while the Patriots (8-9) and Jets (7-10) remained in playoff contention late into December.
At some point, Aaron Rodgers is expected to be traded to the Jets after the veteran superstar quarterback announced on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he “intends” to play for the club last month.
Gang Green recently signed former Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard to a four-year deal and ex-Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman to a one-year contract to team up with NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson.
“I feel like when I first got in the league, I was in Houston with Peyton Manning [on the Colts], and Tennessee was rolling and Jacksonville was really good. Then I go to the NFC West and it’s Seattle and San Francisco and Arizona was really good, and then I go to Jacksonville again and it’s the same thing,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said last week during the NFL owners’ meetings in Arizona.
“So I think I’m used to being in divisions that are absolute ball-busters, if you will, but it’s fun. It makes it competitive, and you know that if you can survive your division, you can survive anything.”
With the talk of Rodgers joining the Jets dominating the division chatter, the Dolphins have quietly improved their defense significantly this offseason. Miami traded for six-time Pro Bowler and former Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey to pair with former All-Pro Xavien Howard. The Dolphins also added linebackers David Long Jr. and Malik Reed while adding extra security in case Tua Tagovailoa suffers another injury by signing former Jets quarterback Mike White.
The most significant addition the Dolphins probably made this offseason is hiring former Broncos coach and longtime defensive assistant Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator. Miami’s defense took a step back last season, going from 15th in total defense to 18th in 2022.
Last year, the Dolphins finally snapped their playoff drought and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. But coach Mike McDaniel says it’s time for the Dolphins to reach the next level in their progression.
“I think our division is one of the… it appears to be building towards potentially being one of the better divisions in football,” McDaniel said. “I’m careful in the spring to not go too much over the top on paper.
“That being said, if your goals in football are not to just get to the playoffs, it’s not the worst thing in the world to have a very strong division. Granted, it still makes it more difficult to get to the playoffs, but if you are able to [win] within that very good competitive division, you are much more battle-tested for the games that really, really matter. Because no one wants to just — we lived it once and one time was enough. Getting to the playoffs is cool, over that.
“You want to win and so playing good teams in the regular season, however on the front end might seem, ‘oh, that’s tough.’ What else would you want if you’re really trying to actually win playoff games? … If you’re trying to win the AFC championship, if trying to win the Super Bowl, all those things, you better be a very good team and battle-tested and our division should help us do that, but it’s going to be stressful.”
The Patriots have also made a few moves to improve their offense, which finished 26th in the league last year. New England signed Chiefs wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year deal in addition to tight end Mike Gesicki and running back James Robinson.
Much like the Dolphins, the Patriots biggest acquisition was adding a coordinator as Bill O’Brien returns to Foxborough as the Patriots offensive coordinator after being previously with the organization from 2007-2011. O’Brien was the offensive coordinator for Nick Saban and Alabama from 2021-22 after being the Texans head coach from 2014-20. O’Brien will be expected to help improve Mac Jones, the Crimson Tide’s starting QB during the 2020 season.
As former wrestler Ric Flair always said, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man,” and the Bills are still the team to beat in the AFC East. But they will have to navigate a few changes to their team.
Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will take a year away from coaching. Frazier led the Bills defense to sixth overall in the league. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds also left the Bills to sign a four-year, $72 million contract with the Bears.
“Not only at the coach level but at the talent level they’ve been able to accrue,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told NFL Network during the annual meetings about his division rivals.
“You look across the division, and … it’s impressive. So, we have to make sure we continue to reinvent ourselves to stay on top of the division.”
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