2016
AFC East
NFL Betting Preview
Odds to Win
2015 was nothing new for the AFC East with the Patriots taking their seventh-straight divisional crown and 12th of the past 13 seasons. This season doesn’t look to be any different, even with a new quarterback leading the way the first Four weeks for New England.
Odds to win AFC East
courtesy of 5dimes
New England Patriots -220 (field wins +180)
Buffalo Bills +550
New York Jets +610
Miami Dolphins +800
What else needs to be said about the New England Patriots? Jimmy GAroppolo will have a tough go of things in the first Four Games, but three of those come at home. From there, Tom Brady will take over and he’ll have a new weapon at tight end to work with in Martellus Bennett. As long as players like Dion Lewis, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman stay healthy, this offense should lead to the Patriots being favored in every Game Brady plays. They have a couple tough road Games like at Pittsburgh and Denver, but that won’t stop them from winning the division. Not a whole lot changes from a year ago for the Patriots, outside of the losses of Brandon LAFell and Chandler Jones. That said, they replaced both of those guys, especially on the defensive side with Chris Long and TerraNCe Knighton. If they can get more consisteNCy along the offensive line, a run to the Super Bowl is very possible.
The Buffalo Bills finished third in the division last year, partly due to injuries, but there’s no reason to believe they’ll challenge New England this year. Rex Ryan’s defense disappointed in 2015 and they didn’t really add anyone of relevaNCe outside of through the draft. Tyrod Taylor is Buffalo’s hopeful quarterback of the future, but he’s still a question, having not completed a full season yet. But as long as Sammy Watkins can stay healthy, Taylor has all the receivers he needs. The running Game was solid last year with LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams and it’ll be important to keep them on the field. Williams showed up to camp overweight and is suspended for the first Four weeks. They have the second-best odds to win the AFC East, but getting more than 10 wins doesn’t seem too likely.
The New York Jets were the team that surprised last year, coming into the season with the worst odds to win the division, yet finishing with 10 wins. With Ryan Fitzpatrick re-signed, the hope is that they can reach double-digit wins again, and this year, the playoffs. The defense doesn’t lose too much and should be just as good as a year ago in Todd Bowles’ second year as head coach. Their biggest addition in the offseason came at running back with Matt Forte, although that also means that Chris Ivory is gone after having a career year in 2015. With Forte, the passing Game should be more dynamic, especially with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker still on the outside. But like the Bills, the Jets have some ways to go before surpassing the Patriots.
The most disappointing team of last year had to be the Miami Dolphins, considering they were expected to fight for the division title. Instead, they finished a putrid 6-10 and then brought in a new head coach, Adam GAse. With another losing record, the Fin faithful won’t be too happy. But for them to be better, Ryan Tannehill has to take the next step and the help of GAse could do just that. Tannehill has plenty of options with Jarvis LAndry, DeVante Parker and tight end Jordan Cameron. Jay Ajayi steps into the lead back role and will be complemented by newcomer Arian Foster. The defense also has to improve, but they didn’t do much to better a struggling secondary. Starting the year with three of Four Games on the road at Seattle, New England and CiNCy won’t help.
It’s going to take a major injury for the Patriots to give up this division, even with GAroppolo as QB for Four Games. The other teams just didn’t do enough to take the next step in bettering themselves to win the division. The Patriots still have the best offense and as good of defense as anyone else. An upset pick would be the Dolphins with GAse as head coach, but there’s really no reason to bet against the Patriots.