Pressure is on NY Jets to win after AFC East dominates Week 1

As the NY Jets prepare for their Week 1 clash with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, the rest of the AFC East kicked off their 2024 seasons on Sunday. And if there's any takeaway from Sunday's games it's that the AFC East might be the best division in football.

The Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots all emerged victorious in their regular-season openers on Sunday, adding a little extra pressure to the Jets ahead of their primetime matchup with the 49ers tomorrow night.

The Bills held off a game Arizona Cardinals team with a late defensive stand, overcoming a rocky start to the game. The Dolphins came from behind scoring 13 unanswered in the second half to steal a win from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

As for the Patriots, they pulled off the upset of the week, securing a massive 16-10 win over Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Just like that, the Jets are in last place in the division and they haven't even played a game yet.

The NY Jets might be in the best division in the NFL

The AFC East was widely expected to be one of the best divisions in the league entering the season. The Jets are actually the slight consensus betting favorites to win the AFC East for the first time this century, but the Bills and Dolphins are both expected to be in contention as well.

The real surprise of Week 1 is New England, who defeated a Bengals team that many expect to be contenders in a loaded AFC. The Patriots still seem unlikely to compete for the division title, but perhaps they'll be better this year than most expected.

Now, neither the Bills nor the Dolphins looked convincing in their wins. Both teams were forced to overcome halftime deficits against rather mediocre teams. But the result is all that matters. A win is a win.

The Jets were already under immense pressure to prove they were worthy of pre-season hype entering their Monday night game against the 49ers. Now, the pressure has been amplified even more.

Of course, there's still a lot of football to be played. The season is not decided after one week. But Week 1 overreactions are real, and we all know what the narrative is going to be if the Jets are the only team in their division not to win their first game.

The Jets don't want their backs to be against the wall when they go into their Week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans. The pressure is on for Aaron Rodgers, Robert Saleh, and the Jets to pull off an upset on the road against the 49ers.

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