The AFC East is coming off a 4-0 week as all four teams came out of Week 8 with a victory. The streaking New England Patriots (6-2) still lead the way while the Buffalo Bills (5-2) are trying to keep pace. The Miami Dolphins (2-6) and New York Jets (1-7) are clearly playing for third place right now, and the Jets will get the week off as they’ve hit their bye week. With Miami set to play on Thursday Night Football, let’s dig into the Week 9 Bold Predictions for the AFC East.
New England Patriots
3. Drake Maye
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
The Patriots will win their sixth-straight game this weekend
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The Patriots have now won five straight games heading into this weekend’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons just lost at home (and badly) to the Dolphins, while the Patriots are coming off another lopsided win against a subpar team. Drake Maye has been playing like a legit MVP candidate and will carry the Patriots to a 27-13 win against Atlanta.
Kayshon Boutte will score for the fourth-straight game
All Kayson Boutte does is catch touchdowns! Boute has now scored in three straight games and has four touchdowns in that span. While he hasn’t seen more than five targets in a game all season, Boutte is Drake Maye’s favorite longball threat and will likely get another deep ball to the end zone again this week against Atlanta.
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Buffalo Bills
Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) rushes the ball against the New England Patriots during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
The Bills will fall further behind the Patriots this week
The Bills looked great coming out of their bye as they beat Carolina 40-9, but they have one of their toughest (they toughest?) challenges of the season on tap this week as the Kansas City Chiefs are coming to town. While this should be close, Kansas City is arguably playing better than anyone in the league right now. I’m going with a 31-28 victory for the Chiefs on Sunday.
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James Cook will be held in check this week
The Bills’ fortunes have more or less correlated with the success of James Cook this season, and I don’t think Sunday will be any different. The Chiefs are allowing the seventh-least rushing yards per game to opposing running backs, so it will likely be tough sledding for Cook. I expect the Chiefs to hold him to under 60 yards and force the Bills to be one-dimensional.
Bye week rest-of-season prediction: The Jets won’t win another game
Oct 26, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
I’m not sure if this is that bold of a prediction for a one-win team, but the Jets probably don’t have any games in which they’ll be favored after their bye week. They have two games against New England, one in Buffalo, one in Jacksonville, and one in Baltimore. Those are all going to be nearly impossible games, which leaves us with Miami, New Orleans, and Atlanta. There’s a chance they could squeak out one or two of those, but I’m going to go with zero.
Miami Dolphins
Oct 19, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
The Dolphins will not start a winning streak
While Dolphins fans are hopeful as their team comes off their second victory of the season, Miami has a tough game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. Lamar Jackson will return from his hamstring injury and should be able to take advantage of a bad Miami defense. I’m going with a 31-17 win for Baltimore on TNF.
Jaylen Waddle will have a big game for Miami
While Tua Tagovailoa has been shaky as of late, Jaylen Waddle has more or less been automatic over the last month. He’s scored in two of his last four games and has surpassed 95 yards in three of those games. Waddle will also get to face a Ravens secondary that is in the bottom-10 in the league in terms of yards allowed to opposing wide receivers, so I’m going to sign him up for 100-plus yards and a touchdown on Thursday Night Football.
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