Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills have ruled the AFC East since the day Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, and Josh Allen became one of the game's elite quarterbacks.
The Bills are approaching their fifth-consecutive AFC East title, something they have never done in franchise history. Not even in the Super Bowl years during the '90s did Jim Kelly's Bills ever win five-straight division titles.
In a year that was expected to be the most challenging year for the Bills in-division in years, it has been anything but.
It's been a historic level of dominance for the Bills this year in the AFC East. Even Brady's Patriots only won the division this early one time.
The most gratifying part of this Bills season in the division is that two of the teams are taking their best shot, and can't come close. The Patriots are rebuilding, and never were expecting to challenge Buffalo, but the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets were.
The Jets' build was centered around a 41-year old quarterback and a bunch of veteran players that could win right now. Now with coaches and general managers being fired, and reported bad blood between Aaron Rodgers and the organization, it appears as though they are headed towards, yet, another rebuild.
At the very least, the Jets will be going into next season with a new quarterback and head coach. Not a team Bills fans should have to worry about for multiple years.
The Dolphins' challenge is a bit more nuanced. They have given the Bills as much of a fight in the standings as any divisional foe, but have simultaneously put up the worst fight on the field. The Bills have dominated the Dolphins, only losing one time in five years.
Miami is running out of time themselves to challenge the Bills. Sure, Tua Tagovailoa is young and under contract, but Tyreek Hill is showing lots of signs of his age, and they are the sixth-oldest team in the NFL overall.
With Tagovailoa's big contract, how well will the Dolphins do building around him without the benefit of a quarterback on a rookie contract?
As much as the Bills' five-year run in the AFC East is about their opponents, it's more about their own consistency.
Even Sunday's opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, have injury-plagued years every third year that sees them finish near the bottom of the standings, allowing wiggle room for others to win the NFC West.
That doesn't happen to the Bills.
Knock on some wood, but Allen has the longest start streak of any quarterback in the NFL. And whenever the Bills face injuries, even this season, they seem to have the depth ready to go to get through it.
Sure, not every time. The Bills eventually ran out of linebackers and it cost them against the Kansas City Chiefs last year in the playoffs. The Bills lost to the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the season, in large-part because Baylon Spector had to start against Derrick Henry.
Otherwise, they've seemed to do a great job at filling in the gaps.
Beyond health, it's an Allen point. There's no overstating his importance to this whole thing.
Allen is the king of the division. Just as Brady swatted away opposing AFC East quarterbacks like flies on an elephant's butt, Allen has easily swatted Tagovailoa, old man Rodgers, Mac Jones, Sam Darnold, and all the others.
We'll see about Drake Maye. He looks pretty good with the Patriots.
But until New England can figure out how to build around Drake Maye, it's the Bills' division.
Buffalo is king, and it's not close.