After a years-long reign atop the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills saw that come crashing down for the time being, as the New England Patriots turned into one of the more shocking stories of the season, finishing 14-3 and making a run to the Super Bowl.
But many people saw through this season and knew that the Pats were simply taking advantage of a historically easy schedule. Things could be a lot different in 2026, as the Bills have already made some major, needed change, and could make even more over the next few months.
In fact, there are a few obvious reasons to believe that the Bills could recapture the AFC East in 2026.
The Buffalo Bills can take back the AFC East in the 2026 season
Roster question marks
The Patriots definitely exceeded expectations in 2025, given the raw roster talent, which wasn't great. Notably, the offensive line is still up in the air. Left tackle Will Campbell had a rough go in the playoffs, and his future at left tackle might not be abundantly clear right now.
There also isn't a guarantee that Jared Wilson, their other rookie starter along the offensive line, improves in year two. The offense could use another pass-catcher, and the defense might see a bit of a shift along the defensive line as well.
Overall, the roster is fine, but it's nothing special, and at some point, that is going to catch up with the team unless de facto general manager Eliot Wolf is able to fill the weaknesses.
Patriots schedule is a lot tougher this upcoming season
The Patriots' schedule in 2025 was historically easy, folks. That simply isn't going to happen again, or at least not for a long time. Simply facing tougher opponents is going to make life a lot harder for New England. Now, yes, they deserve a ton of credit for advancing to the Super Bowl, which is something the Bills have not done in decades, but the quality of opponents absolutely matters here.
Heading into 2026, the Patriots will have nine regular-season games against 2025 playoff teams, but will still have to face teams like the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, two formidable teams that shockingly missed the playoffs last season.
New England could still win double-digit games and be a good team, but the overwhelmingly tougher schedule from 2025 into 2026 is a huge reason why the Bills can win the AFC East.
Josh Allen is still Josh Allen... and better than Drake Maye
Josh Allen had another MVP-caliber season, finishing with 39 total touchdowns and 4,247 total yards. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was an MVP finalist and finished second in the voting, but it's abundantly clear that Maye was able to take advantage of a cake-walk schedule. While he did have a wildly efficient season, Allen has a stronger track record at the moment and is much more of a known commodity than Maye.
The Bills have dealt with tougher schedules in the Allen era, yet the 2024 MVP has typically come out of those schedules with an insanely efficient, stat-stuffing type of season. While Maye could eventually cement himself as a better quarterback than Allen, that isn't something you can argue heading into 2026.