As the calendar transitions to August, the start of the 2026 NFL season is rapidly approaching and there is no better way to get you prepared for it all than with our comprehensive runs through each division, beginning with the AFC East!!! Will the Bills bounce back after seeing their streak of 5 consecutive division crowns come to an end? Will the Patriots avoid the dreaded Super Bowl Hangover? Can the Jets show any progress after Aaron Glenn earned a surprising stay of execution? What can we make of the Dolphins and their total reclamation project? Let’s take a stroll through the AFC East, shall we?
Buffalo Bills: Getting Over that Familiar Hump…
Make no mistake, folks, winning consistently brings lofty expectations, and when said expectations are consistently failed to be met, consequences incur, which brings us to the Bills, who parted ways with (longtime HC) Sean McDermott following yet another bitter playoff exit. Indeed, Buffalo’s 33-30 overtime defeat in the AFC Division Round versus Denver was littered with self-inflicted wounds and a wealth of officiating controversy, eventually leading to McDermott’s dismissal after 9 years on the job. During that stretch, the franchise strung together 7 straight campaigns of 10+ victories, including 5 consecutive division titles. However, none of these respective runs resulted in that elusive Lombardi Trophy that the team has been denied for so long, let alone a trip to the Super Bowl. So, with all that in mind, what did ownership decide to do about it, you ask? Rather than look outside of Western New York, the Pegula Family and (General Manager) Brandon Beane opted to stay in-house and promoted (Offensive Coordinator) Joe Brady to leading man. The 36-year-old has worked wonders with the attack since taking over playcalling duties midway through the 2023 season, with the Bills ranking no worse than 10th along the way, while leading the NFL in rushing offense a year ago. At 2,714 rushing yards (159.6), Buffalo racked up the 4th-highest total in league history, due in large part to the exploits of the NFL’s leading rusher, James Cook (1,621 yards) and reigning MVP QB, Josh Allen, who rushed for 579 yards and 14 touchdowns. Coming into this season, they’ll be looking to get more out of the passing game though, particularly with the arrival of veteran WR, D.J. Moore, via trade with the Bears. Though he’s never earned a Pro-Bowl nod, Moore does have 4 different 1,000-yard seasons to his name, reeling in at least 6 receiving scores in each of the past 4 years. Again, is this enough for a passing game that has been starved for a true #1 threat for a few years now? Will Brady’s elevation result in an even more potent offense or will his attention be spread too thin? Will he manage to get the best out of Allen & Co when it matters most in the playoffs? If not now, then when?
Our Take: Expect this perennial powerhouse to continue to be a force within the AFC hierarchy, particularly with the ball in Allen’s hands. If anything, the attack should become even more formidable with Brady’s promotion, but the real question is whether or not the playcaller can avoid losing sight of his defense or falling into the same traps that his predecessor repeatedly did. This could be a Super Bowl contender, but in our opinion, it is more likely that they remain simply a very good, yet slightly flawed group.
Miami Dolphins: Starting From Scratch…
Starting over has been a familiar story in Miami, where the Dolphins are instituting a full-blown rebuild under the direction of (GM) Jon-Eric Sullivan and (HC) Jeff Hafley, who arrive from a successful tenure together in Green Bay. The former spent the better part of 2 decades with the Packers, while Halfey had served as DC over the past 2 seasons. Of course, while this marks the latter’s first job as leading man in the NFL, he had previously served as Boston College’s HC from 2020 to 2023. With that brief introduction out of the way, these guys have PLENTY of work ahead of them rebuilding a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000, including a roster that had eroded in dramatic fashion over the past season. Gone is the rapid-fire attack crafted by his predecessor, featuring the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle; Tua was dumped in a historic dead-cap move, while Waddle was shipped to Denver for draft capital, leaving Hill in limbo recuperating from a potentially career-ending leg injury. Moving forward, Hafley and Sullivan will focus on running the football and playing sound defense, with the project being largely focused upon incoming QB, Malik Willis and big-play RB, De’Von Achane. Willis, who arrived alongside the brain trust from Green Bay, will finally get the opportunity to lead a team after outperforming expectations when given the opportunity. The 27-year-old appeared in 11 games, largely as a backup over the past 2 seasons, completing an efficient 78.7% of his throws for 972 yards, 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, while rushing for 3 more scores to boot. Look for the passing game to build its production largely upon the success of the rushing attack, namely Achane, who led the NFL with 5.7 yards per carry last year, totaling 1,838 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. With all that being said, the Dolphins face one of the toughest schedules in the league this Fall, all the while owning a roster that has seen more personnel turnover than any in the NFL. Needless to say, success for Miami won’t necessarily be measured in wins and losses at this point, but simply in how competitive they can be in what is expected to be very much a Zero Year for Hafley & Co.
Our Take: While Willis has long-term starting potential and Achane is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball, we would be getting ahead of ourselves if we stated that we expect these Dolphins of doing any more than simply striving to be competitive in 2026. Hafley was an inspired choice by Miami, though while the Green Bay model is worthy of reproducing, we’re not naive to think that it won’t take time to incorporate. This roster has been largely stripped down on both sides of the football, with that record dead-cap ($179.2 million!!!) making it difficult to add veteran reinforcements capable of facilitating a quick turnaround. The faithful in South Florida must embrace the rebuild, because this is likely to take years of work for a team that has to learn to crawl before even entertaining the idea of running.
New England Patriots: That Bitter Taste of Hangovers…
Not all turnarounds are lengthy and arduous, folks, as the Patriots proved last season, their first under the direction of (HC) Mike Vrabel, who led them all the way to an appearance in Super Bowl LX. Of course, New England was largely ineffective throughout that 29-13 defeat to Seattle, in which they were rendered scoreless until the fourth quarter of play. After plummeting to back-to-back 4-13 seasons prior to his return to the organization where he won 3 Lombardi Trophies as a player, Vrabel pushed all of the right buttons to get the Pats back on track, hiring (former OC) Josh McDaniels for a third tour of duty in Foxborough, while putting their wealth of cap space to good use with a bevy of impact arrivals on both sides of the football. With an exponentially improved support system around him, Drake Maye emerged as an MVP finalist in his second season as starting QB, leading the NFL in completion percentage (72.0%), net yards per attempt (7.8), passer rating (113.5), and QBR (77.1), all the while amassing 35 total touchdowns. However, his play declined noticeably in the playoffs, culminating in an ugly performance in the Super Bowl, where he was sacked 6 times and on the hook for 3 turnovers. Now, logic would dictate that he and the rest of the Patriots will hit the ground running this Fall and cement themselves as a fixture within the hierarchy of AFC contenders for years to come, but this has been far from a clean offseason for the organization, most notably Vrabel. Without diving too deep into the specifics, the 50-year-old was embroiled in an embarrassing scandal with former ESPN reporter Dianna Russini, which continues to add layers as you read this post. There is also the departure of (veteran WR) Stefon Diggs, who had been dealing with legal issues of his own, though the franchise managed to replace him with another mercurial pass-catcher, acquiring A.J. Brown in a trade with the Eagles. Of course, Brown is fresh off a tenuous end to his tenure in Philadelphia, which apart from his ongoing cold war with the QB and OC, was largely fruitful for all parties; the 3-time Pro-Bowler totaled 1,000 receiving yards and no fewer than 7 touchdowns in each of his 4 seasons with the birds, which was highlighted by a Lombardi Trophy in 2024. There is also his history with Vrabel to consider too, as he was drafted by the HC back in 2019 when they were with the Titans. Given a fresh start, there is every reason to believe that Brown will be an upgrade over Diggs, which could only benefit the continued development of his young QB.
Our Take: The Patriots ended the Bills’ reign over the AFC East last season and SHOULD be expected to at the very least compete for the division crown this Fall. Furthermore, Maye SHOULD only get better under the tutelage of McDaniels, while the continuity within the roster and coaching staff lends towards sustaining success in Year Two of this era. However, there are two sizable elephants in the room that could see this campaign unravel for New England. First, it is impossible to omit that much of their success came via the 2nd-easiest schedule in the NFL, with just THREE regular-season victories against playoff teams. Needless to say, following a first-place finish, they’ll be tasked with a much tougher trek in 2026. Second, there is the long sordid history of the dreaded Super Bowl hangover that has seen many a runner-up flounder in the following season; since 2000, the team that has lost the Super Bowl has gone on to miss the playoffs 12 times, while 5 of the teams that did manage to qualify for the postseason were one-and-done.
New York Jets: A Thankful Do-Over…
After extending the longest-standing playoff drought in the NFL to a nauseating 15 years, nobody would have thought twice if the Jets opted to fire Aaron Glenn after just 1 year as their HC. Given the comical nature of their ownership, it would have certainly been in character for Gang Green to do so, particularly after an embarrassing campaign in which they plummeted to a 3-14 finish. By all metrics, 2025 was a resounding failure for New York, who lost their first 7 games of the season before finishing the campaign with only 4 takeaways, none of which were interceptions. Needless to say, that’s a lot of egg on the face of Glenn, who was a standout CB for the Jets before rapidly rising up the coaching ranks as DC for the Lions. The 54-year-old made plenty of mistakes in his first year as the leading man, though to the surprise of many, the much-maligned Woody Johnson has granted him an opportunity to correct them. Remember, Glenn and (GM) Darren Mougey came from Detroit, where they were significant figures in one of the league’s greatest rebuilds, though as grand as it was, that turnaround was slow to get off the ground. As such, Glenn overhauled his coaching staff after just one year, replacing a whopping 12 of the initial 22 coaches that he assembled in New York a year ago. Even with (venerable OC) Frank Reich coming into coach the offense, the most notable change will see Glenn revert to actually calling plays on defense, which is why he got the job in the first place, though he curiously opted NOT to do so last season. And then there are the personnel changes, as the defense transitions to more of a 3/4 front, featuring an emphasis on size and physicality with more press coverage on the back end. After trading away their most prominent defensive pieces during the campaign (I.E. Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner), the Jets are flush with premium draft capital over the next few seasons, which when coupled with their past strong draft classes, SHOULD lead to a brighter future. Surprisingly, they also managed to retain the services of (RB) Breece Hall, and (WR) Garrett Wilson, who figure to serve as foundational pieces of the attack. However, there continues to be a sizable question mark at QB, where the franchise opted to reunite with former passer, Geno Smith, after failing to secure the top pick in last Spring’s NFL Draft. There is a certain romanticism to Smith returning to the team that drafted him back in 2013, though it needs to be stated that the 35-year-old is coming off a dreadful run in Las Vegas, where he led the NFL in interceptions (17) before succumbing to injury. Granted, the Raiders were nothing short of a dumpster fire with a coaching staff that was catastrophic, but then again, how would one describe Gang Green of late?
Our Take: While we love that Glenn avoided the proverbial chopping black thus earning an opportunity to correct his (many) mistakes, we have a very difficult time seeing any potentially successful campaign for the Jets in 2026. Simply put, this is a team that is planning well ahead, evidenced by settling for Smith at QB. At this stage of his career, the veteran gunslinger is only going to be as a good as his support system, which even with the arrival of the aforementioned Reich, still leaves much to be desired. The moment New York failed to obtain the top pick in the draft, it became painfully obvious that their best course of action was to keep Glenn and plan towards the 2027 Draft, where they have the requisite capital to maneuver for their QB of choice, provided they aren’t selecting first anyway. After all, Smith’s play in Las Vegas was a MAJOR reason that the Raiders edged them in the draft order. Could history repeat itself with Geno? Can the faithful in the Meadowlands stomach such a campaign one more time? The Jets could certainly find themselves topping their previous win total, but approaching anywhere close to .500 would be considered a monumental success.