The Buffalo Bills have won five consecutive division titles, which is a franchise record.
There's no reason to think that won't continue in 2025, as evidenced by a new NFL division ranking.
NFL Media's Eric Edholm ranked every NFL division on Wednesday, and the AFC East was ranked as the third-worst out of eight divisions, bringing up the question of how much the Bills carry the division to this ranking.
"If the division as a whole is going to take a step forward in the hierarchy, it likely will require either the Patriots or Jets to outperform their exterior expectations," wrote Edholm. He's not wrong. No other AFC East team finished with a winning record in 2024, and the second-place team, the Miami Dolphins, took a step backward in the offseason.
The New England Patriots are likely the biggest threat. They spent lots of money to upgrade both sides of the ball, especially on defense, and centered their draft around quarterback Drake Maye. Also, new head coach Mike Vrabel got the most out of talent-deprived rosters with the Titans in his six seasons there. But after a 3-14 season, they've got their work cut out for them.
The New York Jets, who saw the Aaron Rodgers experiment flop, have undergone a coaching change as well and will try to get something out of quarterback Justin Fields, who's on his third team in three years.
Finally, the Miami Dolphins have undergone a tumultuous offseason and have recently been condemned by Asante Samuel, whose son is still a free agent.
Two of the Bills' rivals are in limbo with trying to prove they have something that can still work, while the other is progressing towards competing for the big game, but doesn't appear to be on that level yet.
As the Bills seach for their first Super Bowl, it'll be very likely that no other team can be close to Buffalo in the AFC East. The question may as well be whether the Bills will clinch the division with five games to go in the season, like they did last year.
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