AFC East Roundup: Stats leaders of the division

The 2022 NFL regular season is in the books, with the playoffs set to begin this weekend. A testament to their toughness all season, two teams in the AFC East will continue into the postseason. The Buffalo Bills (13-3) defeated the New England Patriots (8-9) in an extremely emotional game while the Miami Dolphins (9-8) defeated the New York Jets (7-10) in battle of backup quarterbacks. This means that the Bills will once again face the Dolphins, this time on Sunday in the Super Wild Card Round. Before we get to postseason football, let’s discuss the statistical leaders out of the division this season.

AFC East passing leader: QB Josh Allen

It comes as no surprise that Allen led the division in passing yards with 4,283. At one point it seemed as though Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was going to give Allen a run for his money but injuries kept him sidelined several games, and he finished with 3,548 yards. Allen is the Bills’ MVP, and the team’s going to need his arm if it hopes to make a deep postseason push.

AFC East receiving leader: WR Tyreek Hill

Hill to Miami was the big trade of the offseason. The Dolphins secured Hill to provide an established No. 1 target for their quarterback. Hill showed the league why he’s one of the best, finishing with 1,710 yards to lead the entire AFC — 100 yards shy of claiming first in the entire NFL (Justin Jefferson had 1,809 yards). Hill’s total also set the Dolphins’ single-season record for receiving yards. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs tried his best to catch Hill all season, but finished with 1,429 yards while playing in one less game.

AFC East rushing leader: RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Last season, fourth-round pick Rhamondre Stevenson showed promising traits toward being the featured back for New England. This season, he took over the lead role from Damien Harris to lead the division with 1,040 yards on the ground. What made Stevenson so dangerous this season was his ability to break the first tackle, turning what would be a one- or two-yard gain into a five- or six-yard gain. His ability as an ever-efficient outlet receiver was phenomenal. Stevenson caught 69 of 88 targets for 421 yards.

AFC East tackles leader: LB C.J. Mosley

A couple of seasons ago the Jets signed Mosley to a big free-agent contract that, at the time, reset the market for off-the-ball linebackers. The problem was that injuries kept Mosley off the field for chunks at a time. With the chance to play in all 17 games this year, Mosely led the division with 158 tackles to finish in the top 10 in the NFL as well. Combined with five sacks and an interception, Mosely was selected as a starter for the Pro Bowl in the 2022 season.

AFC East sacks leader: LB Matthew Judon

Judon had a great season for the Patriots, finishing with 15.5 total sacks. He was just a couple of sacks shy from setting the Patriots’ single-season record. Judon was a force on the edge and was a huge reason why the defense was strong all season long. Nagging injuries likely contributed to his having just one combined sack in the last four games of the season, but that shouldn’t take away from how dominant he truly was each week.

AFC East interceptions leader: S Jordan Poyer and S Devin McCourty

A pair of veteran safeties shared the lead for interceptions in the division, with each nabbing four. Poyer grabbed his fourth interception way back in October — unable to grab another the rest of the season. The precipitous dropoff in picks was due to teams deciding not to continue throwing the ball in his direction. Meanwhile McCourty waited until the end of the season to grab has interceptions. He secured three of them over the last three weeks of the season, including one on Sunday against the Bills.