NFL Division Preview: AFC East
The Buffalo Bills won the AFC East divisional crown last year with a record of 13-3. They finished 4.5 games ahead of the Miami Dolphins (9-8) with the half-game due to the no-contest in Week 17 when safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and went into cardiac arrest. The margin could have been five games if the Bills had won that game, but it actually wasn’t that easy. After Week 11, the Bills and Dolphins were tied for first place at 7-3, with the Jets and Patriots just a game back at 6-4, as all four were in the playoff hunt. The Bills took the lead for good when they blew out the Patriots on Thursday Night Football in Week 13, and the 49ers blew out the Dolphins.
The rest of the division played sub-.500 ball down the stretch while the Bills coasted to their third straight division title. DraftKings has the Bills as +120 favorites to win their fourth in a row, but the race is expected to be even tighter this year with the New York Jets bringing in Aaron Rodgers. The Jets are the second choice at +270, with the Dolphins at +300. Even with coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots haven’t been the same since Tom Brady and are the longest shot in the division at +800.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have been among the NFL’s elite teams the past four years under coach Sean McDermott, winning at least 10 games each season, including when it was just a 16-game schedule. However, they haven’t made it back to the Super Bowl in the last 30 years since losing four straight from 1990-1993. DraftKings has Buffalo as the 5-1 second choice (behind the Chiefs) to win the AFC and 9-1 third choice to win the Super Bowl. Their Over/Under Season Win Total is set at 10.5.
Offense
The Bills had the No. 2 offense in the NFL at 394.9 yards per game and No. 3 in scoring at 27.7 points per game. QB Josh Allen was again a one-man wrecking crew as he threw for 4,283 yards and 35 TDs while adding 631 rushing yards and another 8 TDs. He ranked No. 2 in QBR at 71.4. Devin Singletary led the Bills with 819 rushing yards, but he signed with Houston as a free agent in March. James Cook (the No. 3 rusher as Allen was No. 2) is expected to take over the starting role but is also joined by free agent Damien Harris from New England.
Allen’s No. 1 target was again WR Stefon Diggs (108 receptions, 1,429 yards, 11 TDs), but also spread the ball around to Gabe Davis (836 yards, 7 TDs) and Isiah McKenzie (423 yards, 4 TDs) as well as TE Dawson Knox (517 yards, 6 TDs). Diggs was a no-show at minicamp practice in June that was later called an excused absence by McDermott. The situation will certainly be monitored closely when regular training camp opens.
Defense