Despite winning both the AFC East and the AFC Championship this past season, the New England Patriots don't appear to have the inside track to a repeat in 2026.
According to Michael D. Smith of ProFootballTalk, the Buffalo Bills have emerged as the favorite in the AFC East with -145 odds. The Patriots come in second with +150 odds of repeating as division champs.
Not that it matters since neither one of them are expected to even make the playoffs, let alone win the division, but the New York Jets are +1800 and the Miami Dolphins are +2800 to win the AFC East. The Dolphins haven't won their division since 2008 and the Jets haven't won it since 2002. And neither team looks any closer to winning it this year.
The Bills and Patriots in 2026
2025 was a special year for the Patriots. In their first year with team legend Mike Vrabel as their head coach they reversed a 3-14 record into a 14-3 division title and went all the way to the Super Bowl, only to hit a brick wall in the form of the Seattle Seahawks defense.
But 2026 could see the Bills get a similar kind of shot in the arm after firing Sean McDermott and promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach.
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The Patriots are already expected to be a little bit different simply by virtue of losing last year's leading receiver Stefon Diggs. They signed Romeo Doubs to a big-money deal as his replacement, but he's never come close to 1,000 yards in a season.
Simply put, every NFL season is different and you can never predict how long a team's Super Bowl window will stay open.
