ESPN only has back to 2003 here is the results.

2003: Miami 10-6 other 2 6-10
2004: Jets and Bills winning record
2005: Miami 9-7 others 5 and 4 wins
2006: Jets 10-6
2007: all losing records
2008: Miami tied and won based on tie breaker
2009: Jets 9-7
2010: Jets 11-5
2011: Jets at .500 other 2 won 6 games
2012: all losing records
2013: 2 teams at .500
2014: Bills 9-7 Miami .500
2015 Jets 10-6 Bills .500
2016: Miami 10-6
2017: Bills 9-7
2018: all losing records
2019: Bills 10-6


At best you had 2 teams around .500. But not one of those teams was talked about as a great D, or just a tough team to beat.

However when you talk about tough D and just teams that would hit you all day it was the AFC North. Jets have been and still are pretty much a laughing stock of the league.

Once Marino left Miami flopped, and the Bills other than Kelly, before Brady, haven’t been decent until last couple of years.

Could one of them beaten NE and Brady, yep and some years they did. But was it a dog fight where NE was just getting beat up even when winning? Nope and for the most part the other teams were really bad.