Josh Allen's projected season creates opportunity for Patriots

Since Tom Brady left his thrown atop the AFC East after the 2019 season, the division has become that of the Bills, with the team winning the division every year since. Although the Dolphins have been labeled their closest competitor, it hasn't been much of an actual fight over the last four seasons.

Coming into the 2024 season, with the Patriots still expected to be at the bottom of the AFCE, the Bills are still favored to win it, but this time with the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets team on their heels.

Despite never winning much in the playoffs since Josh Allen became the quarterback, Buffalo continues to reign supreme to fans and analysts around the league. However, that might change with the latest projection of the quarterback's production for the season ahead, which is terrible news for the Bills but wonderful to hear for the Patriots.

Josh Allen's projected season creates opportunity for the Patriots

The Bills have worked hard over the last few years to create a championship window and went all out in creating what they deemed to be a worthy roster to accomplish that goal. They did a sufficient job, as the team has made a few deep playoff runs and even made it to the AFC Championship game.

But a lot has changed during the 2024 offseason, most notably the trade of Stefon Diggs to the Texans and several key members of the roster departing in free agency.

Since they traded for Diggs in 2020, he put together the best years of his career by recording an average of 1,396 and 9 touchdowns a season, quickly becoming Allen's most trusted and productive weapon. Now that he's gone, along with rising star Gabriel Davis, question marks surround what Allen will do in 2024.

That leads us to ESPN's Mike Clay and his projections for every player for the season ahead, which Bills fans might wish they never saw.

The analyst predicts the quarterback will have his worst statistical season since 2019, also known as the year before he was gifted Diggs, and they'll win just nine games despite an easier strength of schedule.

Clay's projection model has Allen recording 341/518 completions for 3,716 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also has the quarterback adding 95 carries for 498 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

It would be remarkable for Allen to throw less than 4,200 yards and 29 touchdowns, which have been his standard over the last five years, yet it wouldn't be shocking now that his security blanket in Diggs is gone. If true, this creates a massive opportunity for the Patriots, as the Bills might not be as competitive of a team as initially thought.

Although New England isn't expected to be a playoff-bound team in 2024, they might fare better with a less competitive Bills team dealing with questionable play from their quarterback and a head coach in the hot seat. It would be quite a dramatic turn of events for the team that has dominated the division and been the biggest threat to the Patriots' success for the last four years.

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