AFC East still is not winnable for the New England Patriots after Aaron Rodgers' injury

On Monday Night Football, New York Jets' quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles, and is now set to miss the rest of the 2023 NFL season. Does this open the door for the Patriots to win the division? And honestly, the Buffalo Bills looked pretty bad on MNF as well. Could there be a sliver of hope that the New England Patriots could actually win the AFC East this year?

Well, while there isn't a 0% chance that the Patriots win the division, I think even after Rodgers' injury, it's pretty close to 0% still. You see, while the Patriots might have a much easier time with the New York Jets now, I still think there is a huge talent gap between the Patriots and their three division rivals.

The Miami Dolphins' offense looked scary good in their Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Sure, their defense stunk it up, but Dolphins' DC Vic Fangio is a stellar defensive mind, and his defensive scheme usually takes a while to peak, so I would expect the Dolphins' D to be just fine.

And yes, the Buffalo Bills looked quite horrid in Week 1, but consider the situation:

The Bills probably thought to themselves that they had this game in the bag when Rodgers left the lineup. However, the Bills were playing in a very hostile environment and the Jets' defense is one of the best in the NFL. The Jets did race out to a 7-4 start in 2022 with roughly the same starters on both sides of the ball.

They did it on the backs of a strong defense and just barely good enough QB play. Well, even though the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen got embarrassed on Monday, I find this team a tier or two above the Patriots in terms of roster talent, and at the end of the day, I think the more talented team tends to win. Sure, the Bills might not be as good as they were last year, but I'd still find it odd if this team has all of a sudden fallen off.

And as for the Jets, well, they are already scouring the market to add another quarterback. In 2022, they were still likely holding out hope that Zach Wilson could have developed into something, and I think they aren't going to take that chance with him again.

The New York Jets are already working on trying to get some type of QB solution in place, and I really don't think the Patriots have the roster to go toe to toe with this team, even if the Jets end up starting someone like Carson Wentz at QB. Even though there appears to be an opening in the division now, I don't think the Patriots have enough pizzazz on their roster to make it happen.