Coming off a disappointing 2022 season, the New England Patriots are not among the favorites to win the AFC East let alone the Super Bowl this year. Quite the opposite: the general view is that they are closer to the bottom of their own division than the top.
Just don’t tell Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated, who recently published a list of 100 bold predictions for the NFL’s upcoming season. At No. 3 he has the Patriots win the AFC East.
3. The Patriots will win the AFC East
Bill O’Brien is back and carrying a new bag of tricks from his Alabama getaway. This offense can sensibly grind out games behind a brilliant defense. You’ll ask: But what about the Dolphins, Jets and Bills? My thought is that this division may end up collapsing in on itself a little bit. There are a lot of heavyweight punchers here, each of which have some very talented but fatal flaws. The Dolphins, for example, are going to have a tough time not burning themselves out. The Bills are dependent on reinventing themselves around an intentionally less mobile Josh Allen. The Jets’ title hopes rest on the shoulders of Aaron Rodgers, who may be great and newly motivated. He is also flirting with age 40 and may be starting to show it.
At this point in time, the Patriots winning the AFC East indeed has to be considered a bold prediction. That said, stranger things have happened in the past and as outlined in the excerpt above everything is possible in the four-team race for the division crown.
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