For the last five years, the Buffalo Bills have become the big brother of the AFC East, taking over the longtime role of the New England Patriots during the previous 20 years. Although they didn't achieve anywhere near the success of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's teams, who didn't even make a Super Bowl, they still claimed the division for five straight years.
That was expected to remain the case this season, but the Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel tandem has already wrecked that plan, as the Patriots go into their bye week with an 11-2 record, while the Bills sit at 8-4 with hopes to still make the playoffs.
Making matters worse for the recent divisional champions is the increasing likelihood that Maye could win league MVP for his performance this season. That only further solidifies the Patriots' return to the top and would be an absolute nightmare scenario for a Buffalo team that is clinging to its championship window for dear life.
The Bills will be the biggest losers if Drake Maye is awarded MVP for the 2025 season
The downfall of the Patriots in the post-Tom Brady era was something the Bills hoped for, as they would be the ultimate beneficiaries. Once the quarterback left the AFC for the Buccaneers, the Bills took over the division swiftly and surely, immediately becoming a force in the conference, until the lights became too bright.
They tried their best to become the best team to compete against the Chiefs, who won three Super Bowls in five years, only to beat them in the regular season and not the playoffs.
Despite that, it looked like they would still have time to accomplish their biggest goal, only for the Patriots to find their next franchise quarterback a lot sooner than anyone anticipated. And now, Maye is on his way to league-wide recognition that will only draw more players to New England and make the team competitive once again.
That's a scenario the Bills were hoping wouldn't come to fruition for several more years, especially since they didn't manage to win anything in the five years they had the luxury of dominating the division.
But that is now coming to a screeching halt, and Maye winning MVP, or even finishing as the runner-up, is an unfortunate situation for the Bills to deal with. It immediately makes the Patriots contenders again and will draw free agents to Foxboro instead of Buffalo, strengthening their chances of regaining the division that had been theirs for 20 years.