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With just under half the season gone, the picture of the AFC East is becoming more clear for the four teams.
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 26-11 in Week 8 to keep up their lead in first place in the division. They’ve been one of the best teams in the conference this season, and, while they were stifled a bit early in this game, they were still able to pull out a double-digit victory by the end.
With a loss, Miami fell to 1-7 where they now sit as the lone team at the bottom of the division. Their offense was completely shut down by the Bills’ impressive defense, and their defense wasn’t going to be able to hold Josh Allen for a full game. The Dolphins will have a lot to think about this week with the trade deadline looming.
The reason the Dolphins fell down to fourth place was that the Jets, with Mike White under center, upset the Cincinnati Bengals. Without their second overall pick Zach Wilson, New York looked competent in this game, scoring a season-high 34 points. White’s 405-yard, three-touchdown performance will be tough to match for them this year.
New England handled their matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers and walked out of SoFi Stadium with a 27-24 win. Mac Jones and company didn’t have their best game of the season, but the defense was able to pick them up with a pick-six that was the difference-maker. Justin Herbert is now 0-2 against Bill Belichick in his young career.
Week 9 AFC East matchups:
Miami Dolphins (1-7) vs. Houston Texans (1-7)
Buffalo Bills (5-2) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6)
New England Patriots (4-4) vs. Carolina Panthers (4-4)
New York Jets (2-5) vs. Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
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