The New England Patriots haven't won the AFC East since 2019. Oddsmakers believe that trend will continue in 2023 as they enter the campaign with the worst odds out of the four teams in the division.
The AFC East only got tougher this year with future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers joining the New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins are poised to build off a second-place 2022 season with Tua Tagovailoa leading a talented offense, and the Buffalo Bills are still built to win their fourth consecutive division title.
But that doesn't mean Patriots fans should feel hopeless heading into this season. In fact, there are reasons for optimism.
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Trey Wingo joined our Phil Perry to share those reasons on a new episode of the Next Pats Podcast.
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"If you're a Patriots fan, the one thing you can be happy about is that there are little question marks about every team," Wingo said. "Will Aaron be what the Jets need him to be? Something is or isn't really right with the Bills, and Tua's health is a huge question mark.
"So that's kind of the hope going forward is that all these little things might be big things when it comes to playing out the division in the AFC East."
New England Patriots
Wingo expanded on his thoughts on the Bills, who once again are favorites to win the AFC East. There has been some drama coming out of Buffalo this summer, and that has Wingo thinking the division could be more up for grabs than people may think.
"I think they've earned the right to be the favorite going into the season based on the last three or four years. But I am in that camp that something is not right," Wingo said. "There's just something about Buffalo this year that just doesn't feel as comfortable as it has the last three seasons.
"And for all their success and all the talent they have, they have one AFC Championship appearance to show for it. That's it. ... That's not good enough for what this team can be."
You can hear everything Wingo had to say about each AFC East team in the full Next Pats Podcast episode.
Also discussed in the episode:
- The Patriots' actions show how they feel about Bailey Zappe.
- Wingo's reaction to the Patriots waiving Zappe.
- Should Patriots fans still believe in Bill Belichick?