Morning Sports Update
The Patriots are once again underdogs, as they were a year ago.
TreVeyon Henderson runs for a Patriots touchdown against the Bills in Dec. 2025. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
July 22, 2026 | 11:09 AM
3 minutes to read
The Bills are favored to win the AFC East: Despite overcoming the prognosticators a year ago, the Patriots are once again underdogs in the AFC East.
As training camp is set to open later this week, the early look at division odds in the NFL reveals an interesting expectation.
Here are the current AFC East odds, per DraftKings:
- Bills: -136
- Patriots: +125
- Jets: +1900
- Dolphins: +4000
Granted, the Patriots were much longer shots a year ago. Ahead of Mike Vrabel’s first season in New England in 2025, the Patriots were +475 to win the AFC East, and Buffalo was a heavy favorite (-330).
Still, coming off a run to the Super Bowl, New England might have expected to at least be a small favorite to defeat Josh Allen and Buffalo. Not so, according to oddsmakers.
As ESPN’s Erin Dolan noted, a lot of the reasoning behind the placing pertains to Josh Allen, and recent history.
“Now ultimately I know the New England Patriots won the division last year, but prior to that, the Buffalo Bills had won for five consecutive seasons, and there’s no reason to think that they’re not still a powerhouse, especially when being led by Josh Allen,” Dolan explained in an ESPN segment on Tuesday.
Granted, the odds are likely to shift quickly however the season goes. But at least in the initial assessment, experts aren’t quite ready to put their full confidence behind Vrabel and Drake Maye against Allen and Buffalo.
Trivia: Josh Allen is second all-time in Bills career passing yards. Who is first?
(Answer at the bottom)
Hint: If you watched the AFC East in the late ’80s and early ’90s, you should know this one.
Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox-Orioles game was rained out on Tuesday, meaning that the two teams will play a doubleheader today at 1:35 and 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park. Boston will attempt to tie (and then potentially break) the team’s record winning streak, currently on 14 consecutive games.
Tonight, the Revolution return to the field for the first time in MLS regular season action since May 23. New England hosts Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
And the Patriots open up training camp on Saturday. Gates open at 9:15 a.m., with practices set to start around 10:15 a.m.
More from Boston.com:
Payton with Papelbon: Red Sox starter took Jonathan Papelbon through his pregame routine.
On this day: In 1935, Red Sox righty Wes Ferrell hit a second consecutive walk-off home run. A multi-talented player, Ferrell won 25 games that season as a pitcher, but also hit .347 with seven home runs in 150 at-bats (good for a .960 OPS). On July 21, he entered as a pinch-hitter, smacking a walk-off three-run blast in a 7-6 win over the Tigers.
The following day, Ferrell got the start against the St. Louis Browns. He tossed a complete game seven-hitter, yielding one run. And with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, his solo shot won the game 2-1 for Boston.
Daily highlight: Guardians outfielder Kahlil Watson clinched a Cleveland win on Tuesday with a tremendous catch, holding onto the ball even as he hit the wall.
Trivia answer: Jim Kelly
Hayden Bird
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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