Rich’s Pick to Win the AFC East This Season Is…?

The AFC East predictions produced near-total agreement on the bottom half of the division and a genuine fight at the top.

Chris went first and made the most interesting call on the bottom half. He is taking the Jets third, over Miami. "I think they are more skilled," he said. He didn't pretend to know what the Jets have at quarterback, but "other than Devon Achane, I think all the best players are on the Jets here, and you can't really often say that."

TJ quoted Jay-Z and matched Chris exactly: Dolphins fourth, Jets third, Bills second, and the Patriots on top again, even though he acknowledged teams don't usually go back-to-back. His reasoning came courtesy of Ric Flair. "To be the man, you got to beat the man, and until somebody beats them, the Patriots are the man in the East," TJ said, "much like Becky Lynch."

Rich had the same fourth and third place teams. But he flipped the top two and put the Bills on top of the division.

"I just think Allen in this new stadium, and Joe Brady, new set of eyes," Rich said. As for New England, "I got to see it again from you, man."

That set off the debate. If Rich needs to see it again from the Patriots, the counter went, what about Buffalo? Rich wasn't having it. "Buffalo's been sitting at top the division forever." The response: the Patriots went to the Super Bowl. Josh Allen still has a playoff roadblock.

Then came the argument that landed. Does everyone forget the last place schedule the Patriots rode all the way to the playoffs? Someone called it "a very valid point." And then the room turned it around on Rich, pointing out that if the shoe were on the other foot, nobody likes to point out a soft schedule more than he does.

"Who likes to point out everyone's soft schedule more than this guy?"

Rich tried to deny it. "I don't resemble that remark."

The table had receipts, or at least claimed to. "We have hundreds of hours of video footage of you saying this."

"Show me," Rich said.

So the division came out Patriots or Bills at the top depending on who you ask, the Jets third across the board and the Dolphins last. And the question of whether Rich is the show's leading soft schedule critic remains, officially, under research.