The New England Patriots are 3-1, and they are expected to be even stronger with the return of Tom Brady, who wrapped up his four-game suspension for Deflategate.
Before the season, many expected teams to take advantage of Brady's absence, but not everyone capitalized on the short-handed Patriots. Instead, it seems like a missed opportunity, especially for teams in the AFC East. Here is a look at the current state of the division and the new outlook with Brady back.
New England Patriots (3-1)
The Patriots are in a good position at 3-1 with Brady returning, although one wouldn’t have known it from spending time in the locker room Monday. There was a get-back-to-the-basics theme from players, who were taking their lumps after Sunday’s 16-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills without making excuses, while turning the page forward to Sunday’s road game against the Cleveland Browns.
They know Brady can’t be viewed as the savior, but his return will open up the team’s offense, which struggled Sunday with rookie Jacoby Brissett under center. (But Brissett was effective in a Week 3 win over the Texans.) -- Mike Reiss
Buffalo Bills (2-2)
The Bills were left for dead after an 0-2 start that resulted in Rex Ryan firing offensive coordinator Greg Roman. With new coordinator Anthony Lynn learning on the fly and top receiver Sammy Watkins sidelined because of a foot injury, expectations were low for the Bills, who hosted the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 and then traveled to Gillette Stadium to play the Patriots on Sunday.
Despite the long odds against them, the Bills have strung together back-to-back wins against two preseason Super Bowl favorites and are competitive again in the AFC East. At 2-2, Ryan's job security is no longer an immediate concern. Pressure isn't off the Bills, as a rematch with the Patriots -- who will have Brady at quarterback -- looms later this month. Still, few expected them to bounce back and remain realistically in contention. -- Mike Rodak
New York Jets (1-3)
No, the Jets didn’t capitalize on Tom Brady’s absence, but let’s be honest: Only a 4-0 record would’ve accomplished that, and there’s no way they were going to win every game against such a difficult schedule. But here’s where the Jets blew it: Instead of announcing themselves a viable contender in the AFC East -- a team poised to go the distance -- they unraveled and reached the one-quarter mark at 1-3.
They’ve been undermined, in large part, by the very thing that was supposed to hurt the Brady-less Patriots -- quarterback mistakes. The Jets had the most experienced quarterback in the division during Brady’s suspension, but Ryan Fitzpatrick has turned into an interception machine. His season total is 10, including nine in the past two games. Instead of guiding the Jets through a difficult stretch of games with his veteran leadership, Fitzpatrick already has exceeded Brady’s interception total from each of his past two seasons. The Patriots? Brady's replacements, Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett, didn’t throw a single pick.
Now Brady is back, and the Jets’ deficit suddenly looks a lot wider than two games. -- Rich Cimini
Miami Dolphins (1-3)
The Dolphins began the season with one of the more challenging schedules, opening on the road at Seattle followed by a trip to New England. And if the travel wasn't enough, they were making the trip with a first-year coach, Adam Gase. Both games ended in losses, and the Dolphins needed the Browns to be the Browns in Week 3 to beat them in overtime -- Miami's only win so far this season.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has yet to prove he can be the difference-maker for the Dolphins; the offense has sputtered to this point. The Dolphins need to get healthy, and Gase is going to have to find the right formula to get Tannehill going for them to get back in the race and make the second meeting against the Patriots (the final game of the regular season) a game that matters. -- ESPN.com staff