NFL Hot Takes — AFC East

After the first week of NFL regular-season action, there’s no time like the present to make bold assumptions about each NFL team. Having covered each NFC division, I turn my attention to the AFC now, starting with the AFC East.

New England Patriots: The Patriots will miss the playoffs.

After dropping the first game of the season to the Seattle Seahawks, the Patriots will now have to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills over the next three weeks, all of whom had strong opening games. I predict the Patriots will lose these three games and start the season with a 0-4 record. The last and only team since the AFL-NFL merger to start the season 0-4 and make the playoffs was the 1992 San Diego Chargers, who lost in the Divisional Round to the Miami Dolphins. Sorry to all New England fans, but with a weak opening, an ankle injury to wide receiver A.J. Brown, and a tough first four games, I don’t see the Patriots making history or the playoffs. 

Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen didn’t deserve his 2024 MVP.

With the exceptions of total sacks and rushing touchdowns, Allen does not exceed Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in any metric. In passing yards, passing touchdowns, passer rating, average passing yards per completion, average passing yards per game, completion percentage, interceptions, rushing yards, average rushing yards per attempt, total touchdowns, and total yardage, Jackson is superior to Allen. Moreover, Allen’s 2024 and 2025 seasons were nearly identical statistically, with the main difference being that Allen threw four more interceptions and three fewer touchdowns. The team won 13 games in 2024 versus 12 games in 2025. While football is a game of small margins, in which each game matters greatly for playoff placement, one game doesn’t seem like that much of a difference. So, with the statistical and team record similarities between these seasons, why did Allen get 27 first-place votes in 2024 and just two in 2025? If you believe that Allen was the better quarterback, your argument is flawed. If you believe that Allen had a novel season in the broader history, you are also incorrect. In fact, 2024 and 2025 may be some of Allen’s worst seasons, not to mention ones of MVP-caliber. There is nothing to suggest Allen was worthy of the MVP, whether you take the stance that the Bills’ quarterback was the best or most valuable player to their respective team. 

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins will finish last in the NFL.

The Dolphins have the second-hardest strength of schedule, just behind the Chicago Bears, who dropped 59 points against the Carolina Panthers. Safe to say that the Dolphins will not be scoring 59 points anytime soon, with the inexperienced quarterback Malik Willis leading the offense and a generally uninspiring wide receiver room. Moreover, the Dolphins will also face off against playoff and playoff-caliber teams (teams that made the playoffs two seasons ago) a combined 12 out of 17 total games. Moreover, in their season opener, the Dolphins lost 27-13 against the Raiders, arguably their easiest opponent this season. While the team will get to face off against the New York Jets twice in the season, there is no guarantee that the Dolphins will even win a game.

New York Jets: Breece Hall will have his best season yet.

The Jets don’t inspire much hope in me as a team, but running back Hall had an extremely promising opening game performance. With 22 carries, Hall amassed 102 rushing yards — an average of 4.6 rushing yards per carry. Assuming the game against the Tennessee Titans is not an anomaly for Hall, he is projected to rush for 1,734 yards this season. If we were to be more conservative in our estimates, Hall would still break for over 1,000 rushing yards this season, which he has only done once last season. For example, if Hall sees an average of 17 carries per game in 17 total games, and averages 4.4 yards per carry, the Jets running back will at least garner 1,270 rushing yards — smashing his rushing record last season by over 200 yards.