Last year broke the Buffalo Bills' five-year streak of winning the AFC East, as the New England Patriots came out of nowhere to snap the streak and steal the division crown. It was frustrating to watch all of that play out, especially with the normal AFC powerhouses of Kansas City and Baltimore not qualifying for the playoffs.
It was even more frustrating to see the Patriots make it all the way to Super Bowl 60 but at least they didn't win the big game. That'd have been difficult for Bills fans to stomach.
The Patriots benefitted last year from an incredibly easy schedule and, credit to them, they took advantage of it. You can only play who's on your schedule and with how bad the Patriots were the previous year, that was their reward.
This year, however, it's a much different reality for the Patriots. They're not only playing a more difficult schedule but a first-place schedule, meaning instead of facing a team like the Titans, they get the Jaguars instead. We saw how poorly that went for New England in Week 3 when the Jags absolutely curb stomped them.
The Patriots are who Bills fans knew they were all along
The difficult schedule has also been hard on Drake Maye, who, a season ago, was runner-up in the MVP conversations. It's much easier to look like an MVP candidate when you're playing against lackluster teams like the Giants, Bengals (their defense was atrocious a season ago), Saints, and Titans. Against tougher opponents, Maye has looked abysmal, throwing six interceptions already through three games. He threw eight all of last year.
It's proof that Maye beat up on bad defenses a year ago. He struggled in the playoffs against tougher defenses but the other teams' offenses also struggled in those games (Chargers, Texans, and Broncos). Now we're seeing that the blueprint on how to beat Maye is out and it's music to Bills fans' ears.
Through their first three games, the Patriots have been beaten by the Seahawks and blown out by the Jags and narrowly got by the Steelers. Coming up for them are dates with our very own Bills, an improved Raiders team, and a Jets team that looks a little feistier than usual. They'll also have games against the Lions, Vikings, Chiefs, Broncos, and another matchup against the Bills later on.
Bills fans are thrilled to see the Patriots' true colors starting to shine through and it really looks like the AFC East will be a cakewalk for Buffalo this year. Just like it should be.
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