2. New England Patriots
The Patriots won a lot of regular season games last year, and then they made it all the way to the Super Bowl. But the way the Patriots were systematically dismantled in the Super Bowl really emphasized some of the team's struggles against better opponents, even when they were able to emerge victorious.
It felt like the Patriots were gifted a trip to the Super Bowl with Bo Nix's injury forcing the Broncos to start Jarrett Stidham in the AFC Championship Game, but this Patriots team did not win the AFC without merit last season.
The questions with this team, however, are many.
What is going on with Mike Vrabel and how is it going to affect him doing his job? How are the Patriots going to keep Drake Maye upright? Will this team actually pull off a trade for AJ Brown?
As good as the Patriots were last year, the deck is being reshuffled. They made some nice improvements to the roster as a whole, but I'm skeptical we're going to see them repeat last season's success.
1. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills's loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Broncos set off a chain reaction of events that has people believing this could be the year for Josh Allen and company.
The Bills started off by firing head coach Sean McDermott, replacing him in-house with offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Brady's offense added a familiar face in DJ Moore at the wide receiver position, who has familiarity with Brady from their time together in Carolina, and simultaneously fills Buffalo's biggest offensive need.
The Bills have a first-year defensive coordinator -- Jim Leonhard -- coming in to provide a jolt to the defense. Leonhard inherits the best pass defense in the NFL and brings all of Vance Joseph's secrets with him from Denver, where they set franchise records in sacks each of the last two seasons.
This is shaping up to be not just another important year for the Bills, but a banner year for the team. Even without Mahomes in his way in the playoffs last year, Allen couldn't get into the Super Bowl. This will be another Super Bowl or bust year for Buffalo, even with a lot of major changes. The roster looks ready.
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