Rex Ryan Admits Bills Have No Shot at Winning AFC East This Season

Rex Ryan has made a career out of public braggadocio, constantly singing the praises of his players and putting his teams among the NFL's best—even when it bordered on illogical. On Thursday, he hit folks with a little bit of realism.  

When asked if a win over the New England Patriots on Monday would put the Buffalo Bills back in the AFC East hunt, the coach admitted his team is already out of the race. 

"Does that give us an opportunity to win the division? No," Ryan said, per John Breech of CBS Sports. "They are going to win the division. I don't see them losing four games, you know in the upcoming things. I hope I am wrong but I don't see it happening."

This week has been filled with curious signs of humility from Ryan, who typically has a field day trying to get under the skin of Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He called the Patriots "arguably the best team in football right now" and said they have "the best offense in the league, with the best quarterback," per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk was "a little surprised" at Ryan's honesty:

Given how Ryan's teams have fared following his normal media circus, this might be a welcome change. Belichick boasts a 10-4 all-time record against his AFC East rival, including a 40-32 win over the Bills in Week 2. Tom Brady threw for 466 yards in that contest, the most Buffalo has ever given up to an opposing quarterback thus season.

Ryan may also be smart to keep the barbs at a minimum given the Bills' overall lack of success against New England. The Patriots have won seven of their last eight and 22 of their last 24 games against Buffalo. This isn't exactly a franchise in a position to puff out its chest, especially against a New England team that has looked unflappable in its 9-0 start.

Still, Ryan is a week removed from taking down the New York Jets, the team that fired him after the 2014 season. Perhaps he'll be able to get another monkey off his back Monday in New England. Just don't expect it to result in a division title run for his Bills.

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