With the 2023-24 NFL season just around the corner, it’s never too early to delve into how each division will shake up this fall, and that’s exactly what Nick Wright did in a recent edition of “First Things First.” .
Wright shared what he believes to be the best, worst and most likely outcome for each team in the loaded AFC East, which boasts four squads with talent-rich rosters.
A team’s best case scenario even involves an appearance, and a win, in Super Bowl LVIII.
This is how the list was rocked.
New England Patriots
Record 2022-23: 8-9, lost playoffs
Key stats: 21.4 points per game (17th in NFL), 20.4 points given up per game (11th)
Best case: 11-6, reaches divisional round
Worst of cases: 5-12, QB Mac Jones benched, HC Bill Belichick fired after season
Most likely case: 8-9, misses playoffs
Wright’s thoughts: “I think they’re around .500 all year and not good enough to make the playoffs, but I think their ceiling is a pretty good team and their floor is, ‘Oh, this went really bad, really fast.’ … Not enough juice on offense.”
new york jets
Record 2022-23: 7-10, lost playoffs
Key stats: 17.4 points per game (29th), 18.6 points given per game (4th)
Best case: 12-5, reaches AFC Championship Game
Worst of cases: 7-10, QB Aaron Rodgers retires after season
Most likely case: 10-7, AFC Wild Card
Wright’s thoughts: “I don’t think Rodgers is going to do the [Tom] Brady-[Matthew] The Stafford thing: taking a team to the Super Bowl. … I think most likely they will finish 10-7; that’s three games better, which is probably what Rodgers is worth over worst quarterback [from last season]; and they’re a wild card team that has no real juice in the playoffs.”
Bills, Jets have the best odds to win the AFC East
buffalo bills
Record 2022-23: 13-3, lost in divisional round
Key stats: 28.4 points per game (second), 17.9 points given up (second)
Best case: 13-4, QB Josh Allen wins MVP, Bills wins AFC
Worst of cases: 9-8, misses playoffs
Most likely case: 11-6, reaches divisional round
Wright’s thoughts: “Most likely [that] It is very similar to what the last couple have been [of] years: a good team that isn’t good enough in the second round of the postseason. …The worst case is the most interesting regarding the… off-season drama. Leslie Frazier stepped away, Sean McDermott took on more responsibilities and given how Josh Allen finished the year, I think there are minor concerns about what this season will look like another year away from Brian Daboll. What will that look like? … I think the Bills will be a pretty good team, probably the division winner, but not one of the best teams in the AFC.”
miami dolphins
Record 2022-23: 9-8, lost in AFC wild card round
Key stats: 23.4 points per game (11th), 23.5 points delivered (24th)
Best case: 12-5, wins the Super Bowl
Worst of cases: 6-11, QB spree
Most likely case: 10-7, AFC Wild Card
Wright’s thoughts: “I am not a full-fledged Tua [Tagovailoa] believer… but I have to be fair. When he was healthy, that offense was buzzing. Mike McDaniel, as a rookie head coach on the road in the playoffs with a third quarterback, played the Bills until the dying seconds of that game with Skylar Thompson. They bring in Jalen Ramsey. They bring in Vic Fangio. There’s a way for that team to be fantastic and terrifying. There just is. His worst case scenario is what we all know could happen, that unfortunately Tua gets another injury or gets hit, and falls apart like he did after he got hurt. [last year]. Most likely to me they will have a better season than last year, even if the record looks similar. … The healthy Miami Dolphins should be a scary team.”
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buffalo bills
New England Patriots
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