AFC East Betting Odds - NFL Futures

AFC East Betting Odds

For the first time in nearly two decades, the New England Patriots aren’t favorites to win the AFC East. The departure of Tom Brady has many doubting the Patriots in their quest to win a record 12th straight division title. That’s generally been the type of motivation that Bill Belichick thrives on in order to keep his team from becoming complacent, but there have never been this many questions on offense during his twenty years in New England.

The Buffalo Bills are the favorites to win the AFC East coming into the 2020 season. Buffalo made the postseason with a 10-6 record last year, but the Bills have not won a playoff game since 1995. Sean McDermott would love to put an end to that streak.

AFC East Betting

This is the most competitive that the AFC East has been in a long time. Buffalo and New England both have great defenses, but questionable offenses that could lead to some setbacks, while Miami and the New York Jets both came on strong at the end of last season.

The big question for the Bills is the development of Josh Allen. Allen has yet to prove he can efficiently move the ball with his arm, but he hasn’t had to as McDermott has devised a system that plays to his strengths. He is a dynamic runner for a quarterback of his size, and Stefon Diggs will help Allen show off his impressive arm strength.

New England appears set to enter the season with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback. The Pats were expected to either draft a quarterback or sign one of the signal callers available in free agency, but they opted to do neither and seem content to give Stidham a chance. He didn’t see any real experience in 2019, yet he was able to learn from the GOAT.

Sam Darnold might finally have playmakers at receiver. The Jets drafted Denzel Sims and signed Breshad Perriman away from Tampa Bay to give Darnold the outside threats he has lacked since coming into the league. This defense should be much better with a healthy C.J. Mosley too.

The Dolphins are going to be rebuilding for at least one more season, but they may have found their quarterback of the future in Tua Tagovailoa. He was reportedly the player that Miami wanted during its fire sale of a 2019 season, and now the Dolphins have their man. Tagovailoa might not play this year though after suffering a major hip injury at Alabama last November.

AFC East Winners (2000)

The last two teams to go undefeated in the regular season both hailed from the AFC East. The difference was that the 1972 Dolphins completed their perfect season, while the 2007 Patriots fell a game short. Miami rode a relatively easy schedule to a 17-0 record and a Super Bowl VII victory over Washington, but New England fell to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII thanks to David Tyree’s ‘Helmet Catch’.

Before the Patriots’ run of dominance, the Bills won five of their seven AFC East titles in a six-year stretch between 1988 and 1993. They made four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl in the early 1990s, but they lost all four games, setting a rather ignominious record in the process. Buffalo hasn’t won a division title since 1995, the longest drought of any AFC East team.

AFC East Division Titles

Over the years through realignment and relocation, the divisions have changed, but the AFC East has kept its feel of an old AFL division with all four teams having roots to the league. Three of them – Patriots, Jets and Bills – were original members of the AFL back in 1960, so there is a rich history between these clubs that extends beyond the scope of the NFL.

The Pats won a single division title during their decade-long stay in the AFL and didn’t capture their initial NFL division crown until 1978. They won a total of four division titles in the 20th Century, but the addition of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick changed that. New England has won 11 straight division titles, and the Pats have claimed the AFC East in 16 of the last 17 seasons. We have never seen that kind of dominance before, and we probably won’t see it again.

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