AFC East Report: Week 5

The New England Patriots stay atop the AFC East after beating the Dallas Cowboys 30-6 in Texas. Not much happened in the rest of the division in week 5, as only one other team – the Buffalo Bills – was not on its bye week.

That being said, here's this week's relatively short edition of the AFC East Report.

2. New York Jets (3-1)

Week 5: bye week

3. Buffalo Bills (3-2)

Week 5: win (14-13 against the Tennessee Titans, in Nashville TN)

The Bills' game in Tennessee was a close affair. It could have gone differently, though, had special teamer Marcus Easley not been offsides on the opening kickoff, which the Titans fumbled and would have been recovered by Buffalo at the 2. Alas, the play was called back – one of seven Bills penalties on the day – and it would take Rex Ryan's squad until midway through the fourth quarter to reach the red zone for the first (and only) time. By that point, the Titans led 13-7, as the Bills had a rough time moving the ball on offense. The unit gained only 209 yards and converted just 4 of 12 3rd down attempts. Furthermore, Tyrod Taylor (10/17, 109 yds, 1 TD) was sacked four times. While his passing numbers were unspectacular, Taylor also ran for 76 of the team's 127 rushing yards and threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan (3/52 yds, 1 TD) with 5:30 left in the game to give the Bills a lead, they would not give up again. Stephon Gilmore's intercpetion of Marcus Mariota (21/32, 187, 1 INT) finally sealed Buffalo's third win of the season. The Bills' defense (as well as some questionable playcalling by the Titans) allowed the team to stay in the game while offense and special teams – punt returner Denarius Moore lost a fumble early in the second half, which led to the Titans' only touchdown – struggled: the unit gave up 276 yards and allowed only 5 of 13 3rd downs to be converted. Defense is a major reason that the Bills are 3-2. If the team wants to reach the playoffs, though, the offense needs to step up its game, especially against better opponents.

To watch highlights of the game, click here.

4. Miami Dolphins (1-3)

Week 5: bye week