Since Tom Brady abruptly left the Patriots after the 2019 season, the Buffalo Bills have become the owners of the AFC East. They can certainly attribute the departure of the greatest quarterback of all time, as well as the lack of preparation for the inevitable decline, to Bill Belichick over the next five years.
That led to three head coaches in three years and plenty of dynasty-era players looking for new teams to play for, but the hope is that the Patriots are back on track this offseason to finally become a competitive team again. And by most accounts, that looks to be the case already for Mike Vrabel.
Now that they have their quarterback in Drake Maye, an improved offense, and upgraded defense, the conversation surrounding the Patriots' chances in the division has mirrored that of a Brady-led team, as they continue to be considered a team that will be a thorn in the Bills' side. The latest projection by Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports reinforces this, as he believes the reigning divisional champions are one of the most vulnerable teams going into the 2025 season.
Bills fans won’t like what the new AFC East forecast says about the Patriots
For the last five years, there was virtually no competition for the Bills in the division, making it easy to name them the AFC East champions as early as possible. It's the treatment the Patriots got for most of the previous 20 years, and they hope to bring that back this season under Vrabel.
Considering all the work the new regime has accomplished over the last few months, it's easy to see why Bills fans might be concerned. It certainly doesn't help that analysts like Benjamin believe they'll have a more difficult time retaining their crown courtesy of the Patriots.
"The Bills' half-decade reign atop the East was supposed to be challenged by Aaron Rodgers' partnership with the New York Jets, but it really only strengthened Buffalo's standing. As long as Josh Allen is upright, there's no reason to envision that changing.
The New England Patriots are perhaps best positioned for a leap with Mike Vrabel now commanding Drake Maye and a fortified defense, but the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets don't register as real threats to Buffalo unless Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Fields transcend their respective setups."
While they are ranked relatively low on the vulnerability scale by Benjamin, it's hard to overlook the idea that the Patriots could be a problem for the Bills for the first time in many years. They haven't been a significant factor on their road to success since the 2020 season, which makes the addition of Vrabel and his new staff even more impactful beyond the city limits of Foxboro.
That is not the news Bills fans will want to hear, especially since the Chiefs have fallen down a peg after suffering their latest Super Bowl loss to the Eagles in February. They are deemed another team vulnerable to fall from atop their division, which ultimately benefits a team like Buffalo eyeing the AFC Championship crown.
It certainly adds another level of excitement for Patriots fans to look forward to if they can ruin the dreams of their biggest divisional rival. And it doesn't hurt to have a head coach who shares the same sentiment.