The Buffalo Bills had one of the more surprising offseasons in the entire NFL, but there is still a feeling of great hope because of the way things have turned out with free agency and the NFL Draft. Not to mention, they finished the preseason at 3-0 after two blowout wins and a comeback win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They made a change at head coach with promoting Joe Brady, brought in new coordinators in all three phases of the game, and overhauled the roster just a bit, especially on defense. Teams that make a great amount of change aren't necessarily pinned as immediate contenders going into a new season, but that's not the case with the Bills.
Within the AFC East alone, the Bills were not the only team that went through some changes, but they have set themselves up for a better 2026 season than their bitter rivals.
AFC East outlook for 2026 season has Bills fans feeling great
Lou Scataglia from NFL Spin Zone put together a list that describes each NFL team in one word going into this season, and the AFC East is more kind for the Bills than the rest of the division. Scataglia used the word “new” for Buffalo. As for the rest of the division, the Patriots got “regression”, the Dolphins got “talentless”, and the Jets got “2027”.
"The Buffalo Bills have a new head coach and new weapon on offense, as the team promoted Joe Brady to the head coach spot and also traded for DJ Moore from the Chicago Bears. These offensive-focused changes could finally be what the Bills were missing from getting over the hump and making the Super Bowl. After years of falling short, which has included nearly 10 total playoff wins in the Josh Allen era, the Bills needed to try something new this year." said Scataglia.
Clearly, the Bills have the best outlook with this list and they truly do have the best chance to get back to where they were from 2020-2024. Even last season, they were still among the best teams but they lost the division to the Patriots (partially due to New England have one of the easiest schedules we have ever seen).
New England is coming off a successful season that came down badly in the Super Bowl when they were embarrassed by the Seattle Seahawks. The Jets took a step backwards rather than forwards with Aaron Glenn last season. Then you have the Dolphins who bought into a true rebuild (other than re-signing De'Von Achane).
If the Bills don't win the AFC East in 2026, there are going to be a lot of problems that are going to be talked about amongst fans both in Buffalo, and across the league.
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