ESPN analyst says AFC East race ‘is a wrap’ as Bills take commanding early lead

An ESPN analyst believes that the Buffalo Bills are already well on their way to earning their fifth straight AFC East crown.

Kyle Silagyi | Oct 29, 2024

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General football fans expected the AFC East to be one of the NFL’s most hotly contested divisions in the 2024 campaign, and for (initially) good reason; the Buffalo Bills, who have won four consecutive division crowns, retooled in the offseason, parting ways with stalwarts starters across the roster. Their alleged demise coincided with the presumed rise of the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets and the dynamic Miami Dolphins, both of whom were floated as potential Super Bowl contenders throughout the spring and summer; all three of the teams were oft-mentioned as potential division winners throughout the offseason, with Buffalo even being left out of some playoff projections due to the assumed strength of the Jets and Dolphins.

Fast forward to Week 9, and the Bills again have a commanding lead in the division. They sit at 6-2 through eight contests, with all other teams in the AFC East having two wins. The second-place Dolphins are 2-5 and may soon allow Buffalo to strengthen its lead, as they’re set to play the Bills in Orchard Park this Sunday. The 2-6 Jets have already fired their head coach and find themselves below the New England Patriots, who were viewed as a distant fourth in the division entering the campaign. Just a few months ago, many anticipated that the AFC East would not be decided until Week 18; it now looks as though it may be wrapped up by Thanksgiving.

ESPN writer Dan Graziano recently weighed in on whether the division is already decided in an “overreactions” article for the outlet, determining that it’s not too soon to crown the Bills as this year’s AFC East winner due to not only Buffalo’s strength, but the relative ineptitude of the rest of the division.

“This thing is a wrap,” Graziano wrote. “Not only does Buffalo still have the division's best quarterback and coach, it also has the experience of knowing how to win. The Bills will get only better as Josh Allen brings along his young receivers and Amari Cooper gets more ingrained in the offense. Rumors of the Bills' demise were greatly exaggerated but not nearly as exaggerated as the prospects of the other teams in their division.”

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Miami could, in theory, improve as the season progresses and make the AFC East race slightly more interesting, especially given the recent return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa; that said, it’s difficult to overcome a four-game deficit after a 2-5 start. The Jets have the talent necessary to turn their season around, but given the general vibes surrounding the team, it’d be easier to envision them finishing the season with two wins as opposed to mounting a postseason run. New England is in the midst of a rebuild, and while it could rattle off a few more wins throughout the campaign, it's not a realistic contender. Remove the Bills’ strength from the equation for a second—they’re a competent team in a division of mediocrity and may, thus, stroll to their fifth straight crown by default.

Buffalo is currently 2-0 in the AFC East with wins over both the Dolphins and Jets. Its remaining divisional contests are in Week 9 (Miami), Week 16 (Patriots), Week 17 (Jets), and Week 18 (Patriots); the earliest an NFL team has ever clinched its division is Week 11.

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