AFC East: Ranking the QBs — Bills on top; Pats best back-ups

No. 1: Buffalo Bills

Strength:  Skill of Josh Allen. Josh Allen was already a great QB at the beginning of the 2022 season and his passing grades improved from 81.9 in 2021 to 85.8 in 2022. Allen is PFF’s 2nd-ranked NFL QB and finished 7th in the NFL in overall passing yards in 2022. While the addition of Aaron Rodgers provides Allen with more competition, Allen remains the Beast of the East.

Weakness: Minimal talent in back-up QBs. With former backup QB Case Keenum signing with the Houston Texans, the Bills are left at the moment with a choice of Kyle Allen or Matt Barkley as their backup QB. Neither inspires confidence. Allen managed to throw 4 interceptions in only 77 attempts in 2022. Matt Barkley has a 2-5 career record. The Bills are an injury away from being a leaderless offense.

X-Factor: Maintaining the health of Josh Allen. Allen has been a very durable QB but has taken many hits during his frequent downfield romps. Although Allen has started every game since 2019, he suffered an elbow injury that bothered him in the latter half of the 2022 season. Recently, Allen acknowledged that he’ll need to revise his style of play to stay healthy:

"“I can't continue to do this. I know when I'm using my youth, I feel like I can. But over the course of my career, I'm gonna have to learn to adapt and change."

- Josh Allen