I shouldn’t post this. I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall. It’s like trying to talk politics with you guys. Even Andy doesn’t get it, despite having the numbers right in front of him.

Nonetheless, you’ve been chattering about it, so let me make one last try.

Below see the win-loss records for all 32 teams over the last 20 years. Only exception is that the teams in the AFC East – Patriots, Jets, Dolphins, Bills – don’t include the numbers for the AFC East games involving the Patriots. So 40 fewer games for the Jets, Dolphins and Bills, and 120 fewer games for the Patriots.

But look at the winning percentages for each team. The Patriots are literally lapping the field, with a winning percentage of .735. That’s without counting them going 90-30 against their division opponents (and I will concede that .750 is slightly higher than .735). Overall, it’s not even close between them and the 2nd-place Steelers (which has been confirmed as much almost every time those teams have played).

There are 11 teams that have won under 46 percent of their games. None of those teams are from the AFC East.

If you were trying to find a favorable division for scheduling, you might pick the AFC North, which includes the Browns (a distant last) and the Bengals. Or you might pick the NFC West, which has three teams with worse win-loss records than any team in the AFC East (49ers, Rams, Cardinals).

The AFC South has two teams with worse records than anybody in the AFC East (that is, after the Patriots are removed).

It’s not scheduling, people. The Patriots have probably benefitted just a little from being in the AFC East, but it’s more accurate to say they’ve simply been significantly better than the rest of the league.

WIN-LOSS RECORDS, LAST 20 YEARS
TeamWLTPct
New England147530.735
Pittsburgh2061140.644
Green Bay1971212.619
Indianapolis1971230.616
Philadelphia1901291.595
Baltimore1901300.594
New Orleans1831370.572
Seattle1821371.570
Denver1821380.569
Dallas1681520.525
Kansas City1661540.519
Minnesota1651532.519
Atlanta1641551.514
LA Chargers1621580.506
Tennessee1601600.500
NY Giants1581620.494
NY Jets1381420.493
Carolina1571621.492
Chicago1571630.491
Miami1341460.479
Buffalo1321480.471
San Francisco1481711.464
Cincinnati1451723.458
Houston1311570.455
LA Rams1441751.452
Arizona1371812.431
Tampa Bay1381820.431
Washington1321871.414
Jacksonville1271930.397
Las Vegas1251950.391
Detroit1142051.358
Cleveland992201.311

—Ian Allan