The AFC East resulted in yet another divisional title for the New England Patriots, before they pulled off their historic Super Bowl triumph, while Miami recovered from a poor start to reach the post-season.
The Patriots cruised to a 14-2 record despite being without the suspended Tom Brady for the first four weeks of the campaign, clinching their eight consecutive AFC East title and their 14th in 16 years.
Buffalo looked likely to be New England's closest challengers, but they struggled over the second half of the season as the Dolphins came on strong, winning nine of 11 games to finish 10-6 and feature in the play-offs for the first time since 2008.
As for the New York Jets? Surely they can only do better next season! Here's the grades ...
New England Patriots, 14-2, AFC East winners, Super Bowl champions
Season in a tweet: Another dominant regular season for the Patriots, a cruise through the play-offs, then a historic comeback to stun Atlanta.
MVP: Tom Brady … who else?! Suspended for the first four games of the season, but he looked as sharp as ever on his return. Spread the ball around and made light of losing favourite target Rob Gronkowski for much of the campaign, throwing for 28 touchdowns in 12 games with just two interceptions.
Brady inspired New England's astonishing Super Bowl comeback and engineered the championship-winning drive in overtime to collect his fifth ring. Greatest of all time? Probably.
Under the radar: Trey Flowers became an integral part of the Patriots' pass rush in just his second season in the NFL, leading the team in sacks with seven, all amassed in the second half of the year.
Flowers, who featured in only one game in his rookie season, also came up with one of the key plays in the Super Bowl with his pivotal sack of Matt Ryan that knocked the Falcons out of field goal range while leading 28-20.
Aged only nine when Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl ring, Flowers has become renowned for being one of the hardest workers on the New England roster, and he seems set for a stellar career in the NFL.
Must do better: It's hard to be critical of the Super Bowl champions, but they did appear to be short of one or two high quality linebackers over the season. After the surprising trade of Jamie Collins to the Browns, Dont'a Hightower was an impressive leader behind the defensive line.
Rob Ninkovich put up some decent numbers, but the likes of Shea McClellin, Kyle Van Noy and Barkevious Mingo need to up their game. Hightower is about to enter free agency, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Patriots delve deep into their pockets to retain him.
Draft need: A linebacker is likely to be high up on their list of targets, but the Patriots could also do with an explosive running back particularly if LeGarrette Blount is lost to free agency.
Blount was a workhorse and steamrollered some poor defences, but his limitations were exposed by the tougher units he came up against. Dion Lewis and James White emerged as dangerous passing threats out of the backfield, but they may look to replace Blunt and attempt to unearth the next Ezekiel Elliott.
2016 Grade: A+
Miami Dolphins, 10-6, AFC Wild Card
Season in a tweet: Dolphins recover from 1-4 to win nine of 11 and reach play-offs before being outclassed by Steelers.
MVP: Jay Ajayi emerged as one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL and rushed for almost 1,300 yards, including back-to-back 200 yard games, while averaging close to five yards per carry.
The British-born star proved inspirational after the banged-up Arian Foster hung up his cleats, although his heavy workload was a concern as back-ups Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake contributed little.
Under the radar: Kiko Alonso may not have recorded a sack over the season, but he was a tackling machine in an energetic and under-rated Dolphins defence.
Alonso made 69 individual tackles and assisted on 46 others while claiming two interceptions, one of which he returned 60 yards for the match-winning score against San Diego in week 10.
Must do better: The offensive line. Ryan Tannehill was again frustratingly inconsistent until his season was ended by injury shortly before the play-offs, but being sacked no fewer than 29 times in 13 games could not have been much fun.
Draft need: The Dolphins may have to persist with Tannehill under centre as the top-rated quarterbacks in this year's NFL Draft are likely to be snapped up before Miami get their first pick. Look for them to shore up their offensive line or take a gamble on a tight end, depending on who they can snap up during the free agency window.
2016 Grade: B+
Buffalo Bills, 7-9
Season in a tweet: A season that started full of optimism for the Bills petered out as they lost four of their last five games and head coach Rex Ryan.
MVP: LeSean McCoy stayed largely injury-free, although he played through the pain barrier once or twice in a determined effort to keep the Bills in the hunt for a play-off berth.
The former Philadelphia workhorse ran for over 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns at a very impressive average of 5.4 yards per carry. He also recorded 50 receptions out of the backfield and was far-and-away the stand-out star of the Bills offence.
Under the radar: Mike Gillislee looked a decent prospect when giving McCoy a breather, running for eight touchdowns, but Lorenzo Alexander was the biggest surprise for the Bills as he put up career-best numbers in his 10th season.
The 33-year-old linebacker had not started a game since 2013 and spent the bulk of the previous five seasons on special teams with Washington, Arizona and Oakland, but he was an ever-present for the Bills in 2016 and chalked up a team-leading 12.5 sacks.
Must do better: McCoy apart, and Gillislee to an extent, the Buffalo offence was sub-standard, and that's putting it politely. Tyrod Taylor scraped past 3,000 yards passing, although his cause was not helped by being sacked 42 (FORTY TWO) times in his 15 starts.
Charles Clay came good late in the season and scored four touchdowns in three games, which was good enough to tie Justin Hunter, who had only 10 receptions all year, for the lead in that category. Robert Woods was the leading receiver in terms of yards (613), while Sammy Watkins missed half the season through injury.
Draft need: The Bills may look to get one over on divisional rivals Miami by looking for a quality offensive lineman with the first pick. There's a chance Tyrod Taylor will be elsewhere next season, but new head coach Sean McDermott's first order of business is to be clever in the free agency market.
2016 Grade: C
New York Jets, 5-11
Season in a tweet: Jets struggle in all departments and endure a sixth consecutive season without play-off action
MVP: Leonard Williams did more than anyone to attempt to stem the flow of points against, leading the Jets defence in sack (seven) and forced fumbles.
The second-year tackle was the stand-out threat in an otherwise lame pass rush, and the 22-year-old did well to feature in all 16 games despite spending more time on the field than the Jets had planned for!
Under the radar: Quincy Enunwa took his time establishing himself in the NFL, but he enjoyed a promising season after stepping up to fill the void created by Eric Decker's injury.
Enunwa prospered operating out of the slot as well as out wide and proved capable of making exciting, athletic plays. He hauled in 58 receptions for 857 yards and four touchdowns, impressive stats considering the quality - or lack of - of the Jets' quarterbacks.
Must do better: It's a long list, topped by quarterbacks and the secondary. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw more interceptions (17) than touchdown passes (12), as did Bryce Petty in his brief spell as starter which ended when he was obliterated by Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake.
Second-round draft pick Christian Hackenberg did not see a single snap, but with Fitzpatrick now out of contract, Hackenberg can expect to start next season as Petty's back-up unless the Jets can pull off a good trade or two.
Meanwhile, only Cleveland and Los Angeles scored fewer points than the Jets over the regular season, and only four teams conceded more points. The Jets secondary had more holes than the wallpaper surrounding a pub dartboard, and Todd Bowles has much to ponder in the off-season.
Draft need: This year's draft looks a little lightweight on quarterbacks, so they will probably aim for a quality cornerback or safety in the first two rounds. The Jets also need a decent tight end - a position which did not yield a single touchdown in 2016.
2016 Grade: D