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NFL 2015: AFC East preview

New England Patriots (11-5)

A full season of Tom Brady keeps the Pats in the driver’s seat of the most competitive division in football. They’ll miss Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner on defense, but coach Bill Belichick’s defenses routinely find ways to create turnovers without consensus All-Pro personnel. As long as Brady has Rob Gronkowski and a few healthy bodies to target, the defending champs will be just fine.

Buffalo Bills (10-6)

Ten victories is a lofty prediction for a team with such a bad quarterback pool. But that’s status quo for new coach Rex Ryan, who was stuck with Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith the last six seasons with the Jets. The Bills’ defense should be elite, and the rest of the offense (running back LeSean McCoy, wide receiver Sammy Watkins) can make noise.

Jets (10-6)

The Jets and Bills are almost doppelgängers of one another. Both have stout defenses and QB issues that will force the ground game to be emphasized. Gang Green doesn’t quite have the talent on offense that Buffalo does at skill positions, but they possess more depth at each. Plus, Revis is back to create havoc for opposing wideouts.

Miami Dolphins (9-7)

Tough luck, Fins fans. If they played in the AFC South, the Dolphins could bloat their win total to 10 or 11 and make the postseason. Alas, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the gang may be on the outside looking in with an above-.500 record come January. It shouldn’t be a surprise to see any of these four teams in postseason.