Potential fatal flaw for every AFC East team

NFL teams can usually identify their strengths and weaknesses after five weeks of the season. No team is perfect, but some have much bigger issues than others.

Here is one potentially fatal flaw for every AFC East team:

Buffalo Bills: Defense continues to give up big plays

While HC Sean McDermott's poor clock management skills and the offense's inconsistency could've made the cut here, the Bills defense has been just as much of a culprit behind the team's current two-game losing streak and overall struggles.

Despite allowing the 12th-fewest points per game among teams this season ( 21.2 ), Buffalo's respectable ranking is largely due to facing underwhelming opponents. The Bills gave up just 20 combined points across Weeks 2 and 3, though they faced a Dolphins team that saw starting QB Tua Tagovailoa exit early with a concussion and the then-winless Jaguars in those contests.

Over the last two weeks, on the other hand, the Bills have allowed the sixth-most points per game ( 29 ) and fifth-most yards per game ( 426 ) in the NFL, showing an inability to limit big plays.

During their Week 4 35-10 blowout road loss against Baltimore, the Bills gave up 271 rushing yards, including an 87-yard Derrick Henry touchdown run, on a staggering eight yards per carry. Then, in its Week 5 loss against Houston, Buffalo's secondary struggled mightily, surrendering 331 yards through the air. Texans QB C.J. Stroud averaged 8.7 yards per pass attempt and threw a 67-yard touchdown to wideout Nico Collins.

Buffalo's defensive struggles aren't particularly surprising, considering the team saw plenty of personnel turnover on that side of the ball and has dealt with several key injuries. It'll be interesting to see whether the unit can turn things around once it gets healthier and gains more experience.

Miami Dolphins: Roster construction

Even though injuries, particularly Tagovailoa's concussion, have played a prominent role in Miami's 2-3 start to 2024, GM Chris Grier's failure to replace several notable contributors this past offseason has been the team's main problem.

The Dolphins haven't had a functional offense since Tagovailoa went down in Week 2, averaging 10 points over their last three contests — the second-fewest among teams in that span. Considering Tagovailoa already had an extensive injury history, it's puzzling that Grier didn't add a competent backup quarterback as an insurance policy.

Still, Miami's woes go beyond the quarterback position. The Dolphins failed to add serviceable replacements for a number of impactful players including interior O-linemen Robert Hunt and Connor Williams, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and edge-rusher Andrew Van Ginkel.

Hunt and Williams were integral to Miami finishing sixth in rushing yards per game last season ( 135.8 ). This year, however, the Dolphins are a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of rushing yards. They are only averaging 3.9 yards per carry after leading the NFL in that department in 2023.

Meanwhile, Wilkins and Van Ginkel helped the Dolphins rank third in sacks last season ( 56 ). Through five games, Miami has collected just nine sacks , tied for the fifth-fewest in the NFL.

Tagovailoa's eventual return could end up compensating for some of Miami's deficiencies, though the holes on this roster may be too significant to overcome

New York Jets: Organizational dysfunction

Regardless of how talented their roster may be, the Jets always seem to find a way to out-Jet themselves.

On Tuesday, owner Woody Johnson fired HC Robert Saleh five games into his fourth season following a disappointing 2-3 start. There's no doubt that Saleh, who went 20-36 during his tenure with the Jets, was one of the NFL's worst coaches. However, Saleh was a defensive-minded coach, and New York's biggest issue this season has been its offense.

The Jets' decision to go all in on QB Aaron Rodgers and pander to the four-time MVP hasn't panned out, with the team scoring just 93 points through five games. As per Fantasy Life's Ian Hartitz , that's the same scoring output New York had at this point last season with an offense led by current Broncos backup QB Zach Wilson.

Saleh probably wasn't going to lead New York to the playoffs, but he shouldn't have been the fall guy for Rodgers, who has completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,093 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

Perhaps interim HC Jeff Ulbrich can provide his team with a spark, but as long as Johnson owns the Jets, the dysfunction will likely only continue.

New England Patriots: Setting rookie QB Drake Maye up for failure

The Jets aren't the only dysfunctional AFC East team as New England's first season under HC Jerod Mayo has gotten off to a turbulent start.

It's not shocking that the rebuilding Patriots are 1-4 given that they lack talent and have seen some of their best players suffer season-ending injuries or face legal issues . Mayo has also yet to show signs that he's the right coach to lead New England into this next phase of franchise history, having made many questionable decisions.

Nonetheless, the 38-year-old made arguably the worst move of his young tenure this week, opting to name Maye the team's starting quarterback. The plan was always for Maye, the third overall pick in April's draft, to take over the starting role at some point this season, though the timing of New England's quarterback change is questionable.

The Patriots offense was a disaster under former starting QB Jacoby Brissett, ranking 31st in points per game ( 12.4 ) and yards per play (4.3). Even so, although Brissett was disastrous, the unit's struggles weren't completely his fault. New England's wide receiver corps is lackluster while the offensive line has been horrendous, posting a league-worst 48.3 percent pressure rate allowed.

It's hard to imagine Maye having much success behind New England's offensive line in his first start, especially since he's facing a Texans defense that has racked up the ninth-most sacks this season ( 15 ). The Patriots should've waited to insert Maye into the starting lineup until later in the season or given him the opportunity to prepare for Houston by letting him start last week's game against the undermanned Dolphins.

Instead, New England risks hurting Maye's confidence and development.