At this point in the season, the Buffalo Bills have graduated from competing for the AFC East title. Sure, the New England Patriots could still recover and give Buffalo a real challenge for the top spot, but the Bills should be more focused on claiming the top seed in the conference.
After their Week 9 performance, playoff home-field advantage is well within reach. The Bills won an ugly game against the Minnesota Vikings and are now the only team in the AFC with just one loss.
Joe Brady's team has given itself a 2.5-game cushion in the AFC East, and they don't seem vulnerable to giving it up.
AFC East power rankings after Week 9
Week 9 results:
- Jets lose to Chiefs 35-12
- Dolphins lose to Lions 19-9
- Patriots lose to Packers 45-27
- Bills beat Vikings 23-6
1. Buffalo Bills give themselves an even bigger cushion at the top of the AFC East
In a way, the unwatchable nature of Buffalo's win over the Minnesota Vikings should be encouraging. Josh Allen played one of his worst games of the year, especially in the first half, and the Bills still won comfortably. The defense stepped up, albeit against an incompetent Vikings offense led by an apparent Carson Wentz impersonator.
That kind of performance won't hold up in the playoffs, though. Allen and the Bills' offense have to play mistake-free football more consistently, and the defense needs to string multiple solid games together.
Next game: Sunday, Nov. 22nd @ Jets
2. New England Patriots get embarrassed by red-hot Packers
The Patriots got humiliated by the Green Bay Packers on both sides of the ball on Sunday. Jordan Love gave New England's defense fits, completing six passes more than 20 yards downfield. To be fair, he's playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL at the moment, but the Packers still had some inexcusable lapses in coverage.
Drake Maye showed the downside of his uber-confident play style, throwing three interceptions and letting the game get away from him before halftime. The Patriots are still likely a playoff team, but they've been too inconsistent so far.
Next game: Sunday, Nov. 22nd vs. Lions
3. New York Jets continue to fall apart with loss to Chiefs
Early in the season, the New York Jets looked like a surprisingly competent team that could give any team a real challenge on their best day. But they have now lost four games in a row, and their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was the most embarrassing result yet.
The Jets' secondary hasn't been able to hold up against decent offenses this season. Even without a strong group of receivers, Patrick Mahomes diced up Aaron Glenn's defense to reach 35 points. Glenn is coaching for his job at this point in the year.
Next game: Sunday, Nov. 22nd vs. Bills
4. Miami Dolphins may not even want to win at this point
The Miami Dolphins were not built to compete for anything but the first overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. They have plenty of questions to answer this year; Jeff Hafley is hoping to prove himself as the long-term head coach, and Malik Willis is doing the same at quarterback. But those questions can't truly be answered with the current state of the roster.
Outside of a few fun schematic experiments, the Dolphins aren't worth watching for the rest of the 2026 season.
Next game: Sunday, Nov. 22nd @ Colts
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