The race for the AFC East title in the NFL will be an interesting one in 2026. The New England Patriots and their quarterback, Drake Maye, ruled the roost in 2025, followed by the previous five-straight-year winners, the Buffalo Bills.
Much has been made about the Patriots' more difficult 2026 schedule as a result of their winning the AFC East in 2025. And the doomsayers are out in force.
Now, Fox Sports' Will Hill notes the Bills are the betting favorites to once again rise to the top of the AFC East. That's no surprise to any serious NFL fan. Any team with perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen as their quarterback can win any title in any given NFL season.
Yet, the Patriots now also have an MVP-candidate quarterback. His presence gives the Patriots a solid opportunity to prove the betting odds wrong.
The Patriots will challenge Buffalo for the AFC East's top spot again in 2026
Now, with arguably the NFL's top passer on hand, the Patriots, like their division mates the Bills, can't be counted out of any NFL competition. Both will have tough 2026 schedules. Maye became the great equalizer in 2025 when Mike Vrabel and his personnel team put together an imperfect but much-improved roster over the dreadful 2024 one.
The rest is history, as the Patriots rolled all the way to the Super Bowl before their bubble burst against a superior Seahawks team.
But their 2026 schedule has prompted many commentators to think that a major Patriots regression is at hand, and that one of the culprits is Hill.
"The Bills had won this division five consecutive years until last season, when the New England Patriots unseated the Bills on their way to another AFC championship. But last year, the Patriots had a pillow-soft schedule, playing just four of their 17 games against teams that would go on to make the playoffs...Bills quarterback Josh Allen is one of the league’s best and most durable players.
While his teams have yet to get over the hump and win — or even play in — a Super Bowl, he’s a regular-season winning machine. With Allen, the Bills have won 10 or more games every year except for his rookie year in 2018. With the Patriots' difficult schedule and the consistency of the Bills, I like the AFC East to once again go back to the Bills for what would be a sixth division title in seven years."
Hill's observations are anything but faulty. His reasoning is sound and centering his attention on Josh Allen can hardly be faulted. Allen is one of the game's top five quarterbacks on anyone's list and he is a winner of the highest magnitude.
One factor, however, should be recognized by Fox Sports and any other media outlet commenting on the 2026 AFC East. That is, the Patriots have Drake Maye, and that makes all the difference.
Maye's ability as a passer, who racked up an astronomical NFL-best 72% completion and was also the league's top-rated passer, is indisputable. But as a runner, he can also tuck the ball under his arm and make things happen.
That puts him smack dab in Allen's category as a dual-threat quarterback. While Allen will bulldoze you into submission on the ground, Maye will streak into the secondary for big gains with his quickness. Both are equally effective.
The Patriots' 2026 schedule will be more challenging in terms of difficulty than 2025's. Yet, who'll ultimately win the division will be decided by who provided better players this offseason to support their great quarterbacks.
One thing the Patriots accomplished in style was trading for a true No. 1 receiver, A.J. Brown, and they also signed a solid No. 2 receiver, Romeo Doubs.
Having a top tandem of wideouts will mean a lot to Maye and the Patriots, tough schedule or not. With Maye, Brown, and Doubs, the Patriots offense is poised to score a lot of points and help their team win games. Both Brown and Doubs are upgrades over their 2025 predecessors.
That's bad news for the Bills or anyone else the Patriots face. Just don't bet they won't win the AFC East again.
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